230222 Pages
5450 Words
Business Law
Introduction
The effects of the British Legal System impact the overall UK economy. This assignment includes several sources of law that must comply by the organisations. In the first task, different roles of the government are included regarding the process of lawmaking. Further, in this task legal system is evaluated with respect to the recent reforms and developments. In task 2, various laws are explained that impacts upon the businesses by analysing the legislation, regulations,and standards. In task 3, in regard to the business problems, several business problems are discussed with appropriate legal solutions to the business with the supported judgments. Further task 4, consists of several legal solutions with respect to the different countries top resolve the business disputes.
LO1
P1 Explain different sources of law and laws that organizations must comply with
The constitution of the UK is unwritten and its legal system is divided into Wales, England,and Scotland. In the legal system of the UK, the parliament is the supreme and topmost authority that comprises of House of Commons and House of Lords. The main purpose of the law is to maintain peace, security,and protection of the people. It protects the freedom and rights and resolves the disputes among the people. The main function of the Parliament is to pass the legislation (Arden, 2016).
Sources of law are the power that determines the validity of the law. These sources bind the courts that assist to take future decisionsare obliged toobey by the organisations are as mentioned below:
Custom- This is one of the oldest law sources. It gives rise to the customs, several usages,and traditions. Customs are important for the settlement of disputes among the people. Customs are those that practiceforms the long term and if any violation of the customs that must be disapproved by society. It is the responsibility of the people is to maintain the order, peace,and law by enforcing the rules that are based on the traditions and the customs. The source of the custom is a very rich source.
Legislation-It the chief and an important source of law. It is the chief sources for the law formulation of the state will. The main purpose of the legislation is to authorize, provide funds, restrict, regulate and to declare. The power of lawmakinga delegate to the lower authorities that includes Bye-laws, statutory instruments,and Council orders. On the other hand, delegated legislation is responsible to delegate the powers of lawmaking to the executives. It also a big source of law. This legislation is work under the legislature power of lawmaking.
Common law- The common law includes usages and principles that are applicable to the security of the property and the people. This law based on the decisions of the court and usages and customs. This law is developed for the court's reputation and provide protection to the rights and property of the people (Burnham, 2016). The decisions of the subsequent court are guided by the decisions of the higher court. These decisions are covered under the principle of Stare Decisis.
European Union- The European Union is the union comprised of both economically and politically that consists of 28 member states. It is the standardized system of law that applies to all the members of the states (Cini, 2016). The main aim of this union is to ensure that the movement of the goods and services are moved freely, maintain the policies on trade, and enact legislation for the justice within the internal market. The laws that are enacted by the EU supersede all the other laws of the Parliament. For example, the regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are issued by the European Union that is applicable to all the member's states of the EU for the protection of the data and information of the organisation.
The act of Parliament- The Parliament of the UK has the power to enact several laws that apply all over the UK. If any non-compliance of the Parliament laws lead to respective penalties that includeCompanies Act, 2006, Equality Act, 2010 etc.
P2 Explain the role of government in law-making and how statutory and common law is applied in the justice courts.
The role of the UK government in the lawmaking process is very crucial. This process begins with the general election by informing the agenda’s of the government and the electors fight against the votes from their supporters. The government is responsible for making new rules and regulations that are passed by the parliament. The governmentis the legislative body to enact the legislation for performing the responsibility to pass the laws. Their role is to implement the law and put them into the action. The role of the government is to make proposals for the new laws and the regulationsthat are passed by the parliament (Rab, 2018).
As several bills are proposed by the Lords and MPs that can be introduced in the Commons an Lords Houses but every it is necessary that every Public Bill for the appropriateaction has to pass by following several stages. These stages are as follows:
The first reading is concern about the introduction of the bill in any of the houses that consist short title that is read out in the chamber of the court. Then an appropriate date for the second reading is given.
After clearing the first hurdle of bill making. Now the second reading consists the first opportunity for the MPs and Lords to think about the areas that need changes and amendment. If the bill is passed in this stage, then the bill is forwarded towards the next stage i.e. committee stage. It is also possible for the MPs and Lords to pass the bill with no debate of the all are agreeing on it.
The next stage is the committee stage where the bill is examined in detail. The chairman of the committee proposed the amendments and the members of the committee voted on the necessary changes that need to be placed. Each and every clause in the bill is agreed by all the members of the committee. No time limit is set for the discussions on the amendment.
After the committee stage, the bill is returned back to the House known as Report stage. This provides an opportunity to reconsider the bill and decisions are revised and consider for further proposed amendments.
After the report stage, this is the final opportunity to vote and debate on the bill. In the stage of third reading, it consists very short debate regarding the further changes in the bill (Taylor and Emir, 2015).
After that amendments are needed to think about and again sent back to the Houses by following the same procedure and it is important that all the members need to agree on the amen dements. When the bill is passed by all the stages and it required the Monarch’s royal assent. After the assent, the bill turns into an act in the law of the UK.
The application of the common law without creating any state expense whereas the statutory laws are the laws that are developed by the state government. Statutory laws cover those areas which are not under the common law.
M1 Evaluate the effectiveness of the legal system in terms of recent reforms and developments.
The efficiency of the legal structurereviews the constant changes that are required for the development of the legal system. Recent developments that affect the legal systems and the judiciary in the field of information and communication technology, commitment towards the delivery to the customers, more courts that deal with the special matters, equal opportunity and enhance the legal education among the public (Rodger, 2018).Recent reforms make the law system of the UK more effective and efficient to resolve the public issues by amending the previous laws and proposed laws.
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P3 Using specific examples illustrate how the company, employment,and contract law has a potential impact upon business.
The impact of the several laws with its potential impact upon the business is explained below:
The company law in the United Kingdom is governing by the Companies Act, 2006.It is important for the company to adapt by the changes in the rules and regulations that are enacted by the government and it is crucial for the company to update with theamendments (Barnes, 2016). In various cases, the government imposed regulations are basically categorised in three categories that include relations of the employees, international trade, taxes and bureaucratic. This is how the rules and regulations affect the operation of the business. Changes include amendments in the taxation policy that is based on the profits earned by the business. Further, the international tariffs on trade impact on the running businesses. The rules and regulations that are imposed by the government are to ensure the health and safety of the employees of the businesses. Several duties of the managing directors need to be performed for the success of the company that isprescribed under section 171 to 177.
The impact of the Employment law affects the business at a greater extent. This law determines the rights of the workers at the occupational place (Countouris, 2016). It ensures the safe environment at the workplace for both the companies and the employees. This law gives protection to the employees regarding the layoffs, terminations and other related issues that affect the employees at the workplace. It also includes:
- For the employees, safety comply with the Data Protection Act
- Time regulations of working
- Provisions regarding sexual harassment
- Leave guidance on maternity, adoption,and paternity
- Equal paylegislation
- Employment terms and conditions
Contract law is the most important part of any business. Most of the relationships of the business determine through contracts (Kotz, 2017). Contract law act as a tool used by the company to safeguard the resources of the business. The guidelines under the law fulfil the expectations of the contractual; parties to resolve the negative situations.
M2 Differentiate and analyse the potential impacts of regulations, legislation,and standards.
To comply with the business processes incorrect and justbehaviourof the business the role and impact of the regulations, legislation,and standardsare very crucial.
Regulations are the specific requirements that are enforced by the regulators. It may generate internally or externally especially in cases of certain industries (Dhingra, et. al., 2016).
Legislations are the directives that are proposed by the legislative body of the head of the state. Theseare generated internally by the government.
Standards are the measures that have to be complying with the rules and regulations to achieve the long-term objectives of the industry.
D1 Provide a coherent and critical evaluation of the legal system and law, with evidence drawn from a range of different relevant examples to support judgments.
The legal system of the United Kingdom consists both the laws of Common as well as statutory laws for the country’s development and growth.According to the provisions of the EnglishLegalSystem, the higher directs the subordinate courts to perform the duties and responsibilitiesthat are specified by the supremecourts. If the subordinate court needs any guidance from the supreme courtsto decide the cases of a similarissue that isresolved in the precedentbeneaththe principle of Stare Decisis(Zvyagina, 2018). In this principle, the higher court recommends the lower court to resolve the cases of similar nature.
LO3
Suggest appropriate legal solutions for a range of business problems e.g. termination of the contract, rescue from insolvency and liquidation
Termination of a contract is one of the crucial aspects of a business as they may result in some sort of discrepancies. The parties are obligated to follow the mutually agreed terms. In case of contract breach, the primary obligations are switched with secondary obligation which can be in terms of monetary value. There are two ways for terminating contract:-
- Any party breach a term or clause in the contract
- Any party refuses to perform an agreed task called renunciation
In case of contract termination, parties can either drag each other in the courtroom or can go for Alternative Dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, arbitration, or negotiation. Out of the two methods, it is suggested to go with the ADR method. These can be helpful as they are time and cost-effective. Both parties can have speedy outcomes of the dispute and can maintain the healthy relationship. However, these methods do not guarantee the solution which on the other hand is provided by the litigation.
Liquidation is the process, wherein the organisation is unable to pay its outstanding debts and the debt is increasing day by day. The creditors have the right to go to the court and seek payment of their amount given to the company. Talking about the rescue from the liquidation, the company should go for voluntary liquidation instead of compulsory liquidation. The Creditor Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) is the process taken up by insolvent organisation in which the liquidation process is under control of creditors. The assets of the company are not ceased and directors still have the powers to take the decision regarding the company. The CVL is preferred over Compulsory liquidation.
a)The rule of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is issued to protect the data by the directives of the European Union (Heuck, et. al., 2017).This regulation ensures the safety and protection of the data that is collected from the customers, employees or any other people. It is crucial that employers must abide by the regulations for data security.
As per the given issue, if the data collected by the businesses before the applicability of the GDPR then the respective authorities have to meet legal obligations, seek legal advice and consent for the unambiguous data processing. There are several legal obligations that must comply with the serviceproof, for the purpose of the contract, situation of life or death, a matter related to public interest or in the order of the public authority.
With the above discussions, it is concluded that the businesses have to put their data according to the GDPR to prevent fraud where the data need to be held by the multiple bodies.
- b) In the given case, with an increase in the National Living Wage for the aged employees in the businesses that do not reimburse the accurate wages to their workers and are ashamed by the government that needs to reimbursewithout delay by the businesses.
According to the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, it states that the wages rise from £7.83 to £7.50 on 1 April 2018. It applies to the employees aged below 25 and for those who are between the age of 21 to 24 the new rate is between the £7.05 and £7.38 per hour and for those who are between the age of 18 to 20 the rate is between the £5.60 and £5.90 per hour. The rate is paid to the apprentice will increase from £3.50 to £3.70 per hour.
As per the provisions of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations, 2018, the small and medium-sizedenterprises have to pay fines if they do not pay the adequate wages to their workers (Jarrett, 2018).
According to the provisions,as discussed below, it concludes that the small and medium enterprises abide by the guidelines of the national increasing wage and they have to provide wages to their workers according to the provisions mentioned in the regulations.
c)It is mandatory to publish the report based on the information that depicts the difference between the man and the woman and investigates those employees who not succeed to issue the relevant data. On the other hand, smallbusinessisexcused which consists of employees of less than 250 are not required to publish the requireddata (Demirguc-Kunt, et. al., 2018). The Gender Pay Gap reporting regulationsrequired to publish the data on the gender pay gap on the websites of the government as well as on their own websites. Most of the employers of the public sector follow the guidelines of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.In the private sector, the employees must follow the guidelines of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.
- d) According to the current corporate laws in the UK, the companies are allowed to have a corporate director in the board of directors of the company.The Small Business, Enterprise,and Employment Act 2015 is now put the restriction on the employment of the corporate directors because it prevails lack of transparency and accountability in the business environment (Bell, et. al., 2018). The main aim behind this is to increase the level of trust in the environment of the business forsuccessful growth and development. But the term is not clear of the corporate directors.
e)As per the provisions of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 which aim is to ensure that in the UK the bill of the European Union is no longer applied. It is important for the enterprises to recognize the implication of this regulation.This law affects the international transactions and border control is that includes the movement of the goods. It requires the government to take approval from the MPs if the parliament rejected the deal of the Brexit.
P5 Provide justifications for the use of appropriate legal solutions.
In the case of contract breach, the mediation can be the best way to resolve the issue. The reason being is that mediation will consume lesser time to resolve the issue and will provide viable solution. In addition to this, the cost bear by both parties is very reasonable and does not cost much in comparison to the traditional litigation. The resolutions turn out to be better than the litigation. In addition to this, the matter can remain confidential and parties can keep their repute unaffected. In addition to this, litigation does not allow a control over the outcome of the whole process which is possible in mediation process.
In the second case, CVL is recommended because it can stop legal actions taken up by creditors who are seeking their money back. In addition to this, once the liquidator is appointed, then the liquidator will be dealing with creditors not the company’s directors. This can relief the director. In addition to this, the assets will not be ceased by the court and therefore, directors can put their money in new business and can easily pay their debts from the earning of new business. In addition to this, the company will have more time for the liquidation and hence, prepare itself for the end.
- As per specified issue, it is recommended to the businesses to make certain the defence of the data of their employees byconsidering the rule of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Before complying with this regulation it is important for the businesses to take legal advice in the matters related to the public interest so as to prevent fraud.
- In the issue related to the increase in the National Living Wage has to comply by the employers of the business organisation according to the regulation of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 that deals with the employees of every agein the organisation. It is crucial for the enterprises to provide wages to the workers according to the regulations.
- To publish the database report on the gender pay gap that required investigating those employers who are not provided to publish the required data by following the guidelines according to the Gender Pay Gap reporting regulations. In the public sector, Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017it requires toprovide protection to the employees against the unfair payment receive according to their ages in comparison to the other person belonging to the similar ages.
- According to the Small Business, Enterprise,and Employment Act 2015, it is justified for the people of the UK so as to bring transparency and accountability to the organisation. Now the government prefers to natural persons only to run the corporations and only permitted in special circumstances.
- According to the given scenario, it is important to control over the international transactions and before doing this deal it is important for the UK government to consult with the parliament according to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, 2018. As it assists the traders to strike the trade deals and able to challenge the powerful owners, politicians,and
M3 Assess the positive and negative impacts of legal solutions to business problems.
- As per the legal solution, the rule of General Data Protection Regulation is crucial because it provides personal data protection of the employees. But on the other hand, to make changes according to this regulation becomes the challenge for the big companies
- With respect to the legal solution, the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations, 2018play a very crucial role to provide sufficient wages to the employees with respect to their ages. But on the other hand,thegovernment impose fines on the companies who are pay wages to their workers according to these guidelines (Parker, 2018).
- As per the given scenario, the applicability of the Gender Pay Gap reporting regulations is justified as it maintains the gender equality in the organisation by abolishing the discriminating activities that prevail in theorganisation. It assists to the employers who are failed to publish the data.
- According to the information given in the scenario the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 assist to bring the transparency to the organisation by banning the corporate directors. But on the other hand, the terms up to which the directors are banned are not clear.
- In this scenario, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, assist the traders to strike the trade deals and able to challenge the powerful owners, politicians,and But it affects the procedure of the small businesses and their operations.
D2 Critically review and evaluate the use of appropriate legal solutions in comparison with alternative legal advice.
The use of the suitable legal solution in comparison with the alternate legal advice as the ADR has several benefits that include:
- Faster
- Flexible
- Compensation receive
- Court solutions are cheaper
- Less stressful
To resolve the dissolute between the parties related to the above-mentioned issues related cases the arbitration is recommended. In this method, the resolution of disputes held outside the courts by giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the disputed parties with mutual consent (Volkov, 2018). It helps the people to resolve the problems by providing confidential and independent advice with proper guidance and providing essential claims.
LO4
P6 Recommend legal solutions based upon a different country’s legal system and/or a different legal framework.
According to certainscenarios,the first case includes resolving the issues related to the changes in the regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation. In the second case, the issue of increment of the national living wage on 1stApril 2018. Further in the third casethe failure of the employees to publish on the basis of differences between the pay of man and woman. In the fourth case, the issue of the prohibition on corporate directors in this regard the implementation date is not clear. In the last case, the issue is related with the withdrawal of the EU bill that impacts on the operations of the small and medium enterprises. Cases related to theseissues thatneed to be resolved by the Alternate dispute resolution mechanism through arbitration (Gill, et. al., 2014).This is the fastest technique to resolve the issue outside the courts.
In the first and second case, it is recommended that issues can be resolved with the help of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The alternate dispute mechanism is recommended because it has several benefits includes:
- Involve the contribution of the parties in the procedure of litigation
- Saves time and money
- Dispute resolved quickly
- Keep the parties information confidential
There are several methods to resolve the dispute between the parties outside the court is mentioned below:
Arbitration- This method is concern about the resolution of disputes between the partiers by appointing the person known as an arbitrator. The award specified by the arbitrator is known as an award. In this process, it is the responsibility of the arbitrator to keep the information of the disputed parties confidential and act impartially while resolving the disputes.
Conciliation-This method includes the resolution of the disputes through settlement or compromise between the disputedparties by avoiding the process of litigation. This method is less costly and saves time without any risk to the reputation.
Mediation-This is the process that assists the parties to resolve the issues with the help of the mediator. This mechanism reduces the burden of the court and saves time.
Negotiation- This method of ADR resolve the disputes between the parties through settlement and negotiations by the negotiator. The negotiator is the one who discusses the matter with the parties and settles the matter with the mutual consent of both the parties.
The legal system of the United Kingdom and India
Basis
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The legal system of India
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The legal system of the United Kingdom
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Form of constitution
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Written form
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Not in the written form
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Fundamental duties
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Fundamental duties are present
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Fundamental duties are absent
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Flexibility and Rigidity
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The Indian constitution is both flexible and rigid
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The British constitution is not flexible but it is rigid
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Constitution size
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Indian constitution is the biggest constitution at a global level
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The British constitution is not large in comparison to India
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M4 Compare and contrast the effectiveness of these recommendations
According to the aforementioned provisions of the Alternative Dispute Resolution, it is recommended that the dispute resolved by the process of arbitration (Amanor and Ubink, 2018). As in this process, the awards provided by the arbitrator are binding on the parties, as this process speedier process and involves low cost. It maintains the information of the parties confidential. This method resolves the disputes between the parties by providing the reasonable opportunity of being heard to the parties and give award with the mutual consent of the parties in the case of changes in the GDPR and in the case of an increase in the national living wage.
D3Evaluate the effectiveness of the legal solutions, legal advice,and support for dispute resolution.
Legal solutions, legal advice,and support play a very crucial role to resolve the disputes between the disputed parties. The appropriate rules and regulations provide legal support to resolve the issues between the disputed parties and take appropriate advice and reference of the previous cases. With this, individuals are satisfied with justice.
Apart from that, it reduces the number of litigations that are based on noncompliance and in monetary terms it regulates the provision of the fines and penalties.
Conclusion
With the abovementioned discussions, this assignment provides knowledge to the learners about the government role in the lawmaking process. With the help of specific examples, this project provides brief knowledge about the several laws that have an impacton the organisations. Alternate dispute resolutions provide alternate methods to resolve the disputes between the parties without following wide court procedures. This project also assists the business staff to educate the employees to fight against the discrimination activities that prevail in the organisation. The main aim of this project is to educate the employees about their rights and responsibilities to ensure security and safety of the employees.
References
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