This is the fourth assignment for Unit 36- Starting a Small Business. I achieved a DISTINCTION in this assignment and an overall grade of D*D*D* (highest grade possible) Please DO NOT copy, but please use it as a guide as it will help you pass. Good Luck with your course!
P4 - In the world of business there are going to be laws and regulations that are going to
impact me negatively if I don’t acknowledge them and follow them.
As a sole trader this means that I will run the business alone and although when things are
going my way and I receive all the profits it also means that when things turn sour, I am
held responsible. This is due to unlimited liability meaning if I was in debt and owed
people or a business money; then they would be entitled to it by whatever means
possible; this could lead to some of my personal belongings being sold in order to create
the funds and I am in no position to complain as I knew already the vulnerability I was
under. Looking at the business from a financial aspect, I feel keeping the running costs
going will be a task in itself as they are a regular payment (usually monthly) which
consistently need to be paid in order to keep the business open. I will be at a massive
financial loss at the very beginning due to start- up costs and buying assets so this is why I
must price my products accordingly at a price which is convenient to the customers but
also a price which down the line will make me my money back. When pricing I could use
different pricing methods, as well as using a cash flow forecast which would tell me
whether I am on track to making a profit or a loss by the end of the year.
As the owner this would put the responsibility of hiring staff on my shoulders. Under the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 this means I cannot judge a person just on their gender. So
when hiring people I can’t simply say “oh she’s a woman so won’t know nothing about
boxing, I’m not going to hire her.” This term is sexist and if I ever said that to a woman
under my employment then I would be liable to many consequnces. As a recruiter, I am
obliged to treat men, women and transgender all the same and allow them to have equal
opportunities. A law that is quite similar to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is the Race
Relation Act 1970 which ensures no person is treated differently because of their race,
whether that being the colour of their skin, what they believe in etc. People should be
given the same opportunities as one another and skin colour should not play a factor.
The next act is The Disability Discrimination Acts 1955 which was amended in 2005 which
focuses on ending discrimination towards those who have a disability whether that being
visible or not. This means I must give opportunities to those with a disability as I would to
those who had no disability at all. This is because some disabled people can do jobs
perfectly fine, but some employers don’t give them the chance and just assume that they
are useless which is wrong and cruel. The European Working Time Directive is an act which
allows employees to have a minimum amount of time off work for holidays, rest breaks
and the right to not work for longer than 48 hours if they do not want to. Before
employing staff I need to make them aware of their rights so they don’t feel
underappreciated and used. As a result of this I now need to take into account how many
staff I should employ because once an employee books a holiday I need to quickly fill in for
their absence by having another staff member on standby, if I don’t have staff ready then
I could be running the shop alone.
When paying staff, I have to pay them the national minimum wage. This of course is all
dependants on their age and increases as the age gap increases. Employees are entitled to
the minimum wage for every wage slip they get and can press charges if they don’t. The
Data Protection Act 1998 also pressures me to keep both my employees and customers’
, Jay Healy
P4 & M3
information protected and that I can’t give the information without the consent of that
person. It also means that I am obliged to keep certain information protected about the
business as well as myself, employees will be notified of what documents that are not
allowed to be shown so they know not to ask to see them.
Health and Safety is also another thing that I must consider, under the Health and Safety
at Work Act 1974 it is my responsibility to keep the work environment tidy and safe for
both my employees and customers. To know for sure that the store is safe, I should be
regularly carrying out risk assessments making sure that they are all up to date and that
all policies are put in place correctly. Fire danger is a huge concern; I must have a
minimum of three fire exits and fire extinguishers across the shop floor of my business in
order for it to be deemed safe. Staff should all be made aware of where these can be
located and also be shown how to use a fire extinguisher so they know exactly what to do
when one breaks out.
M3
Legal statuses will have an impact on my business, because the government make them
and they’re official this means I have to abide by them otherwise I’m going to get caught
quite rapidly. As a sole trader one of the major instructions I would have to do is notify
the HM Revenue and Customs telling them that I am a sole trader so they can register my
business down as a sole trader ownership. Any laws that I don’t follow will have major
implications, the government won’t be hesitant to take money away from me whether
that being from fines or taking some of my assets. This would hurt my business massively
as I need as much money as I can get in order to use for other areas of the business such
as buying products, or fixing damages.
Like all businesses I must follow my ‘Trading terms and conditions’. Customers must be
aware of the terms and conditions so they know what they can and can’t do. I must also
keep a document readily printed to show my customers if they challenge me, this is
because if a customer he or she believes they are entitled to a refund but I don’t deem, I
can show them the my trading terms and conditions and I will get my own way. However if
I don’t provide this document, the customer is then even more entitled to their refund as I
am saying something but am not able to back it up. Of course this would create conflict
between myself and the customer, I would most likely lose this customer from any future
purchases but also the confrontation doesn’t make it a nice atmosphere for other
customers in the store, so as the owner I must calm the situation down, if the customer is
shouting then I need to calm them down and resolve it quickly otherwise those customers
who are simply in store having a browse may not come back either.
Having unlimited liability puts my business at major risk. As the owner more than me than
the staff as everything rest on my shoulders. If I was to go into administration or went in
debt then it would be me responsible to pay it off; if I didn’t have the money then my
personal belongings would be forcefully sold in order to create the funds needed. Not only
is that an implication in itself, these belongings could also be taken from the business
meaning the efficiency of how the business operates would be dramatically worse so
earning money becomes that much more difficult to do. To follow on from this, whoever I
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