What are the pros and cons of employment law?

Employment law encompasses the substantial group of rules that deal with the employer-employee relationship of which the key subjects are discrimination, pay of wages, benefits, hiring/firing, workplace safety, paid time off, and etc. Labor legislation are in making to preserve employees and create equality in the workplace, but at the same time employers are faced with strict responsibilities as well as constraints. Employment laws have the same effect as other regulations having positive and negative sides.

Also read: What are the pros and cons of employment law in California?

Potential Pros

- Prevents discrimination: Employers cannot discriminate against the employment of employees and job candidates upon characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, religion, age and disability which are protected by the Employment Act. This contributes towards bringing more job opportunities for people at an equal platform.

- Establishes minimum standards: Laws impose minimal standards for salary, work security, family leave and so forth. This means having a pay structure and working environment for all employees which is just and hospitable.

- Allows recourse for employees: Through legal processes, employees may raise a claim of harassment, discrimination or wage theft for unlawful acts. They are ready to bring complaints and file lawsuits to claim corrective actions, damages, or other reliefs and remedies.

- Encourages good-faith employment practices: The fear of litigation or sanctions causes employers to promptly comply with regulations and to treat their people fairly.

Potential Cons

- Creates administrative burdens: Adhering with work regulations is a time and resource consuming process for documentation of paperwork, tracking of employee hours, posting of notices, etc. which is the most difficult when it comes to smaller enterprises.

- Causes hiring anxieties: Other employers fear that after they hire someone, when they need some kind of disciplinary actions or even firing them, they will be pressed with a lot of lawsuits. In such scenario, the choice to hire will become even more stressing.

- Reduces flexibility: Strictly discipline at the decisions involving working hours, leave days, and any other constraints would minimize employers' liberty of structuring work hours and duties based on their requirement.

- Increases costs: The law might even require employers to afford more benefits, a higher wage, to provide safety accommodations and risk of lawsuits or fines raises labor costs. In some cases, these price increases could lead to customers or workers absorbing some part of these expenses.

The above discussion makes it clear that there are diverse issues between the protection of employees on the one hand and the case of employers/businesses on the other. This task relates to finding the right equilibrium point, and the issue of what regulating parameters and policies should be remains a subject of the heated dispute. Usually, the process of change is sluggish and sloping, as the beliefs, economy, and the system as a whole sway.