LO2: Illustrate the potential impact of the law on a business

Specific examples illustrate how company, employment and contract law has a
potential impact upon business. (P3)

Legislation will govern, based on the type of business which is formed. The
Regulations to this particular piece of legislation for instance will provide. The
standards however, may be stipulated by the Companies Office.

The impact of Law:

Contract law e.g. the formation of contracts, the elements and terms of
contract-
The formation of the contract is where the contractual journey begins; if no
contract is formed, neither of the parties can be under any obligations. Therefore, it
is very important to have an understanding of each part of a contract’s formation.

In order for a legally binding agreement to be formed, there are four basic
requirements to be met

There are 4 elements of contract –

1. Offer

2. Acceptance

3. Consideration

4. Legality

The initial offer and acceptance will form an agreement. This is not legally binding
unless there is consideration, intention to create legal relations, and consideration.
The sections following this introduction will explore each of the core requirements
in turn, ensuring you have a comprehensive understanding of them and their
relation to each other.
Terms of contract set out duties of each party under that agreement. The terms will
be of two kinds:
1. Express terms: these are laid down by the parties themselves
2. Implied terms: these are read into the contract by the court on the basis of
the nature of the agreement and the parties.

Competition Law:

A core objective of competition law is to prohibit firms for engaging in conduct

which will distort the competitive process and harm competition by, for example,
preventing firms from indulging in anti-competitive agreements, preventing firms
with a powerful position on a market from abusing their market power.
UK and EU competition law prohibit two main types of anti-competitive activity:
 anti-competitive agreements (under the Chapter I / Article 101
prohibitions); 
 and abuse of a dominant market position (under the Chapter II / Article 102
prohibitions).

Data Protection
Key pieces of information that are commonly stored by businesses, be that
employee records, customer details, loyalty schemes, transactions,
or data collection, needs to be protected. This is to prevent that data being misused
by third parties for fraud, such as phishing scams, and identity theft.

The tort of negligence, consumer protection, health and safety and product
liability
The Tort of Negligence is a legal wrong that is suffered by someone at the hands of
another who fails to take proper care to avoid what a reasonable person would
regard as a foreseeable risk
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services,
for example, the U.K. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls itself “the
world's premier consumer protection regulatory agency.” 
Health & safety is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of
their employees and other people who might be affected by their business.
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers
and retailers are held responsible for any injury’s products cause.

Duties of employer and employee e.g. the employment contract, employer

obligations and employee rights in the work place.

An organization's first responsibility is to provide a job to employees. Beyond this

fundamental responsibility, employers must provide a clean, safe working
environment. Employees should be treated with honesty and respect.
Employers that make promises to their employees about pay, benefits, promotions,
and responsibilities should honour those promises.

Managing cases of dismissal, redundancy, discrimination, health and safety.

Dismissing employees or making them redundant can be difficult at the best of

times. But it gets worse if you are taken to an employment tribunal to face a claim
of unfair or wrongful dismissal. Following the right procedures helps protect your
business and minimise the risk of a legal dispute.