Peninsula Business Services launches Peninsula Channel Islands

Peninsula Business Services, the UK's largest employment law consultancy is pleased to offer its portfolio of services to businesses in the Channel Islands through the launch of Peninsula Channel Islands.

November 7, 2011 (FPRC) -- Peninsula Business Services the UK's largest employment law consultancy is pleased to launch a new employment law and health & safety consultancy service in the Channel Islands. Sammual James McLoughlin, Head of PR for Peninsula Business Services spoke to director, Kevin Golder.

Sammual James McLoughlin: Peninsula Channel Islands has been set up to support businesses in the Channel Islands in becoming compliant with employment law and health & safety. With this in mind, exactly how complex is employment law in the Channel Islands?

Kevin Golder: Over the last 10 years or so Channel Islands has embraced employment legislation and gradually introduced a comprehensive array of legislation with more on the horizon. The red tape that businesses face is growing on a regular basis and Peninsula Channel Islands are here to take the worry of Employment Law and Health & Safety away, so that business owners can get on with what they do best; running their business.

- Are there new HR/employment laws set to be introduced?

Yes, Jersey in particular has Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment under discussion, as is Maternity; and laws will be introduced shortly. In the meantime codes of practice exist as a way of ensuring consistency in the absence of a specific law. These up and coming changes will have a huge affect on businesses and it is important that they are up to date on the proposed changes so that they can plan their business and workforce around it.

- Why do employers need to take the laws seriously? Are there penalties for non compliance? How severe are they?

All employers are expected to adhere to best practice via specific legislation and/or codes of practice. Employer sanctions are dished out via the courts and Employment Tribunals. Jersey and Guernsey are both highly regulated financial centres and all employers, whether directly involved within this industry or not, are expected to uphold the reputation of the islands via best practice across all HR disciplines. Small companies that typically do not have a HR professional in house will benefit immensely from the Peninsula offering for all HR admin and Health & Safety compliance, and this will become one less worry for their business. Businesses in the Channel Islands that take advantage of Peninsula’s services can rest assured that their documentation and policies will be water tight, so that non compliance will be a thing of the past.

- What are the long term employment prospects for Peninsula Channel Islands? Will jobs be created in the future?

Yes, at first we will employ a small number of staff to help get the business up and running. However, as the business grows we will definitely be looking to recruit more employees from the local area to help drive Peninsula Channel Islands forward.

- Has the recession meant job losses in the Channel Islands?

The Channel Islands have not been immune from the recession and unemployment is a real issue here for the first time in many years. Employers have been making staff redundant or laying-off and this is expected to continue, albeit in relatively small numbers.

- Why is it important for Channel Islands employers to get the disciplinary / redundancy process right?

If a business fails to follow correct guidelines for redundancy or disciplinary they could be faced with very costly tribunals. The last thing businesses want at the minute is time consuming and costly tribunals hanging over their heads. Using Peninsula Channel Islands services will ensure that businesses can get on with running their business and leave all the technical legal stuff to us.

- If an employer has questions will they be answered by specialists in the Channel Islands?

Yes, questions they will be answered quickly and pragmatically via a 24 hour help line by a Channel Islands specialist. It is important that Jersey and Guernsey employers are in contact with HR specialists who understand the local market. Therefore a local number has been set up that will be directly dealt with by Jersey and Guernsey specialists. Whatever your question regarding Employment Law or Health & Safety in the Channel Islands, our advisors will be able to provide understandable advice to help resolve your issues. The office in the Channel Islands can be contacted on 01481729875.

- If you are a small business, what help and assistance can Peninsula Channel Islands provide?

This is pretty much the fundamental question and protecting small businesses is one of our major aims. There are many trading entities from the FTSE 100 companies all the way down to the 1 man band. Every single employer is caught up in legislation and this is can prove very time consuming and also confusing. Small companies in particular are looking at ways of reducing the administrative burden of dealing with all local legislation, which includes the following:

· Companies need to have a written health and safety policy.
· Written Statement of Employment must be given to employees.
· Minimum Rest Periods and Annual Leave
· Minimum Wage
· Payment of Wages
· Termination of Employment
· Unfair Dismissal
· Fixed Term Contracts

Businesses should be wary of all of the above legislation, as failure to comply could lead to heavy penalties. By trusting Peninsula to take care of employment law and health & safety issues, businesses in the Channel Islands can focus on growing their business whilst they leave all the complicated stuff to us.

- Why does Peninsula Business Services see the Channel Islands as a natural progression?

The services offered by Peninsula include an insurance indemnity and advocate support if you really do get it wrong and are designed to reduce the burden of “HR Risk and compliance” for all employers. We want to help businesses in the Channel Islands comply with the legislation. The Channel Islands has a large population of relatively small companies who will benefit from this support, allowing them to focus on developing the sales and profitability of their business whilst knowing that they have outsourced employment and health & safety issues in a cost effective and totally compliant way.

- What role will you and Mathew Beale play in the new company?

As I said earlier, Jersey and Guernsey are considered amongst the most robustly regulated offshore financial centres in the world. Mathew and I are both integrated into the local business community so understand the business environment and can provide pragmatic advice based on this. Peninsula Channel Islands will therefore also be integrated into the local business community as a highly professional and cost effective provider of HR and Health & Safety services.

For more information please contact Sammual James McLoughlin at Peninsula Business Services, on 0161 827 8511

Send an email to Sammual James McLoughlin of Peninsula Business Services
0161 827 8511

Keywords: Peninsula, Employment law, Consultancy

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