ZAINUB RAEESAH KITCHIL.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude towards my lecturer Ms. Gayani Rajapaksha
and Ms. Razeena Razick for conducting the Harvard Referencing Session that educated and
helped me on how to complete my assignment successfully.
And I would also like to thank my parents for helping me complete the assignment within the
limited time period successfully.

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 CONTENTS.

SCENARIO 1
Introduction to the organization. 05
The legal system. 06

Sources of law. 07
Role of government in law making. 08
Key legislations of a new business. 09
Potential implication of law on a business. 10
SCENARIO 2
What is parliament? 13
Statutory and common law. 15
Recent reforms and developments of the legal system. 17
Impact of Company, Employment and Contract law of the business. 19
Business problems and legal solutions. 22
Business problems in the legal framework of Sri Lanka. 23
Conclusion. 24
References. 25

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SCENARIO 1

4
 Plank.
A Sustainable Furniture Store.

We are a sustainable furniture manufacturing company located in the heart of United

Kingdom being London. Our company manufactures and designs modern, contemporary
and sustainable furniture items which would be able to fulfill every need of the customer. We
also use the best and finest quality of Timber to produce our furniture items.
Our main Aim is to build eco-friendly furniture which customers would be able to use for a
long time. The Purpose is through building eco-friendly furniture we would be able to help
save and conserve the environment. The Objective of our company is to improve the
understanding of sustainable manufacturing for the future.
Vision of Plank.
“To be the leading international furniture manufacturer offering sustainable and innovative
products to the customer.”
Mission of Plank.
“We are committed to provide the highest standard of furniture for the value of money spent
by the customers. We are also concerned with producing the highest quality products while
having the main focus on sustainability and durability.”

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THE LEGAL SYSTEM.

The legal system is the body of the government that makes the laws. This can also be
known as the parliament. The parliament of United Kingdom consists of three part, being the
House of commons, House of lords and the Monarch. So, if the government have any bills to
be passed it should go through all of these elements and only would become a law or act.
The justice system of the United Kingdom has a court structure which consists of the
Supreme court, Court of appeal, Divisional court and the High court. Any disputes faced by
businesses or people can be solved through these courts but the most effective method to
solve any problems would be through the out of court settlement system. This is the system
which allows us to solve our problems without going to courts and publicizing our business
problems to the world. By having an out of court settlement, we would be able to avoid bad
publicity and also not tarnish the business name.
Some other methods through which the resolution of disputes can be done is through,
Arbitration, Mediation, Conciliation, Med-arb, Ombudsmen and through Regulators.
Arbitration is the legal technique in which a dispute is resolved without involving the courts.
The two parties abide by the decision made by the arbitrator and comes to an agreement.
This is generally used for commercial matters.
“Arbitration is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the
parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral
tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound.” (HG, 2019)
Mediation is the process where a third party help the two parties in the legal dispute to
reach an agreement and solve their differences. More common in divorce or discrimination
cases.
“Mediation law refers to a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in which the parties to
a lawsuit meet with a neutral third-party in an effort to settle the case.” (HG, 2019)
Conciliation is also similar to mediation. In this process also a third party helps to solve the
dispute and come to an agreement.
“A form of alternate dispute resolution (ADR) in which a neutral third-party hears both sides
and then issues a non-binding suggested resolution.” (Duhaime, 2019)
Med-arb is the dispute solving method which is a combination of mediation and arbitration.
In this method first, an independent person will try to solve the problem but if it fails the
parties will refer to an arbitrator to solve their problem.
“A form of arbitration in which the arbitrators start as a mediator but in the event of a failure
of mediation, the arbitrator imposes a binding decision.” (Duhaime, 2019)
Ombudsmen is a kind of an independent referee, they listen to the complaints of the parties
in the dispute and would then carry out an investigation or a small inquiry to see the matter
and try to solve it.
“Appointed by governments to investigate complaints from citizens against large
organizations (e.g. public bodies, corporations, the media). Typically, ombudsmen have
wide-ranging investigative authority, but their punitive powers tend to be limited.”
(LawDictionary, 2019)

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Regulators are the people who regulate the ombudsmen. They do not deal with the
complaints directly but instead would investigate if the company have dealt with the problem

SOURCES OF LAW.
Law is a binding custom or a practice which is practiced by the people and the country. Law
can also be called as a system of rules used to solve the problems of the people.
“A system of rules to solve people’s problems and these are imposed by the supreme
authority and recognized by citizens as regulating their conduct and interaction.”
(Ranasinghe, 2019)
The sources of law can also be mainly divided into two types. Which are,

Common law.

Sources of law.

Civil law.

Common law is the law that is developed over a number or a period of years and it is also
the law enacted by the legislations. This law is also known as the judge made law since it
was developed by the judges. The common law was evolved during the practices of the
English kings and it was developed due to the changing social needs and improved
understandings of the people.
The common law is important because the judges are needed or necessary to make the
rulings in court. Each case of a common law becomes a precedent or a guideline when
solving or hearing a case similar to this.
“In a common law system, judges are obliged to make their rulings as consistent as
reasonably possible with previous judicial decisions on the same subject. The Constitution
accepted most of the English common law as the starting point for American law. Each case
decided by a common law court becomes a precedent, or guideline, for subsequent
decisions involving similar disputes.” (Public Health Law, 2009)
Th common law also uses the equity principle in their process. The equity principle is used to
cover the gaps which were failed to be covered through the common law. Equity means to
fair and just. So therefore, the judge when following the common law only sticks to what
have been used in the before cases which would be unfair to the person, so therefore by
using the equity principle in here the judge could come up with fair decisions and guidelines.
An example of common law would be the rules made by a judge that requires the people to
read the contracts.
Civil law is the law which is based on the Roman law and used mainly in most of the
European countries. Civil law could also be known as the written law. These are also known
as the acts enacted by the parliament. This is also the body of law that protects the rights of
the citizens in the country.
“Civil law is a body of rules that defines and protects the private rights of citizens, offers legal
remedies that may be sought in a dispute, and covers areas of law such as contracts, torts,
property and family law. Civil law is derived from the laws of ancient Rome which used

7
doctrines to develop a code that determined how legal issues would be decided.” (Legal
Dictionary, 2014)
Some examples of civil law are murder, theft, assault and drunk driving etc.

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN LAW MAKING.

The government plays a very important role in law making. The United Kingdom government
is the highest legislation body in the whole country. Therefore, making laws is one of their
main functions. The United Kingdom parliament also consist of three parts. Which are, The
House of commons, House of lords and the Monarch, so to make a law it should be passed
through these three elements
First before a law is made it is known as a bill. Which needs to be passed to the House of
commons and the House of lords. Then after the bill have been passed through both the
houses it is then sent to the Monarch to get the ascent. Only then is the law made.
Therefore, we could see the influence the government have in law making.
Since our furniture manufacturing company is a newly start up company we have to enact or
practice certain laws and acts in order to conduct the business activities in a correct way.
Using the tax law and the company law would be very much necessary for the business.
We would need to have the Health and safety act, the discrimination act, the equal pay act,
the vicarious liability act in our business for it to be a success. Because only through having
all these acts we would be able to protect the employees and also keep them satisfied with
the job they are doing.
By having the health and safety and the equal pay act we could ensure that the employees
are treated fairly and properly with respect while also having a safe and secure environment
to work in. having the vicarious liability act will also ensure that no matter what accident
happen to the employee within or outside the work place while he is working they would get
a compensation.
Because if we don’t have any such laws in our business no employee would want to work
with us and also, we would not get customers to the business which would ultimately result
in a loss for us.

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KEY LEGISLATIONS OF A NEW BUSINESS.

A key legislation is a statutory which has been enacted by the government body as an
enforcement method. Every new business at the start should have legislations, and these
legislations would mostly impact the employment, the consumers and the competitors of the
business.
“Legislation is one of the most important instruments of government in organizing society
and protecting citizens. It determines amongst others the rights and responsibilities of
individuals and authorities to whom the legislation applies.” (De Jager, 2000)
The key legislation in our business are the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire safety)Regulations
and the Work Health and Safety act.
FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS (FIRE SAFETY) REGULATIONS.
The Furniture and Furnishings regulation is used to state that all the components used to
make the furniture items are meeting the specified ignition levels of the country and
company. By having this legislation in our business, we are able to say that our products are
completely safe and meeting all the standards needed for a furnishing company.
“The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989, 1993
and 2010) set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and
other products containing upholstery.” (Fire Safe Advice Center, 2011)
Our furniture manufacturing store also uses this legislation which would help the customers
in knowing that we produce safe and non-harmful products.
WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT.
The Work health and safety act provides a context to protect the employee’s health, safety
and welfare while they are working in the business. This act also protects the public so that
their health is not risked through the business activities done by the company.
“The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the WHS Act) provides a framework to protect the
health, safety and welfare of all workers at work. It also protects the health and safety of all
other people who might be affected by the work. The WHS Act also provides protection for
the general public so that their health and safety is not placed at risk by work activities.”
(WorkCover, 2018)
Our furniture company uses this legislation so as to provide the employees a safe working
place which would not harm their health and also protect the public areas and people
surrounding our factories.

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POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF LAW ON A BUSINESS.

Potential implications or changes in law can happen in businesses all the time due to the
massively changing business practices and laws. So therefore, when the business law
changes that means a change in the way we are doing our business practices can also
change. So therefore, we have to always be up to date with the changing business or
government laws.
These potential implications could mainly affect three main areas. Which are, the Contract
law, Employment law and the Company law.
Our business under the company law becomes a sole proprietorship company. This means
that the business is owned by a single owner and also the capital needed to start the
business is also only invested by the owner. By having sole proprietorship business, the
owner does not have to spend a lot of time making decisions but instead the decisions can
be made very quickly and swiftly. In the its only the owner who gets to enjoy all the profits
and also bear the losses of the business. Also, these businesses could either use the
business owners name or have their own legal personality.
The employment law is the law which is used to protect the rights of the employees in the
organization and is also used to form a secure relationship between the employees and
employers. Some of the employment law regulations used in a business are, the Duties of
an employee, the Duties of an employer and Vicarious liability.
Duties of an employer are the acts that state the various things or responsibilities the
employer should have towards the employees in the organization. some of the main duties
of the employer towards the employee is to provide them remuneration for the work done, to
give employees holidays and paid holidays, to provide the relevant work to the employees,
to be liable to all the injuries the employees get within the company and working hours.
“Employers have a duty of care to their employees, which means that they should take all
steps which are reasonably possible to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing.
Demonstrating concern for the physical and mental health of your workers shouldn't just be
seen as a legal duty - there's a clear business case, too. It can be a key factor in building
trust and reinforcing your commitment to your employees, and can help improve staff
retention, boost productivity and pave the way for greater employee engagement.” (acas,
2012)
Duties of an employee states that the employee must obey and respect all the terms in the
contract of employment. And should also cooperatively and faithfully do all the relevant tasks
given in the organization. another important thing is that the employee should not disclose
the business secrets with outside parties or rival businesses as that is something going
against the contract of employment.
“Employee roles depend on the scope of the job as defined by the employer's manual and
training and as they are explained when the employee accepts the position. It is the job
responsibility of human resources personnel to provide all relevant information about the
requirements of a position during a new employee's onboarding process. It is the

10
employee's responsibility to listen and to read and absorb this information to prepare for
employment with the company.” (Gartenstein, 2019)
Vicarious liability is the act that states that the employer should be liable to all the injuries
caused to the employee during the course of employment. Th principle applies even if the
injury was to the employee or a outside party. If the injury is caused to an outside party then
the employee who caused it and the employer both are liable, even though this may seem
unfair to the employer it is based on the principles of law and policy.
“ Vicarious liability refers to a situation where someone is held responsible for the actions or
omissions of another person. In a workplace context, an employer can be liable for the acts
or omissions of its employees, provided it can be shown that they took place in the course of
their employment.” (acas, 2019)
The contract law is the law which relates to making contracts and agreements between two
or more parties and the business. The contract law is also governed under the common law.
And for a contract to take place between two or more parties it should consists or
compromise of six elements which are, Offer, Acceptance, Consideration, Intend to have
legal force, Legal capacity and the Legality of the contract.
Three of the most important elements of the contract law for our company would be the
Offer, Acceptance and the Consideration.
Offer is the process of making a request to establish an agreement. This is the most
important or the first step in creating a contract among business and customers. “An offer is
the initial spark of a contract; it is the seed of a contract.” (Duhaime, 2019)
Some examples for the offer in our manufacturing company would be displaying our furniture
contracts online or putting a price on our furniture items in the store.
Acceptance is the process where the requested offer is accepted. And most importantly the
acceptance must be told by meeting face to face with the relevant parties. “Acceptance
occurs when an offeree agrees to be mutually bound to the terms of the contract by giving
consideration, or something of value like money, to seal the deal.” (Kadian-Baumeyer, 2019)
An example of acceptance would be a customer agreeing to purchase a product from us by
paying a down payment or the business accepting the offer of a particular supplier in the
business.
Consideration is the process where both the parties get something in return from the
accepted offer. Also, can be known as something of a legal value is given in exchange for a
promise. “Consideration under contract law is defined as a bargained for exchange of value
between parties of a contract. Without consideration, a contract cannot be enforced or is
otherwise voidable (with only a very few exceptions).” (Donahue, 2018)
An example of consideration would be the customer paying money in return to buying the
furniture from the business.

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SCENARIO 2

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I. WHAT IS A PARLIEMENT?

The parliament is the highest legislation government body in a country. The

parliament is important because of the main functions performed by them, which are
representing the constituency, making laws and also overseeing the government
activities.
The United Kingdom parliament consists of three parts or elements. Which are the
House of commons, House of lords and the Monarch.
“Parliament is the legislative body of the United Kingdom and is the primary law-
making institution in Great Britain’s constitutional monarchy. The present-day
Parliament is a bicameral (“two chambers”) legislature with a House of Lords and a
House of Commons. These two houses, however, weren’t always joined, and had
their earliest beginnings in the Anglo-Saxon council governments of the 8th century.”
(History.com Editors, 2017)
The House of commons is the lower house of the Parliament of United Kingdom
and holds more legislative power than the upper houses of the Parliament. The
leader of the majority of House of commons is known as the Prime minister. The
main function of the House of commons is to make laws or legislations. They also
check the work done by the government and also debate on the current issues of the
country. Another important thing the house of commons is responsible for granting
money to the government and also for all the people who voted for them.
“House of Commons, also called Commons, popularly elected legislative body of the
bicameral British Parliament. Although it is technically the lower house, the House of
Commons is predominant over the House of Lords, and the name “Parliament” is
often used to refer to the House of Commons alone. The House of Commons is the
effective legislative authority in Great Britain. It alone has the right to impose taxes
and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public departments and
services.” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2019)
The house of lords is the upper house of the Parliament of United Kingdom. The
membership is granted for the house of lords through hereditary or official functions.
The main function done by the House of lords is that they inspect or examine the bills
passed or approved through the House of commons. The main role done by the
House of lords is the amendment or rejection of bills.
“ The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It is independent
from, and complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The Lords
shares the task of making and shaping laws and checking and challenging the work
of the government. The Lords has three main roles: Making laws, In-depth
consideration of public policy and Holding government to account.” (Parliament UK,
2019)
And then finally we have the Monarch or else known as the Queen of the country is
the legal person who holds a sovereign authority until death. The monarch’s power is

13
limited by a constituent but in an absolute monarchy the monarch has unlimited
powers.
The British monarchy have a constituent monarchy which means that while the
sovereign maybe the head of the state, but the legislations are only made and
passed by the elected parliament. The monarch has the power in approving any law,
because it is the monarch that signs every act of the parliament that later becomes a
law.
“In the past Britain's kings and queens were incredibly powerful. They controlled the
decisions that affected everyone in the country. Today, most of the important
decisions that affect us are made by MPs and Members of the House of Lords. The
UK Parliament has the power to pass laws for our country. It's formed of
representatives from three parts: 650 MPs in the House of Commons; over 750
Members of the House of Lords; and the Monarch. The Monarch signs their name to
every Act of Parliament before it can become the law of the land. It would be very
unusual for them to refuse. No monarch has refused Parliament's wishes for over
300 years.” (Parliament UK, 2019)
So therefore, by getting an idea of the three elements of the parliament we can see
how the government plays a role in making the laws.
First a proposed law is called a “Bill”. Once the bill is proposed it is passed to the
House of commons and the House of lords. If the bill gets a majority of the
government votes it is passed to the House of lords. And then after the bill have been
passed to both the houses it is then sent to the Monarch or the Queen to get her
ascent. Once the bill gets the Queens ascent it becomes a “Law”.
“A proposed new law is called a bill. Bills must be agreed by both Houses of
Parliament and receive Royal Assent from the Queen before they can become Acts
of Parliament which make our law. If the Government has a majority, the Bill is then
passed to the House of Lords. Once a Bill has passed through both Houses, it is sent
to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Once it has Royal Assent the Bill becomes an Act
of Parliament. It is the law of the land.” (Barrow, 2013)

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II. STATUTORY AND COMMAN LAW.

Statutory law is the written laws which takes precedence. They are also the laws
enacted by the parliament and they override the common law in certain events of a
clash. Statute law can also be known as the acts of the parliament which is also
known as bills before it is approved by the House of commons and the House of
lords and have got the Monarchs ascent.
“A statute law is a written law produced by Parliament which originates from
decisions made in other courts and the country’s written constitution. It is the highest
type of law which passes Acts onto the Houses of Parliament where they debate
whether the Act should exist or not.” (LawTeacher, 2013)
Common law is the law which is developed over a number of years and it is also the
judge made law which is enacted by the legislations or statues. This could also be
known as the law which is the law derived from the judicial decisions of similar
tribunals and courts. The common law is also a legal system that gives great weight
to the judicial precedence.
Another very important factor is that the entire body of the contract is based on the
common law. Contract law is the law done between two or more parties on making
an agreement or contract which is enforced by law.
“Common law, also called Anglo-American law, the body of customary law, based
upon judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided cases… Common law is
contrasted to the rules applied in English and American courts of equity and also to
statute law…” (Glendon, et al., 2018)
The common law also uses the equity principle in their court cases. Equity means to
be fair and just. So therefore, this equity principle is used in common law to cover the
gaps of law that the common law has failed to address. One of the main
shortcomings of the common law is that the judge clearly only follows the rules and
procedures previously used or set down, he would not shift to any new judgements
so therefore the equity principle was used in order to support the common law.
“The Courts of Chancery introduced the law of equity in order to fill in the gaps of law
that common law failed to address. In addition, equity sought to avail a kind of
flexibility in the law because the common law presented a rigid system where writs
governed the system of judgment. Equity is fair and just rule and looked into availing
fair judgment to individuals based on the rules that governed equity and the
particular circumstances of the case.” (Wicks, 2019)
An example of how the equitable principle have evolved the common law is the
“Postal rule”.

15
The postal rule is the rule that states that an acceptance can be made even without
directly communicating with the offeror. This rule makes an exception to the
acceptance principle in the contract law which states that an acceptance is valid only
when directly communicated with the offeror. Therefore, we are able to see that this
have been possible only because of the equity principle.
“A rule of contract law that makes an exception to the general rule that an
acceptance is only created when communicated directly to the offeror.” (Duhaime,
2019)
The Justice courts of United Kingdom consists of various different courts. They are
the Supreme court, Court of appeal, Divisional court and the High court.
The Supreme court is the highest court of appeal for domestic laws and decisions
are also bound in the lower courts. The Court of appeal is the court which is bound
by the decisions of the supreme court. The Divisional court is the court which is
bound by the decisions of the supreme court and the court of appeal. And the High
court is the court which is bound by the supreme court, court of appeal and the
divisional courts.
The statutory law or legislation comprises of the acts of the parliament. So therefore,
the statutory laws are already written and only have to be applied to the specific case
in the court. But the common law is the law which have been developed over years
and still tend to be developed on a daily basis. So therefore, the common law to be
applied in court would have to be done after a lots of research analysis of any
previous cases and also extractions of previous statements and sentences passed to
show the applicability of the common law.

16
III. RECENT REFORMS AND DEVELOPMENTS OF THE LEGAL
SYSTEM.

As defined earlier the legal system of the United Kingdom consists of three elements.
Which are the House of commons, House of lords and the Monarch. These three
elements are responsible for bringing in new acts and legislations to the government
and the people.
Some of the new or recent reforms and developments bought by the legal system are
the Disciplinary and Dismissal act, Age discrimination act and the Fixed-term workers
regulation.
DISCIPLINARY AND DISMISSAL ACT (2002).
The Disciplinary and dismissal act or procedure states that the employer should
provide a written document stating the terms and conditions of the job. This
document should be provided to all the employees and they should have access to it.
This written disciplinary and dismissal procedure is a part of the contract given to the
employees at the commencement of their job. And if an employee breaks a
disciplinary conduct he would then be subjected to a disciplinary hearing or a
dismissal from the organization.
“A disciplinary procedure is a process for dealing with perceived employee
misconduct. Organizations will typically have a wide range of disciplinary procedures
to invoke depending on the severity of the transgression. For serious transgressions,
employees are likely to be suspended from work while the disciplinary action is on-
going.” (HRZone, 2019)
This act or procedure was bought so that the organizations could make their
employees follow a certain set of terms and conditions of the job while also making
the employees work ethically without breaking any illegal rules in the legal system
which would lead to dismissal of the job.
AGE DISCRIMINATION ACT (2006).
The Age discrimination act is the act that states that we cannot categorize,
distinguish or harass a person based on their age or if they are too young or too old
for the specific job role provided. Age discrimination also occurs when the employer
treats the employee less favorably than he would treat a normal employee.

17
“The Regulations apply to all employment and vocational training (employees,
prospective employees and trainees). It is unlawful to discriminate, harass or
victimize job applicants, employees or trainees on the grounds of age (young or old).
Direct discrimination occurs where the employer treats a job
applicant/employee/trainee less favorably than he treats or would treat other persons
unless he can objectively justify that treatment. Indirect discrimination occurs where
the employer applies a provision, criterion or practice which puts persons of a
particular age group at a particular disadvantage and they suffer a disadvantage as a
result.” (CompactLaw, 2019)
This act was bought so that an employee would not be harassed for their age. And
they would be able to work no matter how old they are. Age does not matter if they
are capable in giving their full potential to the organization and work.
FIXED-TERM WORKERS REGULATION (2002).
The Fixed-term workers regulation is the act that states the employees should not
treat the fixed-term workers differently from how they treat the permeant workers in
the organization. The fixed-term workers also have a right to know about any
permanent job vacancies in the organization and also be able to transfer to a
permanent job position in the organization. if the employee is treated unfavorably,
they could ask for a written statement with reasons to as why they were treated
accordingly.
“Employees (and workers) may be contracted to work for a fixed period only or to
perform a particular task. These are fixed-term contracts — also known as limited-
term contracts. The broad aim of the Directive (and, therefore, the 2002 Regulations)
is to prevent fixed-term employees (but not workers) from being treated less
favorably than similar permanent employees. This topic explains who is covered by
the legislation, the definition of a fixed-term contract and what constitutes less
favorable treatment. It also considers how fixed-term employees should be treated
with respect to the offer of permanent work, training and development, employee
consultation, redundancy and dismissal.” (Croner-i, 2019)
This regulation was bought so that the fixed-term employees would be treated fairly
as the permanent employees in the organization and also be respected according to
their job role.

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IV. IMPACT OF COMPANY, EMPLOYEMENT AND CONTRACT
LAW ON THE BUSINESS.

Company law, Employment law and Contract law immensely impact the business.
The employment law will impact the business so that it could protect the rights and of
the employee. The contract law is needed for every business because a business
transaction is always done by two or more people. So therefore, the contract law
would affect the business so the customers can have an agreement. And finally, the
company law deals with the rules and regulations they have set on their business.
Employment law is the specific set of laws that deal with the rights of employees
and the responsibilities of the employers towards the employees. This law also
covers a wide range of issues from Health and Safety to Equal pay to Discrimination
in the organizational workplace. This could also refer to the minimum conditions
relating to the employees which are the minimum wage rate, minimum working age
and the minimum overtime rates etc.
“Employment law covers all matters related to the workplace; whether you work in a
small firm or you are a cog in a big corporate wheel. Beginning with hiring, it moves
through a complete cycle which can end in cessation of employment, voluntary or
forced. employment law is concerned with an employee and his/her rights and
obligations. On the other hand, it deals with the employer’s rights, duties and
obligations.” (allaboutlaw, 2019)
One example for how the employment law impact the business is through the Health
and Safety regulations.
The Health and safety act are the acts that ensures the employees of the business
are provided with a safe working environment. This act also ensures that the
employers provide proper health, safety and welfare to the employees. Under this act
the employer has to ensure that the employees are kept safe from any risks,
hazardous activities and violence. But if the employees are injured in the workplace
the business would have to pay a compensation to the employee and their families.
“Health and safety law in the UK places duties on employers to ensure the health,
safety and welfare of employees and others who are not employees, such as
contractors, visitors and members of the public. This means making sure that people

19
are protected from anything that may cause them harm, controlling any risks of injury
or ill health that could arise.” (Prospect, 2019)
Our furniture manufacturing business also uses the health and safety regulations act
in the business activities. Since we use many hazardous substances like varnish,
wood polish and thinner these would damage or harm the employee’s kidneys and
livers and since they are also exposed to wood dust they could be diagnosed with
respiratory problems. So therefore, we have installed dust extractors and also given
face masks and gloves to the employees in the manufacturing business.
We could also see how the Health and safety regulation have been used in
businesses through case laws.

Burgess v Plymouth CC, CA (CIV DIV) (2005)

Where the school had a system to ensure that the containers were stored away
safely, but that system had not been followed one day which resulted in a cleaner
falling over the container and suffering personal injuries, then the school was held
responsible and liable under the Health and safety regulation.
Contract law is the body of law which relates to making and enforcing contracts or
agreement between two or more people. Contract law also governs making contracts
and is also governed under the common law. This could also be called as an
agreement that can be turned to a court to be enforced. A legal contract to be
imposed must consist of all six elements. Which are,
1. An offer.
2. An acceptance.
3. Consideration.
4. Intend to have legal force.
5. Legal capacity.
6. Legality of the contract.
“Contract law is the body of law that relates to making and enforcing agreements. A
contract is an agreement that a party can turn to a court to enforce. Contract law is
the area of law that governs making contracts, carrying them out and fashioning a
fair remedy when there’s a breach.” (Legal career path, 2019)
One example of how the contract law impact the business is through the Offer and
Invitation to treat principle.
Offer is the request a customer does to make the contract. And once an offer is
accepted an agreement is made between the two parties. Sometimes an offer can be
terminated or ended due to various reasons. But there are also times where an offer
is negotiated, and it could create a counter offer which is when we need something
more than which we are offered.
“In contract law, an offer is a promise in exchange for performance by another party.
An offer can be revoked or terminated under certain conditions. There are also times
when an offer can be negotiated to create a counter-offer.” (Kadian-Baumeyer, 2019)

20
Invitation to treat is the invitation which is used to enter into a negotiation. But unlike
the offer the acceptance of the invitation to treat does not mean an agreement have
been made. An invitation to treat could be in the form of advertisements, tenders and
auction sales.
“"An invitation to treat is a mere declaration of willingness to enter into negotiations;
is not an offer and cannot be accepted so as to form a binding contract." (Duhaime,
2019)
So therefore, we could see that an offer and invitation to treat is not the same and
very different from each other. In an offer there is intention of the customer to enter
into a contract but in an invitation to treat the customer does not have any intention in
entering a contract but creating an offer.
“An offer is a proposal while an invitation to offer (treat) is inviting someone to make
a proposal. In an offer, there is an intention to enter into a contract, of the party,
making it and thus it is certain. On the other hand, an invitation to offer is an act
which leads to the offer, which is made with an aim of inducing or negotiating the
terms.” (Surbhi S, 2018)
Company law or also known as corporate law is the government body that governs
the rights, regulations and conduct of the people, businesses and institutions.
“The system of rules which a particular company or business recognizes as
regulating the actions of its organization and which it may enforce by the imposition
of penalties is company law.” (Goel, 2017)
One example for how the company law impact the business is through the Legal
personality.
A Legal personality is the law that states that the company have a separate legal
entity from its owners, shareholders and directors. So therefore, the company as a
separate entity may be liable to any obligations and also the business or company
would be able to be sued.
“Corporate personality is the fact stated by the law that a company is recognized as
a legal entity distinct from its members. A company with such personality is an
independent legal existence separate from its shareholders, directors, officers and
creators. This is famously known as the veil of incorporation.” (LawTeacher, 2013)
Our furniture manufacturing company has its own legal personality so that it is the
company that enters into contracts, take loans, incur debts and is also being sued
and able to sue others. And the members of the business would not have anything to
do with it.
We could also see through the below case law how the legal personality has been
understood by the business.
Salomon v Salomon & Co (1897)
The principle that came out through this case law is that the company or the
corporation is recognized as a separate legal entity with an independent existence
from their owners and members.

21
V. BUSINESS PROBLEMS AND LEGAL SOLUTIONS.

Business problems are the current and long-term challenges or issues faced by the
business. Business problems could also be anything related to the employees,
organization or its customers.
Some of the business problems faced in the United Kingdom legal framework is the
Discrimination and Equal pay.
One of the major problems faced in a business is Discrimination. Discrimination is
the process where unfair or unjust treatment is focused towards an individual or
group of people. The discrimination could be done due to various reasons like their
age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, beliefs, race etc.
“In the context of civil rights law, unlawful discrimination refers to unfair or unequal
treatment of an individual (or group) based on certain characteristics, including: Age,
Disability, Ethnicity, Gender, Marital status, National origin, Race, Religion and
Sexual orientation.” (FindLaw, 2019)
Therefore, as to get rid of all these problems in the business the United Kingdom
government bought the Discrimination law or the Equality act. Through this law it
covers many areas like the sex and marital discrimination, race discrimination, sexual
orientation, disability, age discrimination and the religions and beliefs. So, by having
this law in the business no one would be able to discriminate an employee who does
not fit the perceived social standard. And this would also give employees the freedom
to do what they think is right.
For example, male and female employees would be able to do the same jobs and
work. And also, age would not matter when finding or applying for a job.
Another business problem faced is the Equal pay. This problem typically means that
the male and female employees who do the same work for the same period of time
are paid differently. This also could mean that the male employees are paid a higher
salary than the female employees even though both do the same work.

22
 “Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal
work must receive equal pay, as set out in the Equality Act 2010. This applies not
only to salary, but to all contractual terms and conditions of employment, such as
holiday entitlement, bonuses, pay and reward schemes, pension payments and other
benefits.” (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2019)
Since the equal pay was a big problem in the businesses the government introduced
or bought the Equal pay act. Which helped in fairly treating the male and female
employees in an equal manner. This would also treat the female employees’ kore
fairly and accurately pay them for their services.

VI. BUSINESS PROBLEMS IN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF SRI

LANKA.

Sri Lanka also face the same two problems as the United Kingdom. But we do not
have any reforms or acts to minimize the affect it can have on the employees and the
businesses of Sri Lanka.
Discrimination in Sri Lanka is a very common among anything. Most of the
discrimination in Sri Lanka is seen for age, gender and religion. For example, many
of the jobs when seeking candidates ask or prefer to have male employees over
female employees and also would specifically require job candidates between the
ages of 20 years and 30 years. This clearly shows us the discrimination happening.

(World Bank, 2017)

But still even thought the government can clearly see these discriminations
happening to employees they have not introduced any laws or taken any action.
Therefore, if Sri Lanka could also have the Discrimination law most of the problems
in the workplace could be solved and the employees could be treated fairly.
The other problem faced by the businesses and employees in Sri Lanka is the Equal
pay. Most of the female employees in Sri Lanka are paid considerably lesser than
the male employee which is very unfair and unjust. Even though many government

23
debates are taken place regarding the equal pay between males and females no
solution have been properly taken yet.

(World Bank, 2017)

So therefore, if we could have the Equal pay act in Sri Lanka, we could resolve all the
problems or gaps among the male and female employees in workplaces.

In the United Kingdom we have laws for Discrimination and Equal pay but in Sri
Lanka there are no such laws which have given rise to many problems like female
employees earning lesser than male employees no matter how hard they contribute
to the work done by then and also employees being discriminated for very minor
things which is not even necessary for the job role. Now a day’s employees are
discriminated of they are over forty years of age and finding for jobs, they are also
discriminated if they apply for a job that asks only for male job applicants, or the
employees would also be discriminated for the religion or cultural beliefs they follow.
Therefore, if the proper laws and acts are bought to the country these problems could
be fixed.

24
 CONCLUSION.

We could conclude this by saying that we have been able to get a clear
understanding on the legal system and the types of laws under the system. We have
also been able to see how the government becomes involved when the laws are
made and what kind of support is given by the government. Then we were also able
to identify the legislations needed to start a new business and implications of contract
law, employment law and company law would have on the company.
After that we were able to see the recent reforms or the developments in the in the
legal system. And also, how the statutory and the common law is also applied in the
justice courts system. And then finally we were able to see the business problems
faced in United Kingdom and the acts bought to justify those problems in the
business, through that we also saw what would happen if those laws are bought to
the Sri Lankan context.

25
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