Business basics — answers to your common retail problems

Employing minors
Question Do I need a special permit to employ youngsters for seasonal work (eg, during school holidays), even if some are members of my family and will earn just pocket money?

Answer It is illegal to employ anyone under 13 years of age. In the case of children up to the age of 16, it is essential to obtain a work permit for each individual from your local education authority. You will need one of these even if the child works for the family business without pay.

Regarding the number of hours worked, local authorities have differing byelaws controlling part-time working, so you would be wise to check. Generally, working on a school day is limited to two hours and school holidays from five to eight hours depending on the age of the child.

Protecting our symbol
Question We have employed a certain symbol for many years to distinguish our goods and are now horrified to find that another firm in Belgium is using it on their products. We have protested, but to no avail. What should we do now?

Answer If you have not formally registered the symbol as your trade mark you really have no case for complaint. The Belgian company might well have registered it and could even be deciding what action to take against you.

There is a slim chance that over the years you have built up limited common rights, but overseas concerns and their governments tend to pay little regard to these. To help yourself keep out of trouble you should seek specialist advice.

The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys should be able to help.

Annual leave
Question How much annual leave can employees claim?

Answer Most employees, whether part-time or full-time, are now entitled to 4.8 weeks’ paid leave each year. One week’s leave is the same amount of time as the working week, so employees working a five-day week are entitled to 20 days’ holiday, and employees working three days a week, for example, can claim 12 days. This is the legal minimum but you can grant more.

The entitlement to paid annual leave is without conditions and begins on the day employment begins.You are obliged to pay for the holidays at the time they are taken. You cannot include this in a normal hourly rate and you are not allowed to replace it with pay in lieu, except when the employment ends.