Law for CEOs

The employment-law issues management should understand

From process, classification and records - not usually from the merits of the underlying decision.

EducationalExecutive briefingLast reviewed 2026-08-14No named reviewer yet

Where do employment claims actually come from?5 min read

Key points

Classification is decided by substance. A contractor managed as an employee may be treated as one, whatever the paperwork says.
Written terms protect the employer at least as much as the employee, because they are what the business relies on in a dispute.
Process is where defensible decisions are made or lost: put the concern, allow a response, decide, record.
Statutory deductions are the business's obligation. Deducting and not remitting is a distinct and serious failure.
Contemporaneous records carry weight. Files assembled after a claim do not.

Exposure rarely sits where the accountability does. This is where it tends to surface first.

Take these into the meeting. The value is usually in how long the answers take.

1Does everyone working in the business have written terms matching how they are actually engaged?
2How many people treated as contractors are managed as employees in practice?
3Is our disciplinary procedure written down, and is it followed consistently?
4Are all statutory deductions being remitted, with evidence retained?
5Who reviews termination decisions before they are executed?