Sainsburys Business Studies

Question 1 – Outline, using examples, the laws which Sainsbury’s must abide by, when employing people. Explain why it is important for Sainsbury’s to abide by these laws and how it may affect Sainsbury’s aims and objectives. Evaluate the success of Sainsbury’s meeting these laws. Why is it important that Sainsbury’s employees follow Health and Safety regulations and evaluate how effectively this law is met? Laws are the principles and regulations established in a community by authorities and applicable to its people.

Laws are used within businesses to make businesses aware of the standards they must keep in order to make a business successful and no get any law suits. There are many laws that a business such as Sainsbury’s must abide by, some of which include the Health and Safety act of 1974, the National Minimum wage law, and the Data protection act of 1984. These laws must be abided by, by Sainsbury’s to ensure a safe and correct environment for customers and employees at Sainsbury’s.

The Health and Safety act of 1974 is a law that states that Sainsbury’s must be a safe working place for all employees, have all safety equipment needed and display the necessary signage with safety regulations for staff to see. This law is important as without it a staff member could get hurt, and sue Sainsbury’s, resulting in a lower reputation and loss of money. And example of this law being implemented at Sainsbury’s is on their website, [http://www. j-ainsbury. co. uk/files/reports/cr2005/index. asp? pageid=41],where they say “The reportable accident rate for the Group as a whole has fallen by 16%. ”

And “During 2004/05 four of the Supply Chain sites maintained their OHSAS 18001 registration. This year we will consider putting the remaining sites through the accreditation process. During 2005/06 we will also be introducing an H&S Award system, initially in the Supply Chain area and extending into Retail later in the year. This award will look at overall team performance on H&S issues, not just focusing on accident rates. ”

Showing how seriously they take their health and safety, and how they have been recognised for it and awarded awards. Moreover, with this law Sainsbury’s will receive many benefits, such as an increase of staff attendance, as staff will feel safer at work, and more motivation, leading to an increase of efficiency and money at Sainsbury’s. Another important law that Sainsbury’s must follow is the National Minimum Wage law.

This law means that Sainsbury’s must pay staff at least  5. 93 per hour for people over the age of 22, ? 4. 92 per hour to staff from 18-20 years of age, and 3. 64 for staff under the age of 16. This law is important for staff at Sainsbury’s as without it staff would feel de-motivated and possibly seek work elsewhere, where they could find a higher wage. An example of this is when I asked a member of staff at Sainsbury’s how satisfied they were with their salary they answered “I’m very happy with it. It means I can have a secure job, with enough of a wage to last me, and get me through shopping and clothes with still some left. If it were like my last wage, which was the bare minimum, I would leave.

” This shows how the minimum wage law means that staff at Sainsbury’s can stay motivated and happy in their job, meaning that Sainsbury’s has a higher level of employees going to work each day, and more efficient staff as they want to keep their job because they are satisfied with the wages they receive. Moreover, another important law at Sainsbury’s is the Data protection act. This law means that Sainsbury’s keeps all information about employees, past and present, secret and makes sure that the information is relevant.

This means that nobody, not even employees, can read information about staff at Sainsbury’s, except those whom it’s about. This law is important as it means that staff can feel they can trust Sainsbury’s and that their personal information won’t be given out or misused against them. This means that Sainsbury’s can hire trusted people for jobs in their stores, and can have staff who feel safe and respected working there, so they will work harder and Sainsbury’s can earn a higher profit from satisfied staff and customers.

In conclusion, Sainsbury’s has many laws it must abide by in order to avoid prosecution and unhappy staff and customers. If Sainsbury’s follow each law they can make sure they hire and maintain a team of hard working and loyal staff. However, if they break any of the laws they will have a bad reputation and possible less customers and people wanted jobs in their stores. Moreover, they will also lose money from law suits. Question 2 – What kinds of skills are offered by employees and why is it important for Sainsbury’s to identify the skills and personalities of their current and future employees?

Taking into account your skills and personalities, what kinds of jobs at Sainsbury’s would go apply for, and what kinds would you not? Skills are characteristics and qualities that people have, and each person has their own different and unique skills. Different skills can benefit stores, like Sainsbury’s, for example, a shop manager would need to have good motivational skills and management skills, like responsibility and be good at subjects such as maths, I.T, and literacy.

It is evident that people have different skills and quantities that they can bring to a business, for example in Sainsbury’s different positions require different skills and quantities. A checkout operator’s role would require basic maths and computer skills, customer service skills and the ability to work the checkout. All these skills would ensure that Sainsbury’s can keep their high levels of customer service maintained.

It is important for Sainsbury’s to measure the skills which different people apply for jobs may have as it is vital for Sainsbury’s to hire people with suitable skills and qualities needed for the job. For example, if Sainsbury’s hire someone unreliable, it could lead to that person never showing up, or quitting their job, which would mean that Sainsbury’s would have to spend more time and money trying to find another person for the job, whereas if they hired someone suitable in the first place it would save them time and money and help towards Sainsbury’s aims and objectives.