Legislation — Edexcel A-Level Business
Test yourself on Legislation with PEARSON EDEXCEL A-Level practice questions.
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Legislation explained
Law sets the floor a business has to trade above, and the exam interest is always the cost of clearing it weighed against the cost of failing to.
Read the full explanation
Consumer law such as the Consumer Rights Act requires goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, so refunds, recalls and honest labelling turn into real cash items. Employment and equality rules shape contracts, pay floors, dismissal procedures and tribunal claims; safety duties force training, guarding and record keeping; environmental rules put a price on waste, packaging and emissions; and competition policy, enforced in the United Kingdom by the Competition and Markets Authority, attacks cartels and price fixing and can block a merger. The trade off is that compliance costs weigh hardest on small firms, yet they also raise a barrier that shelters the established ones.
Your focus
- a) The effects on businesses of: consumer protection; employee protection; environmental protection; competition policy; health and safety
Legislation exam tips
Marking Points
- Name the relevant area of law and the specific duty it creates, rather than saying the business must obey the law.
- Put a cost on it in the case, such as training days, new equipment, a higher wage bill, redesigned packaging or legal fees.
- Set that cost against the cost of breaching, including fines, compensation, lost contracts and reputational damage.
- Argue both ways, since exceeding the legal minimum can differentiate a brand and improve retention and productivity.
Examiner Tips
- 💡This usually appears as one factor among several in an assess or evaluate question, so weigh it against market and economic factors rather than treating it alone.
- 💡Where the extract prints a fine or a claim, use the figure and compare it with profit so the marker sees you testing materiality.
Common Mistakes
- Listing statutes without applying any of them to what the named business actually does or sells.
- Assuming regulation is only a burden, when it can also deter new entrants and protect an incumbent's position.
- Confusing competition policy, which polices how firms behave towards each other and the market, with consumer law on individual transactions.