A guide aimed at small businesses who need guidance through the complex minefield of litigation that staff employment can entail. Written with GPs specifically in mind, other employers with small numbers of staff also find it useful. Chapters include: recruiting staff, the employment contract, dismissal: fair or unfair, redundancy, the practice staff scheme - provisions of the red book.;The fifth edition has been extensively updated and expanded to take into account recent changes in legislation in areas such as maternity rights, unfair dismissal, and health and safety. Several areas of growing concern to GPs have been added, such as the risk of violence, confidentiality of patient information, retirement policy and sexual harassment.