Business Studies: Consumer Rights, Employment, Stakeholders, and Data Protection

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering consumer law, industrial relations, stakeholder mapping, CCPC enforcement, and data protection based on lecture notes.

Distance Contract Cancellation Right

The legal right of a consumer purchasing an item online, over the phone, or by mail order to cancel the contract without giving a reason within a cooling-off period.

Benefit in Kind (BIK)

A non-cash taxable benefit provided by an employer to an employee as part of their remuneration, such as a company car, private health insurance, mobile phone, or laptop.

Induction Training

A training process designed to introduce new employees to the organization, its policies, workplace culture, work environment, and their specific job roles.

On-the-Job Training

Workplace training delivered to an employee while they perform their regular duties at their actual workstation or place of employment.

Off-the-Job Training

Training that takes place away from the employee's immediate work station, such as at a dedicated training facility, external classroom, or workshop.

Industrial Relations

The relationship between employers and employees in an organization, where positive relations promote continuous production, increased productivity, higher morale, and quick resolution of disputes without strike action.

Unfair Dismissals Act Exclusions

Categories of workers not protected under unfair dismissals legislation, specifically those under $16$ years of age, individuals working for a close relative, apprentices, and employees with less than $1\text{ year}$ of continuous service.

Reinstatement

A remedy for unfair dismissal where the employee gets their original job back under the exact same conditions, with full back-pay from the date of dismissal, treated as if they were never dismissed.

L.I.F.O. (Last In, First Out)

A traditional redundancy selection method where the employees with the shortest duration of service are made redundant first.

Consumer Rights Act 2022: Faulty Goods

Legislation giving consumers purchasing from a business the statutory right to an early full refund within $30\text{ days}$ if goods are faulty or not as advertised, as well as rights to repair or replacement.

Consumer Protection Act 2007

Legislation protecting consumers against misleading advertising, fake claims, or inaccurate pricing, requiring that commercial information provided by traders is transparent and accurate.

Dodgy Boxes (Illegal Streaming Devices)

Unregulated, modified streaming devices (used by over $1$ in $5$ Irish households) that expose consumers to malware, cyber threats, and data theft, offering no legal redress if the service fails.

Economic Impact of Dodgy Boxes

The proliferation of nearly $400{,}000$ unauthorized streaming devices between $2019$ and $2024$, which reduces subscription revenue for legitimate broadcasters, costs jobs, lowers sporting rights investment, and reduces state corporation tax.

Data Protection Commission (DPC) TikTok Enforcement

A regulatory action where the Irish DPC fined TikTok $€345\text{ million}$ in $2023$ for GDPR breaches regarding default public settings and inadequate protections for child users' personal data.

Data Subject

An identified or identifiable living natural person whose personal data (such as name, address, or phone number) is collected, stored, or processed by an organization.

Data Controller

The organization or entity (e.g., an online business or retailer) that determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.

Data Processor

A third-party individual or entity that processes personal data on behalf of and under the instruction of the Data Controller.

Small Claims Court

An inexpensive, informal dispute-resolution service established in Ireland in $1991$ that processes consumer claims up to $€2{,}000$ for a fee of $€25$ without requiring a solicitor.

Small Claims Dispute Procedure

A process where a respondent has $2\text{ weeks}$ to reply to a claim by either accepting liability and paying, failing to contest (resulting in default judgment), or contesting the claim before the court.

Stakeholder Grid: High Power, High Interest

Key priority stakeholders who must be managed closely by investing time, allocating money, maintaining continuous communication, and seeking frequent feedback.

Stakeholder Grid: High Power, Low Interest

Influential stakeholders whose basic requirements must be met to keep them satisfied so they do not exert their influence negatively.

Stakeholder Grid: Low Power, High Interest

Stakeholders who care deeply about business decisions and must be kept informed through clear, regular, and transparent communication.

Stakeholder Grid: Low Power, Low Interest

Stakeholders requiring minimal operational effort, managed primarily by monitoring their actions and conducting casual check-ins.

The Three R's of Redress: Refund

A consumer remedy involving the return of money, applicable when a fault is serious, exists upon purchase, or is reported within the statutory early period.

The Three R's of Redress: Replacement

A remedy where a faulty product is exchanged for an identical or equivalent non-defective item because repair is not feasible or appropriate.

The Three R's of Redress: Repair

A remedy applied when a product has a minor fault or has been used for a reasonable period, carried out without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

CCPC (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission)

The statutory body responsible for promoting and protecting consumer interests, enforcing consumer and competition law, and informing the public through helplines and websites.

CCPC 28-Day Pricing Rule

A regulation stipulating that a trader advertising a discounted sale price must have offered the item at the quoted prior reference price for at least $28$ consecutive days.

Prohibition Order

An enforcement tool obtained by the CCPC from the High Court that legally orders a business or trader to halt an unlawful or prohibited commercial practice.

Fixed Payment Notice (CCPC)

An enforcement notice imposing a fine of $€300$ for specific consumer law breaches, which the trader has $28\text{ days}$ to pay or appeal.

Delegation

The managerial practice of passing down authority, tasks, and responsibility to subordinates while retaining ultimate accountability.

Interest Group (Lobby Group)

An organization formed by people with a common objective (such as ASTI or IFA) that lobbies government and decision-makers to promote their specific viewpoint.

Co-operative Stakeholder Relationship

A positive, win-win relationship between stakeholders characterized by mutual trust, shared expertise, networking, open communication, and joint success.

Competitive Stakeholder Relationship

A win-lose interaction where stakeholders work against each other's interests, leading to conflict, mistrust, pressure, missed opportunities, and withdrawal of investment.