Skip to main content
We’re here with practical legal information for your business. Learn about employment law, company law and more.

Search

Setting up a business involves complying with a range of legal requirements. Find out which ones apply to you and your new enterprise.

What particular regulations do specific types of business (such as a hotel, or a printer, or a taxi firm) need to follow? We explain some of the key legal issues to consider for 200 types of business.

While poor governance can bring serious legal consequences, the law can also protect business owners and managers and help to prevent conflict.

Whether you want to raise finance, join forces with someone else, buy or sell a business, it pays to be aware of the legal implications.

From pay, hours and time off to discipline, grievance and hiring and firing employees, find out about your legal responsibilities as an employer.

Marketing matters. Marketing drives sales for businesses of all sizes by ensuring that customers think of their brand when they want to buy.

Commercial disputes can prove time-consuming, stressful and expensive, but having robust legal agreements can help to prevent them from occurring.

Whether your business owns or rents premises, your legal liabilities can be substantial. Commercial property law is complex, but you can avoid common pitfalls.

With information and sound advice, living up to your legal responsibilities to safeguard your employees, customers and visitors need not be difficult or costly.

As information technology continues to evolve, legislation must also change. It affects everything from data protection and online selling to internet policies for employees.

Intellectual property (IP) isn't solely relevant to larger businesses or those involved in developing innovative new products: all products have IP.

Knowing how and when you plan to sell or relinquish control of your business can help you to make better decisions and achieve the best possible outcome.

From bereavement, wills, inheritance, separation and divorce to selling a house, personal injury and traffic offences, learn more about your personal legal rights.

Freelancer mental health takes a knock

29 June 2021

The proportion of freelancers reporting mental health problems has risen by over 200% during the pandemic, leaving one in five struggling with issues like anxiety and depression.

Research conducted by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) has uncovered what it is calling the "hidden cost of the pandemic" as 52% of freelancers say their mental health has deteriorated during the past year.

IPSE's findings show that the proportion of freelance workers reporting poor mental health has gone up from 6% to 20% over the course of the pandemic - an increase of 200%. Of those who reported poor mental health, 71% said this manifested itself in anxiety or depression. More than two-thirds (69%) also said they had experienced an increase in negative thoughts. Another 77% said they had reduced energy levels, while 71% said they had difficulty sleeping.

Struggling freelancers also say their mental health has had a detrimental impact on their work:

  • 61% said they had struggled to concentrate;
  • 60% said they had experienced reduced productivity;
  • 14% even reported having to delay or cancel projects.

A key factor seems to be finances. Three out of five freelancers (60%) said the pandemic had had a negative impact on their businesses. Company directors were more likely to report a deterioration in their mental health than sole traders - 62% compared to 54% respectively. This may reflect the lack of government support for limited company directors, who were excluded from the SEISS grant scheme.

Freelancers reported that their top five strategies for improving their mental health were exercising (65%), adopting a healthy diet (48%), trying to get enough sleep (46%), spending time on hobbies and entertainment (46%) and sharing their thoughts and feelings with others (27%).

IPSE has made four recommendations for government to tackle the mental health crisis among freelancers, including ensuring flexible and fair COVID support as the country emerges from lockdown, mental health support tailored to freelancers, promoting coworking spaces with business rates relief and encouraging clients to support freelancers' mental health.

Chloé Jepps, head of research at IPSE, said: "The hidden cost of the pandemic is the toll it has taken on people's mental health. And for freelancers, who took a disproportionate hit because of their exposed position in the economy, this toll has been particularly high.

"We all know the lockdowns and the sheer tragedy of the pandemic have been bad for mental health across the board, but a 200% increase in poor mental health is shocking evidence of just how exposed the self-employed community is. It is also telling and concerning that the sharpest hit to mental health is among limited company owners, who were largely excluded from support.

"As this research shows, poor mental health not only leads to a rise in conditions such as anxiety and depression; it also leads to problems with freelancers' work and livelihoods. This is something that both freelancers themselves and government need to address."

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.

Contact us

Make an enquiry