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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.
Your marketing and advertising activities are one of the primary ways in which customers interact with your business. Marketing your business honestly is good for your reputation and it also helps you comply with legal requirements. The rules are stricter if you sell to individual consumers rather than to business customers, particularly if you're sending marketing emails. Marketing through social media can be a legal mindfield - having a good internal policy for staff is vital.
Email marketing is regulated by the E-Commerce Regulations, which ban the sending of unsolicited marketing emails (also known as 'junk' email or 'spam') to individuals unless they have agreed that you can, known as 'opting in'. As well as covering consumers, this also applies to marketing emails you send to sole traders and individual partners in a partnership.
If your email marketing campaign is directly relevant to people's work, you can still send unsolicited marketing emails to people at limited companies or limited liability partnerships. For example, if you're selling print services you can email the people responsible for stationery buying or marketing and promotion - even if you haven't got an existing relationship with them.
In any event, you must always provide a clear and easy 'opt-out' mechanism in all marketing emails you send so that recipients can easily remove themselves from your list and stop receiving marketing emails from you. These rules apply even if you buy in an email list from a list broker.
You must ensure that your marketing activities comply with consumer protection regulations. These prohibit marketing techniques that would impair the average consumer's ability to make an informed decision.
Product labelling is covered by these rules, but note that special labelling rules apply to some types of product. You may want to check with your trade association or professional adviser.