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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.
Mergers, joint ventures and other forms of collaboration can be powerful elements of a business strategy, potentially transforming your business prospects.
Careful planning and thorough due diligence are essential for any merger or joint venture. You'll also need to take into account the restrictions competition law places on cartels and other anti-competitive agreements.
A successful merger or joint venture allows two businesses with complementary strengths to achieve more together than either could on its own. For example, a business with valuable intellectual property might collaborate with a company with the financial muscle and marketing presence to make the most of it.
From the outset, you'll need to consider what kind of collaborative arrangement you are looking for. You might continue to operate as separate businesses while working together, form a separate joint venture or merge the two businesses completely.
Unless you are planning a full merger, you'll also need to think about what each business will contribute, how the collaboration will be managed, how profits will be taken and so on. A well planned joint venture will include clear arrangements for handling disputes between the partners as well as for the eventual termination of the joint venture agreement.
Putting together a merger or joint venture typically involves protracted negotiations as the partners get to know each other, gradually revealing more detailed information and working towards a deal. It may involve non-disclosure agreements, a memorandum of understanding once you have agreed key terms, and substantial due diligence checks: much the same process as when you are buying a business.
Your legal team will be able to assess the different options for structuring the business - such as forming a separate joint venture company - and the tax consequences. They will also need to assess the key legal issues and what arrangements need to be put in place. A joint venture may involve transfers of assets, intellectual property and employees, renegotiation of contractual arrangements with suppliers and so on.
A merger or joint venture may require regulatory approval if the businesses have significant market share.
More broadly, joint ventures and other forms of business collaboration can raise competition law issues. Agreements to fix prices, share markets, limit supply or rig bids are all criminal cartel offences. There are however limited circumstances where businesses are allowed to collaborate in ways that might reduce competition. For example, in general the partners in a joint venture are allowed to agree not to compete with it.
If you are in any doubt, you should ensure that you take - and follow - legal advice. Substantial fines can be imposed on businesses that take part in a cartel, while the individuals involved may face disqualification as a director or even imprisonment.