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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.

Every business needs to be aware of its obligations under minimum wage and equal pay laws, as well as recent pensions auto-enrolment changes.

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.

You must comply with legal restrictions on employees' working hours and time off, or risk claims, enforcement action and even prosecution.

The right employment policies are an essential part of effective staff management. Make sure any policy is clear and well communicated to employees.

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.

While sick employees need to be treated fairly, you need to ensure that 'sickness' is not being used as cover for unauthorised absence.

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

Most pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave and maternity pay, while new fathers are entitled to paternity leave and paternity pay.

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

As well as undermining morale, illegal discrimination can lead to workplace grievances. Employee discrimination is covered by the Equality Act 2010.

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

Home, remote and lone workers are becoming increasingly commonplace. Key issues include communication and how to manage and motivate people remotely.

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

The right approach to consulting with and providing information to your employees can improve employee motivation and performance.

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

Disciplinary and grievance issues can be a major burden to employers. Putting in place and following the right procedures is essential.

Following the right dismissal and redundancy procedures helps protect your business and minimise the risk of a legal dispute at tribunal.

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

Employment tribunal claims are a worrying prospect for any employer. A tribunal case is a no-win situation – even if the claim is unjustified.

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.

Employers urged to test their staff as lockdown eases

23 March 2021

The government is asking businesses to make sure their employees take COVID-19 tests on a regular basis to prevent the spread of the virus.

Employers are being offered three ways to organise COVID-19 tests for their staff. They can set up their own testing programme using lateral flow tests, they can use a third-party private sector provider or they can arrange for their staff to attend community test sites. It is recommended that staff are tested twice a week.

However, time is running out for those businesses that want to test their staff on-site - they must register to order coronavirus test for their employees by 31 March 2021. These tests are for staff without symptoms. Any employee with coronavirus symptoms must stay at home and arrange to take a PCR test.

Although this is a voluntary programme, the government said: "We want as many employers as possible to sign up to regularly test their employees. This will reduce the risk of transmission among those who cannot work from home and ensure vital public and economic services can continue."

Around one in three people who are infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly, and break chains of transmission.

Lateral flow testing is a simple way to test people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19. The tests are easy to use and give results in less than 30 minutes.

Those organisations that want to use a private sector provider can find a list of approved providers on the government website. Employers will need to pay for this provision but they are still eligible to order the free government testing kits by registering to order workplace coronavirus tests by 31 March.

For organisations with fewer than 50 employees as well as sole traders and the self-employed, access to testing is through testing sites run by local authorities. There is more information on how employers can arrange coronavirus tests for their employees on the government website.

Written by Rachel Miller.

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