Skip to main content
Practical employment law information to support your business, from Clover HR

Search

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.

Working from home increases cyber threat

15 September 2020

A new study has found that many employers are failing to give their staff adequate information on ways to avoid cyber-attacks while they are working from home.

Research conducted by insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh Commercial has found that over a third of UK employees could inadvertently be putting their employers at risk of a cyber-attack.

Its survey of 2,500 UK employees across ten industries found that 38% have received no information from their employers on cyber security risks. Those in the marketing (63%) and legal (50%) sectors were found to be particularly vulnerable.

Employees surveyed in finance and HR were the best informed about online safety practices, with around three-quarters saying that they had been provided with "sufficient" information from their employers. However, while most employees in IT were adequately informed, nearly one-third said that they had not received any cyber security-related communications at all.

Most employers also failed to conduct any kind of specific risk assessment when lockdown forced many people to work from home. The findings show that the percentage of firms (by sector) that failed to assess risk are: marketing (63%), legal (58%), administration (56%) and sales (55%).

Despite some of these figures, most UK employees are satisfied with their employers in terms of regular and constructive engagement while they are working from home. Four-fifths (81%) feel that they have been "supported enough" by their employer during lockdown, with 35% feeling "very supported". The education sector was highest in this category with 91% having saying they have been "supported enough", followed by those in HR (86%).

Fiona Barker, account director at Marsh Commercial, said: "Given the turbulence over the last few months and the new pressures on businesses to enable home working where possible, it is encouraging that the majority of UK employees feel supported by their employers.

"However, data security measures and supporting a healthy workforce warrant effective risk management solutions to help businesses stay better protected and avoid any costly mistakes down the line. Organisations need to keep their staff up-to-date on the latest cyber security best practice to mitigate the potential for damaging breaches."

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.