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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.

August sees worrying rise in business insolvencies

28 September 2021

The latest government figures show that there was a 71% increase in the number of company insolvencies in August compared to the same month last year.

A spike in the number of company insolvencies in August could be a sign of tough times ahead, business experts have warned. Figures released by the Insolvency Service show a 71% increase in corporate insolvencies in August this year compared to the same month last year (1,348 in August 2021 compared to 788 in August 2020).

Oliver Collinge from insolvency consultancy PKF GM said: "The surge in corporate insolvency numbers is not surprising. The last couple of months have seen the lifting of the final lockdown restrictions and many businesses … will now have to start making payments in relation to their BBLS and CBILS loans as well as deferred HMRC liabilities.

"We expect the numbers to continue to rise as furlough comes to an end this month, which will put further cashflow pressure on some companies. The government's moratorium on the use of winding up petitions is also being lifted at the end of September (albeit with some modest remaining protection designed to support smaller businesses) which will likely cause a substantial increase in creditors taking recovery action."

New government measures to restrict the use of winding up petitions when the moratorium ends will:

  • Raise the minimum debt level for a winding-up petition to £10,000 or more;
  • Require creditors to seek repayment proposals from debtor companies, allowing 21 days for a response before they can go ahead with a winding up petition.

Collinge is urging businesses to seek support if they face difficulties ahead. "It's critical businesses act early and seek advice if they are struggling now, or think cashflow may be squeezed in coming months. The earlier they act, the more options they'll have to continue trading and recover."

Meanwhile, research by accounting software provider FreeAgent suggests that over 168,000 small businesses could shut down in the next year. Its latest survey has found that three in five UK small business owners say their business has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Looking ahead, one in ten SME owners (9.7%) expect their business conditions to worsen and a worrying 2.9% say they might have to close.

The findings also show that 33% of small firm owners have leveraged government COVID grants, 25% have taken COVID loans from the government and 21% have taken out furlough payments. In addition, 20% of SME owners have gone to an accountant or bookkeeper for advice while 4% say they sought financial support through bank or private loans.

The UK small business commissioner Liz Barclay advises business owners to "never take your eye off the cashflow, even in good times". The Office of the Small Business Commissioner has so far helped small businesses to get back £7.9 million in unpaid invoices.

Liz Barclay said: "Today, thousands of small businesses are waiting for payments to arrive. You can't afford to wait too long. Make sure you have all the correct info on your invoices, they're sent to the right person, stating the PO number, due date and your bank details. Make it as easy as possible to be paid. And if the due date is approaching contact the payment department to check you will be paid on time. If the money isn't in your account chase it up immediately. Don't delay or you'll end up having to lose vital people, or not be able to pay your own suppliers. If you're already in trouble, contact us at the OSBC for free help on payments and Business Debtline for free debt advice."

Written by Rachel Miller.

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