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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.

Filing tax return named worst aspect of self employment

26 January 2022

24% say completing the self assessment tax return is the worst thing about being self employed and confusion reigns over what income should be included according to new research.

Almost a quarter (24%) of self employed people feel self-assessment is the worst thing about working for themselves, with confusion around exactly what should be included on the form.

More women (29%) than men (13%) say they hate doing tax returns, ranking it as the number one gripe about being self employed. And, with less than two weeks until self-assessment deadline, experts are warning people to be aware of key changes to the process this year.

According to research from GoSimpleTax, there's no consensus on whether people should include the SEISS COVID support they received. The data shows 13% of people feel they won't need to include it and 9% are not sure if it needs to be accounted for. However, grants do need to be properly accounted for if claimed – or people risk fines and may even accidently pay double tax on the grants received.

Mike Parkes, tax expert at GoSimpleTax, said: "Anyone who received a SEISS grant in the 2020/21 tax year must include it on their tax return this January. Crucially, it needs to be accounted for in the right place on the form - there is a dedicated area for declaring COVID-19 relief grants. If you include it in your general income, chances are your SEISS grant will be added automatically, and you will end up paying tax on it twice."

The survey showed that a high proportion (42%) of self employed people generate additional income from other sources such as Facebook, eBay, investments, property rentals, social media and crypto currency investments. Yet 14% aren't sure if they should account for additional income streams on their self assessment and a further 12% say they won't include it.

Mike added: "Income should be considered as a whole – it doesn't really matter where your income is coming from, what's important is that it's all declared and accounted for. If you have a side hustle selling on Facebook Marketplace, or have dabbled in cryptocurrency which has generated income, you need to consider this income as part of your overall taxable amount.

"As with so many things, the key to tax success is in preparation. Get ahead of the 31 January deadline and give yourself time to prepare a complete return. If you're in doubt about what to include, a software like GoSimpleTax can prompt you to consider what income to declare and where it should sit."

Every year, millions leave their tax return until the final days and this year is no different, with 16% admitting they plan to leave until last minute. The research found barriers to submitting on time include a lack of financial knowledge (12%), concern over how much they owe (11%), and difficulty navigating the HMRC website (9%).

Earlier this month, HMRC announced that once again it was waiving late penalties for anyone filing self-assessment tax returns after this month's deadline.

Mirroring last year's move, self-employed people will now have an additional 28 days to submit their 2020/21 tax return and pay any tax due, without being penalised.

News submitted by Joanna Drake, Petal & Co.

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