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

Starting up

Setting up a business involves complying with a range of legal requirements. Find out which ones apply to you and your new enterprise.

Pay and pensions

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.

Business ownership and management

While poor governance can bring serious legal consequences, the law can also protect business owners and managers and help to prevent conflict.

Working time: hours, leave, flexible working

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

Employment policies

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

Finance and business strategy

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.

Sickness and sick pay

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

Marketing and selling

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

Maternity, paternity and adoption

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

Contracts, disputes

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

Discrimination

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

Commercial premises law

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

Managing home workers, remote workers, lone workers

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

Health and safety

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

Information and consultation

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

Data protection and IT

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

Discipline and grievance

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

Dismissals and redundancies

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

Intellectual property

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

Employment tribunals

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

Exit strategies

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.

Personal law

From bereavement, wills, inheritance, separation and divorce to selling a house, personal injury and traffic offences, learn more about your personal legal rights.

Is your marketing database legal? Checklist

Any business that handles and stores data and uses it for marketing purposes needs to make sure that it is doing so legally. Our checklist covers your main obligations when it comes to managing your database.

Review what data you collect, and why you need it.
Ensure that you do not collect any unnecessary personal data; delete any unnecessary information from your records.
Make sure you are up-to-date with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and what it means to your business.
Check whether you need to notify the Information Commissioner about your use of personal data and, if necessary, do so.
Train employees on how data protection principles apply to their work.
Make breaches of data security policies and misuse of data disciplinary offences.
Collect information fairly; to be sure, always ask contacts to opt in before adding them to your database.
Make sure you have a fully documented and demonstrable process for processing data lawfully, and that you've carried out a data risk assessment.
Include a statement of your privacy policy on your website.
Maintain a do not contact list of individuals and companies who have opted out; check against this list before adding new contacts to your database.
Take steps to ensure that you input data accurately.
If you buy in mailing lists, ensure that they have been properly screened: check against the Mailing Preference Service, and make sure that your list broker has obtained the proper opt-ins for email marketing.
Give contacts the right to opt out from further communications whenever you send them mail or electronic communications.
Protect access to systems and data: for example, through appropriate building security and computer passwords.
Install appropriate electronic security: for example, a firewall and anti-virus software.
Restrict access to sensitive information to those employees who need it.
Set up a system for updating your database, including removing information that is no longer needed.
Dispose of old records (on paper or electronic records) securely.
Ensure that you back up your database, and that backup copies are kept secure.
Set up a procedure for responding to requests from individuals who ask to see what information you hold on them.
Check the legal position before you transfer or sell your database (for example, selling to a third party or transferring to an overseas office).