Skip to main content
We’re here with practical legal information for your business. Learn about employment law, company law and more.

Search

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

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.

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.

From pay, hours and time off to discipline, grievance and hiring and firing employees, find out about your legal responsibilities as an employer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Sole traders left struggling by the pandemic

17 August 2021

A new study suggests that sole traders may have been disproportionately impacted by COVID restrictions, with almost six in ten reporting that they are either not trading at all or are trading less than pre-COVID.

A survey by small business lender iwoca has found that 58% of sole traders (defined as those who are the exclusive owners of their businesses) are trading less than pre-COVID, compared to 43% of limited companies.

Worryingly, the results show that sole traders are twice as likely not to be trading at all, with 14% in this position compared to 7% of limited companies.

Other key findings of the poll show that:

  • 32% of sole traders said they were making fewer sales due to COVID-secure workplace measures, compared to 24% of limited companies;
  • 39% say they have fewer customers, compared to 29% of limited companies.

The research has also revealed that nearly half of business owners with sole trader status (46%) were concerned they'd struggle to afford their own wages in the next six months, compared to 37% of other small firms.

The study shows that time off work seems to have become a luxury that small business owners can't afford. Again, it is sole traders who are most affected, with 24% not even planning to take one day off in the next 12 months, compared to 13% of those in limited companies. The majority - 59% - plan to take less than ten days off in the next year.

"The pandemic has hit sole traders particularly hard," said Seema Desai, chief operating officer at iwoca. "We need our sole traders back on their feet - hopefully the lifting of restrictions will help them to recover, which will be great for them and also for the economy more broadly."

However, the Bank of England's Financial Stability Report, published in July, suggests that there may be hard times ahead for some of the UK's smallest businesses. It has warned that the SME sector is especially vulnerable as the economy emerges from COVID-19 restrictions and predicts that the end of VAT and rent deferrals could be "a catalyst for business distress".

Among the SME sectors most in distress are accommodation/food and transport/storage. The Bank of England report concludes that: "As the economy recovers and government support unwinds as planned, some businesses may face additional pressure on their cash flow and insolvencies could increase … Additionally, the end of the temporary ban on winding up petitions in September 2021 is likely to lead to an increase in insolvencies over the next twelve months."

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.