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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.
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.
Offering consumer credit can be an effective way to boost sales. But under the Consumer Credit Act, most businesses that offer consumer credit must have a consumer credit licence. If you offer consumer credit, you'll also need to ensure that your credit agreements are legal and enforceable.
Your business is likely to need a consumer credit licence if you sell on credit to individual consumers (as opposed to business customers) or hire out goods to them for more than three months. This also applies for business customers who are sole traders or small partnerships. You do not generally need a consumer credit licence to offer credit to limited companies, or for business sales which are always worth more than £25,000.
You do not need a consumer credit licence to accept payment by credit card (unless you issue the card yourself). You can allow customers to pay in four or fewer instalments, within a year, without needing a consumer credit licence.
If you need a consumer credit licence, you apply to the Financial Conduct Authority (previously the Office of Fair Trading) and pay a fee. The Financial Conduct Authority can reject your application if they think you are not a 'fit person' to hold a consumer credit licence - for example, if you have a record of treating customers unfairly.
Offering consumer credit without a consumer credit licence is a criminal offence. As well as facing a fine or even imprisonment, any credit agreement will be unenforceable.
If you offer consumer credit, you must give customers a credit agreement to sign. The credit agreement must give detailed information about terms such as interest rates, credit charges and so on. Unless the customer signs the credit agreement on your business premises at the time, there is a cooling off period during which they can cancel it.
There are no set limits on what interest rates you can charge, but an unfair agreement will be unenforceable. You may want to take advice on how you can use the consumer credit agreement to protect your business - for example, by retaining legal ownership of goods until they have been fully paid for.
Other requirements of the Consumer Credit Act include providing statements to customers with outstanding balances, and notifying them if they fall behind with their payments. Customers must also be allowed to repay any debt early, generally without paying future interest charges.