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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.

Essential guide to interest on late payments

Late payments create cash flow problems and can increase the risk that you will not be paid at all. Using your legal right to claim interest from late-paying customers can encourage customers to pay on time.

The statutory right to interest and compensation applies to all contracts. You need to decide whether to enforce your rights, and if so how.

The right to charge interest

The rate of interest

Should you charge interest?

When is a payment late?

Calculating the interest

How to claim interest

What if a customer objects?

Further help

1. The right to charge interest

Every business has a statutory right to charge interest on late payments

  • The right applies to sales to business and public sector customers.
  • The right does not apply to sales to consumers.

You can negotiate your own contractual agreement instead

  • The contractual agreement must provide a 'substantial remedy' if the customer pays late.
  • The customer cannot impose unfair terms: for example, contractual payment periods are usually capped at 60 days.
  • Public sector customers must pay within 30 days and interest on late payments cannot be lower than the statutory amount.
  • In the absence of any specific payment terms, the statutory right will apply.

Interest starts being chargeable from the end of the agreed credit period

  • If you have not agreed credit terms, normally a payment is late after 30 days.

What difference does it make?

Under the law, company finance directors cannot take extra credit from suppliers to improve cash flow by paying invoices after the due date.

There is less free credit to be had just by paying slowly

  • The 'base rate plus 8' formula means money 'borrowed' by delaying payment is more expensive than overdraft money from the bank.

2. The rate of interest

The law gives you the right to charge interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 8%

  • For example, if the base rate is 0.5%, you could charge interest at 8.5%.

Rates for calculating interest are fixed for six-month periods

  • The base rate on 31 December is used for debts becoming late between 1 January and 30 June. The rate in force on 30 June is used from 1 July to 31 December.

You can also claim reasonable debt recovery costs

  • You can claim £40 for debts of less than £1,000, £70 for debts between £1,000 and £10,000 and £100 for debts of £10,000 or more.
  • If your costs are higher than this (for example, if you are using a debt collection agency) you can claim 'reasonable' recovery costs.
  • You can only claim these costs if you are claiming the interest due under the Act. If you do not claim interest, or you claim it under a contractual provision or the provisions of a different Act, you cannot claim the costs.

Getting paid in difficult economic times