Adam Bernstein - Small Business Journal Articles

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Current Articles
21 September 2012 1 For more information, please call Adam Bernstein Limited on 01844 350440 or 07785 905120
Country
2772 The German Economy A good look at the state of the German economy.
2679 Austria and Switzerland Uncovered Cuckoo clocks and chocolate Mozart balls are probably the best known exports of Switzerland and Austria
but trade between these two countries and the UK runs a lot deeper than that. Both countries are large
markets for UK exports Austria takes 1.2bn of exports every year, while Switzerland at nearly 3.5bn is
the UKs largest single export market after the EU and the US. Both are affluent and highly industrialised
countries, where industrial customers will usually speak English and are generally concerned with getting a
quality product, and exporters have few barriers to trade. So how do you sell into these countries?
2666 Exporting to Scandinavia Exporting to Scandinavia should be easy for most British companies. English is the language of business
there, and EU standards are generally accepted even in non-EU Norway. Probably the most difficult
question to answer is - Where is this place called Scandinavia anyway? The term tends to be loosely used,
with some people including Finland, Iceland, even the Baltic republics. While its true that the Baltic is now
becoming an increasingly important trading bloc and Sweden and Denmark both have important
investments in the Baltic republics the term Scandinavia correctly applies only to the three nations
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
2661 Exporting to Russia After the fall of the Iron Curtain, western bankers and corporates flocked to Russia to do business in the
wild East. And for a little while, it worked until 1998, when the government defaulted on 22 billion in
bonds and the economy went into free fall. However, for the last few years the Russian economy has been
on the way up, partly powered by high commodities prices which help the huge Russian natural resources
sector. Debt rating agency Moodys has for the first time ever given Russian government bonds an
investment grade rating, allowing banks to invest in them though its true the BAA3 rating is the lowest
Moodys has to offer. And British exports to Russia in 2003 exceeded the pre-crash level of 1.2 billion for
the first time since 1997. Further growth is expected this year.
2660 Exporting to China The Chinese economy is the manufacturing powerhouse of the world, a huge market set for explosive
growth over the next decade. Or it is a morass of low productivity and overcapacity, which is overheated
and will shortly boil over into high inflation and massive bankruptcies. Depending on who you ask, youll get
a different answer. What is certain is that with a 1.3 billion population, and a growing middle class, China is
just too big to ignore. It is also liberalising fast, having joined the World Trade Organisation in December
2001
2659 Exporting to France When Benjamin Brittens Billy Budd was put on at the Bastille opera house in Paris, some critics noticed
that one chorus in this operatic export was Dont like the French! But thats rather a symbol of the British
relationship with France an uneasy rivalry, rather than a true entente cordiale. The French are often seen
as obstinate, difficult to deal with; even Brussels condemned the French ban on British beef. The French
know how to play the system, usually ignoring EU regulations until they are forced to comply, and often
waiting till they are taken to court where other nations try to avoid conflicts. So how can you enter the
French market and beat them at their own game?
2651 Germany: The Powerhouse of Europe? Germany is the UKs largest export market; It can be a very profitable market, and German firms generally
are good customers and good payers. But it is a tough market to crack, with high standards and stringent
regulations. A look at the German economy from a business perspective.
2424 Doing Business in Asia The world is full of guides to 'doing business in Asia' which will teach you that business cards are very
important in Japan and that all Korean companies run on the basis of seniority. But Asia is changing fast,
and those guides might not be as relevant today as they were ten years ago. So what do you need to know
to succeed?
Current Articles
963 Doing Business in South Africa Looks at the economic, political and social situation in the powerhouse of Africa. A good backgrounder for
anyone considering doing business.
Finance
3886 Banks - generous to a vault? Opening a business bank account should be quite easy. However, the banks seem to deliberately muddy
the waters so as to make choosing harder than it really should be. With the internet making prices
transparent why is it that there is such a variation in the fees levied? If banks were chosen purely on price
the least cost option would win every time. There must be other factors at play such as services offered,
willingness to take on risk and ease of use.
3854 HMRC, You and Real Time Soon to be compulsory, you need to start caring about Real Time Information (RTI), a project launched by
the government some 18 months ago to overhaul the way PAYE works in the UK. The PAYE system has
been with us since 1944 having been originally set up to aid collection of taxes during the Second World
War. Whats perhaps most surprising about the system nearly seventy years later is how well most of it still
works, but changes in work patterns - who has a job for life now? - payment patterns and the sheer volume
of information handled by the system have left it straining to cope.
3844 Financially Secure? Every business needs finance cash in simple terms. A lucky few are cash positive and have no
borrowings. However, the vast majority need to utilise monies from external sources. The problem, of
course, is that the last few years havent made sourcing funding at all easy. What, then, are the options
that should be considered?
3837 New Year, New Penalties? The taxmans approach to business has been in the news a fair bit recently. Accusations of sweetheart
deals for big business on the one hand sit uneasily beside the controversy over Business Record Checks
for small business on the other hand. But theres another, more mundane, aspect to their operations which
has been making just as many waves in the background, and thats the changes to the penalty regimes for
all the taxes and the way HMRC operates them.
3816 To Be Or Not To Be.A Company There are some five million businesses in the UK and the great majority of them are run as straightforward
sole traders. If there is more than one person involved, then its a partnership. But many businesses
choose to incorporate and trade through a limited company. We consider the pros and cons of
incorporation.
3815 Financial Fraud A Multi-Headed Hydra Of Our Time? Growth in fraud may be at the root of diminishing confidence in financial organisations and investment
schemes. Can more stringent enforcement and penalties stop financial fraud?
3800 10 Ways To (Legally) Beat The Taxman Tax is the price we pay for a civilised society so said an American judge in the 19th century, and it
remains true today. But its equally true that a civilised society sets limits on what it demands from its
taxpayers, and theres no need to pay any more than that. So, as money stays tight, its important to make
sure that you keep your affairs in order and pay the right amount of tax no less, but no more.
3785 10 Ways To Shrink Your Accountants Bill Theres been plenty of recent research showing that accountants are the small businesses most trusted
adviser, ahead of banks, lawyers and government bodies. But accountants are in business, just like you
are, and will need to charge for (at least some of) the advice they give you and sometimes that advice
wont come cheap. The hours taken on dealing with a tax investigation, or handling a merger with another
business, can soon rack up and leave you facing a four or five figure bill in a surprisingly short time. Of
course, if you choose to expand then youll be planning to make enough money out of it to pay for those
bills but what about the stuff you cant avoid? How can you keep those bills to a minimum?
Current Articles
3784 10 Ways To Avoid Getting A Tax Investigation Tax investigations are bad news they take time and cost money, and thats the case even if they dont
find any extra tax due. Sadly theres no way you can guarantee not getting one. A proportion of all the
enquiries opened each year are totally random, but many more are targeted on high risk sectors, rather
than specific traders in those areas. If your number comes up, theres nothing you can do.But you can
make sure that youll only ever be in the random section by following some guidelines and good practice
which should help keep the whole process as quick and painless as possible if you are selected.
3766 Saving Your Future A penny saved is a penny earned its a cracker of a phrase but put simply, it means that its as useful to
save money as is it to earn more. But with a tough economy, interest rates that are at an all time low and
inflation at 4.2 per cent (June), why would you want to save? We give you options.
3751 Pricing for Profit How much do you charge your customers for your product or service? Getting your pricing right could
double your profits at a stroke. Many businesses work out a cost figure for each product and add a modest
mark-up - known as cost-plus pricing. While this method is common, it is not the only way to arrive at a
price. Investing serious thought into your pricing methodology at an early stage can pay big dividends later.
3735 Selling a Business Getting It Right Is it time to retire and put your feet up? Or to cash in and move on to something else? Whatever the
reason for wanting to sell a business, care is needed to ensure that it is sold in the way that is right for you.
This will include ensuring that the sale is structured as tax-efficiently as possible, although the tax tail
should never wag the commercial dog. We look at some of the basic points to bear in mind.
3731 Buy To Let Property During the housing boom, buy-to-let property looked like a way to get rich quick. Amateur landlords could
borrow huge amounts to fund the purchase of properties, and buy-to-letters like Fergus and Judith Wilson -
ex-maths teachers who bought 350 houses in a single year - became famous. The credit crunch put paid to
all that. Lenders pulled their buy-to-let products off the market, house prices fell, valuations were savaged,
and some investors and property firms went bankrupt. Others had to sell large swathes of their portfolios to
stay solvent. But things may be changing.
3728 Pay Less For Your Home You know what you paid for your house, right? Wrong. Most people think they do - and they tell you how
much money was actually paid to the vendor. But in fact, since they've been paying interest on a mortgage
since they bought it, the amount of cash that has gone into paying for it is substantially more than the price
paid on completion of contract. A guide to paying less - in the long run - for your home.
3727 Beating Inflation We're not used to this. After years of stable prices, suddenly everything is getting more expensive. Inflation
is now running at 5.3 percent (Retail Price Index, March 2011), with food, petrol, and electricity all
becoming dearer - and that's despite a low interest rate and becalmed housing market keeping down
mortgage costs. So how can you invest and not lose out to inflation?
3726 Collective Investments You probably can't afford to buy an office block in the City of London, a Scottish pine forest, a football club,
or a one-third stake in a biotechnology company. Fortunately, though, you can still participate in such
investments, through the power of collective investment funds. We show you what they are and how they
work.
3725 Investing in Commodities The stock market hasn't been doing too well, house prices are stagnant, bank accounts pay nearly nothing
at all, and inflation is running at over 4 percent. It's become increasingly difficult to find a good investment.
But one area that has outperformed over the past few years has been commodities - metals, oil, gas,
agricultural commodities, timber even coal. Food prices have been going up (contributing to inflation), and
emerging markets such as China have ensured there is strong demand for oil and for metals such as steel
to feed that growing industries. So how do you invest in this area?
Current Articles
3723 Debt free! We're in debt up to our eyeballs. The average household debt in the UK is now over 8,000 - excluding
mortgages - and over 300 people a day are declared bankrupt or insolvent. Of course, debt can be useful.
Without debt, most of us wouldn't be able to own our homes. You might borrow in order to start up a new
practice. When you have a definite objective, there is nothing wrong with borrowing. But the kind of debt
that gets most people into trouble is the 'debt of a thousand cuts' - when they have just spent that little bit
more than they earned, month after month after month. Too many people end up with their debts running
their lives. A guide to getting out of debt.
3722 Investing in Smaller Companies They say a good big'un will always beat a good little'un - but that's not true in the world of investment,
where smaller companies generate some of the best returns.That's substantiated by the RBS Hoare
Govett Smaller Companies Index, which tracks the bottom 10 percent of the market by capitalisation. Since
1955, it's outperformed the FTSE All Share index by 3.2 percent a year. However returns don't come
without risk.
3721 Retirement Ahead According to many research studies, it's getting more and more difficult to look forward to a happy
retirement. Annuities are more expensive than they were a few years ago, as interest rates have fallen and
life expectancy has increased, and low interest rates also mean savings generate a lower income than was
the case before the credit crunch. However, there are a number of things you can do to improve your
retirement income.
3720 Savings for Children Most parents would like to set their children on the route to financial independence. But few parents are
financial experts - which is a pity, because there are some much better ways to save for their future than
just opening a savings account with your local branch. Here are some options.
3719 Investing for Income With the base rate standing at just half a percent, savers are squealing. Even the best of bank accounts
aren't paying much more than 3 percent - and that's less than the rate of inflation, so your savings will
actually decline in value once you adjust for inflation. So how do you invest for an income?
3682 PAYE Compliance Visits and the Taxman If you have employees, youll know all about the joy that is maintaining payroll and the PAYE system or
paying someone else to do it for you. What you may not have yet had is the pleasure of an HMRC
Compliance Visit. As part of their duty to ensure the tax system is working properly, HMRC visit employers
to make sure that they are operating PAYE correctly. The aim of these visits can be as much educational
as it is to penalise employers, and Revenue officials would prefer to find a totally compliant business with
clean records and a 100% on-time payment record. However, that cant stop you worrying about what
might be lurking in your payroll records if HMRC do announce that they want to make a Compliance Visit.
Here's how to plan for it.
3681 Dealing with HMRC PAYE Audits Whether you like it or not, all employers, large or small, will at some stage be subject to a PAYE Audit by
HM Revenue & Customs. Considering that the Government needs every penny it can get, the risk of an
audit has never been greater. So what does this mean for businesses and what should you do when its
your turn?
3670 Selling Up Tax Efficiently Amidst the doom and gloom of spending cuts and tax increases, there is some good news for business
owners who may be thinking of selling their business. If you have decided that it is time to sell up or hand
over the reins, you can dispose of all or part of a business and still pay tax at only 10 per cent on the gain.
Even better, the lifetime limit for qualifying gains has been greatly increased from 1 million to 5 million
per individual enough to cover the sale of most small and family businesses. In this feature we look at
this very generous tax relief and how to take advantage of it.
Current Articles
3660 Expenses What Can Be Claimed? Its very important that your business accounts and tax returns are correct. New penalty rules mean that
mistakes including claiming non-allowable expenses can be very costly. The tax legislation is complex,
and there is very little guidance on what can and cannot be claimed as deductions for income tax or
corporation tax purposes. So what can be claimed?
3650 Alternative Investments With equities, bonds and residential property all disappointing investors over the past few years, alternative
investments have received a fair amount of attention. From stamps and Barbie dolls to forests and jatropha
plantations, every investment has its fans and its detractors. Alternative investments can yield results, but
you do need to be careful.
3648 Managing Money A lot of us run our investments so that we end up with rag tag and bobtail investments that 'seemed like a
good idea at the time'. You're far more likely to make a positive return if instead of chasing share tips, you
sit down and think about how you ought to manage your money, and what you want it to do for you. So how
do you manage your money?
3645 Choosing A Stockbroker Do you remember the 'Tell Sid' campaign when British Gas was privatised? Back in 1986, the idea of
ordinary people owning shares in a company was revolutionary, and most stockbrokers were still very
traditional businesses with well-heeled customers. Now, more and more people are investing in shares,
and you're more likely to be dealing with a call centre or an online broker than going to visit a City office.
What do you need to know to invest?
3644 Savings Rates The Bank of England base rate has now stayed at half a percent for over eighteen months. The real value
of savings is being eroded by inflation, while anyone dependent on bank savings accounts for their income
has seen their income fall drastically. What can savers do to increase their interest income?
3641 Investing in Overseas Property Overseas property has become an increasingly popular investment in recent years. It's become much
easier than it used to be to buy abroad, with a whole infrastructure of specialised lawyers, lenders, and
agents springing up to help the buyer, and new products such as aparthotels and fractional ownership
arriving on the market. And while a villa on Ibiza will set you back a cool million, there are still many
destinations where small properties can be acquired for just the cost of a top-of-the-range BMW.
3640 Saving for Retirement Talk about retirement savings and everyone thinks you're talking about pensions. However, life isn't quite
that simple. A pension scheme is indeed a good way of saving for retirement, but it isn't the only one - or,
in some cases, the best one. What are the options.
3636 Pay less tax with your investments We look at your options if you want to pay less tax on your investments.
3635 How to invest in commercial property A look at how to invest in commercial property and the attractions that go with the territory,
3598 VAT Flat Rate Scheme (2011) VAT is a minefield for the unwary and anything that can help reduce the burden must surely be welcome. A
programme quietly introduced back in April 2002, the VAT flat rate scheme, is one such form of help from
HM Revenue & Customs that, if appropriate for your business, will not only save you time, but could also
lower your VAT bill - legitimately. We offer the detail.
3531 Handling an HMRC Enquiry What to do if HM Revenue & Customs target you for a tax enquiry.
3514 On the Business A look at what can happen when directors treat company money and assets as their own.
Current Articles
3483 Surviving A Tax Investigation Over the last few years HM Revenue and Customs has made a determined effort to clamp down on tax
avoidance by both businesses and private individuals. Several sectors of the economy have been targeted
for investigation; an evasion hotline has been set up; offshore disclosure programmes are ongoing; HMRC
has new powers and penalties at its disposal, and its compliance and investigation teams have been
strengthened. The recession has also given an added impetus to HMRCs tax recovery activities, due to
the enormous government expenditure on recession-related measures, combined with reductions in tax
revenues. Several different things could trigger a tax investigation, which could seriously damage both your
physical and financial health, so what are the key steps to avoiding and surviving an investigation?
3482 Working At Home - Claiming Tax Relief For Expenses The internet and flexible working arrangements are allowing increasing numbers of individuals to work at
home, either full-time or part-time. One of the questions this raises is What expenses can be claimed by
home workers for tax purposes? The answer depends mainly on whether the individual is employed or self-
employed. In this feature we look at why there is a difference, and then set out the position for various
types of expenses.
3463 Financing your Future It's so easy to assume that just because there's cash in the till that your finances are in order. But consider
that with a little time, effort and planning you can make your takings either work for you, or at the very
least, minimise your costs. But where to start?
3445 Utilising Your Tax Losses It is important, especially in a recession, for taxpayers to utilise any tax losses to maximum effect.
Typically, individuals may have realised a loss on disposal of a property or other investment, and sole
traders, partnerships and companies may have incurred trading losses. Capital gains tax rates changed
significantly on 6 April 2008, and the top income tax rate is set to increase on 6 April 2010, so this is an
opportune time to review the rules. Finally, we will briefly look at some special rules for trust losses.
3443 Business Vehicles An insight into the numerous forms of entities through which business can be undertaken.
3386 Ten Triggers for a Tax Investigation Despite HM Revenue & Customs best intentions, tax investigations can be stressful, time consuming and
expensive. Some investigations can take up two years to finalise and the penalty and interest charges
imposed can be crippling, especially in an economic downturn. Roughly one in a thousand enquiries is
selected on a random basis, in order to test the system and act as a deterrent. In the majority of
investigations however, an Inspectors risk assessment has highlighted that there is something wrong with
the return. There are a number of items which will increase the risk of an enquiry. Some enquiries are
unavoidable. For example, a return featuring a capital disposal of shares in a close company can be
expected to be subject to an aspect enquiry. However, many enquiries arise due to ignorance and
carelessness. Here we look at the main triggers for investigations, and provides tips to ensure you are not
selected.
3373 The Business Payment Support Service A Friend In Need? Are you a business that is suffering a cashflow problem? Are you having problems borrowing in order to
pay bills, including your taxes including VAT and Corporation Tax? If so, then HM Revenue & Customs
(HMRC) may have a solution for you.
3346 Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs)
3337 Want to Offer Consumer Credit? Even before the downturn in the economy, any business that offered its customers credit was already
making it easier to sell. But in todays tight market its imperative to offer as many ways of paying as
possible. The provision of consumer credit, whether interest free or not, may well be something that you
have thought of but have discounted on the basis of difficulty. The reality, however, is quite different. We
show you how.
Current Articles
3317 Green motoring: How much can you save? Green measures have been heavily promoted in recent Budget statements and Finance Acts. In some
cases, this has resulted in tax increases - for example, the much-criticised doubling of Air Passenger Duty
this year. Its not all bad news, however, as some green measures offer opportunities to save tax. Here we
look at how much tax can be saved if a business chooses to buy a company car with a low CO2 emission
rating, instead of a high-emission car that is otherwise comparable.
3298 VAT and Your Business VAT is a tax quite unlike any other you will encounter and the many rules that surround it are fraught with
danger. What are the basics that you need to know about?
3296 Inheritance Tax Implications For Business Owners Business tax planning normally focuses on minimising income tax or corporation tax on profits. Capital
gains tax and inheritance tax will come into the picture when a particular transaction such as a gift of
shares, sale of an asset or the transfer of a business is being considered, but have you considered your
position in the event of the death before retirement of a director, partner or shareholder?
3287 New Tax Penalties On The Way If you submit an incorrect tax return to HM Revenue and Customs and as a result your tax liability is
understated, you may be charged a penalty and interest, as well as the additional tax that becomes
payable when the error is corrected. Nothing new there, but what is new is that the penalty system has
been entirely revamped, and a new unified regime will apply to incorrect tax returns or other documents
submitted by individuals and businesses in relation to income tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax, PAYE
& NIC, the Construction Industry Scheme and VAT.Under this new system, many penalties are likely to be
higher than in the past. Some penalties will be charged where previously there would have been no
penalty, and in certain circumstances directors and other company officers may become personally liable
for company penalties.
3281 Tax: Obligations and Penalties Bad News? One of the more famous sayings about taxation is that nothing is certain in this life save death and taxes.
Benjamin Franklin, its 18th century originator, might currently be tempted to add a third part to his mantra
that taxpayers obligations and chances of being penalised are increasing significantly. So what is
happening and, more importantly, how do businesses in particular avoid falling foul of the taxmans new
powers? All taxpayers are potentially affected but, inevitably, businesses have more tax issues to manage.
3254 Ten Myths About VAT VAT is a very different tax to the direct taxes known by most people. For example, income tax
distinguishes between capital and revenue VAT does not. The term consideration (i.e. what you pay for
something you buy) has its own special European meaning. As a senior judge said in 2001: "Beyond the
everyday world... lies the world of VAT, a kind of fiscal theme park in which factual and legal realities are
suspended or inverted." It follows that you cannot look elsewhere for some form of logic that will allow you
to understand VAT you have to learn its rules and avoid the tripwires, including the VAT myths that have
grown up. Here is your guide.
3251 Capital Gains Tax Your Questions Answered Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is an important tax, particularly in a business context. It may not raise a lot of
money for the government in the great scheme of things (projected yield is 4.8bn this year, under 1% of
total tax take) but it can make quite a dent on what someone retains when selling something. Its probably
the UKs most complex tax and one that is in the throes of major change.
3227 Tipping the Light Fantastic As Christmas approaches, many service workers are looking forward to their earnings being supplemented
by the traditional increase in tips during the festive season. The practice of tipping dates back hundreds of
years, and tips (or gratuities, as they are more formally known) are an established part of the remuneration
package in some types of business. Many employers believe they act as an incentive to provide a better
service to customers, and they are an important element of earnings for the workers in question.
Current Articles
3209 Shares For Key Managers It often looks like a good idea to reward a key manager with some shares, but this generous gesture can
turn into an expensive problem. David Ogden looks at some of the tax pitfalls and ways you can avoid
them, so that your key managers can participate without any nasty surprises. Although we focus on owner-
managed businesses, many of the issues can arise in bigger private companies and even in quoted
companies. So how do you reward your staff?
3193 Reimbursing Homeworking Costs The Chartered Institute of Taxation has recently been discussing with HM Revenue & Customs the
circumstances under which an employer can reimburse a homeworker, working under homeworking
arrangements, for the cost of a broadband internet subscription that is in the employees name. A position
has now emerged from those discussions and its worth considering the wider aspects relating to where an
employer provides an employee with work accommodation, equipment, supplies and services both at the
employers premises and employees home (excluding vehicles and living accommodation).
3127 How to Structure Your Business Setting up in business can be very daunting. In particular, the tax treatment of income and expenditure,
and the way in which you can set up your business can be very confusing. So what are the differences in
the tax treatment between a sole trader, a partnership and a limited company?
3047 The Tax Calendar Keeping on top of deadlines is always a struggle. With tax deadlines the prospect of penalties and interest
can mean a financial penalty for non-compliance. To assist you keep on top of the ever increasing number
of deadlines, here are the main deadlines. Remember, missing a deadline not only means penalties and
interest, but it gives HM Revenue & Customs an excuse to trawl through your affairs.
3038 Top Ten Tax Myths Assumptions made by those in business can easily be wrong. Some will cause little harm, others, such as
those that relate to finance and taxation matters can cause disaster. Here we look at many of the top
myths that relate to tax.
2989 Indirect Taxes - What You Need To Know When Importing Goods With the advent of global trading and the relative ease with which goods can move within the EU, the
practical issues and costs that need to be considered when importing goods into the UK can often come as
a shock. In a special feature, here is an overview of the issues that businesses face when importing goods
into the UK from outside of the EU and the requirements which they must meet in accounting for and
paying the taxes and duties to HM Revenue & Customs.
2929 Investment Advice (Personal) You could be forgiven for being gloomy about opportunities for investment in 2006. House prices are no
longer rising, retail is doing very poorly, and several experts have forecast a stagnant stock market. But for
the smart investor, there are still opportunities around - and several of them are tax exempt, too. Some
pointers.
2908 Associated Companies It is noticeable that Inspectors of Taxes have been focusing attention on companies claims to pay
corporation tax at less than 30%. Why? Because a company with profits of up to the 300,000 limit pays
corporation tax at 19%. On profits of over the 1.5m limit it pays corporation tax at 30% and the company
has to pay this tax on an ongoing quarterly basis instead of paying the tax in arrears. On profits of between
300,000 and 1.5m there is a marginal rate. However, these limits are reduced when there are associated
companies. Many businesses uses Associated Company structures as a way of claiming as much of the
19% tax rate as possible. Naturally HMRC want to stop this. The rules
2885 The Options When You Need Finance For Expansion There are always reasons why a business needs more finance for expansion, for new machinery and
plant or to enable a partner or director to exit with a decent pension. If the bank isnt receptive to higher
borrowing, and you are not ready to float the company on the stock market, even the junior markets, what
other options can be explored?
Current Articles
2871 Tax Breaks for Technology Many who are self employed are probably familiar with the rules for calculating their taxable income, in
particular the rule that no deduction is allowed for capital expenditure. However where that capital
expenditure is on plant or machinery, reliefs are available in the form of capital allowances. These
allowances can be very valuable but are often ignored when setting budgets for capital expenditure.
2870 Mergers and Acquisitions Its only human nature to want your company to grow to be the biggest and best and the most profitable.
However, with any company, there will come a point when growth needs to come through a merger or
acquisition. But any company board worth its salt would be rightly quite cautious of this type of change -
they recognise the risks involved in a merger or acquisition. They are probably also aware that roughly
seven out of ten acquisitions or mergers fail to meet expectations. What would advisors suggest to
succeed?
2825 Payroll Software Many small businesses start off doing payroll manually. It seems the easiest thing to do. By the time the
boss is spending a day every month calculating his staffs pay and deductions, it might not seem so easy.
Payroll software can save businesses a huge amount of time. At the most basic level, because it handles
calculation of tax and National Insurance, it can save time doing the calculations. Even with just five
employees, the task can be complex if bonus payments or changes in tax code are involved. But payroll
software can also help in managing the business better. Most payroll systems produce a number of
reports, allowing employers to see where the payroll budget is being spent, and some also allow drilldown
functionality and further analysis.
2823 Accounting and Payroll for SMEs Accounting and payroll is typically one of the first areas a business looks at computerising. There are
significant benefits to this information is entered once and then used wherever required reducing the risk
of errors, statutory reporting is simplified and the availability of management information means that you
are able to forecast your business and then track your progress accordingly. As a result, many businesses
looking for their first accounting package start off using relatively simple software such as Microsoft Money
or Intuit QuickBooks which may well be quickly outgrown. For that reason, it's likely that you will be
shopping around for a more sophisticated application before too long. So where do you start?
2806 Tax and Refurbishment A lick of paint, a new carpet, a move to new premises? The day to day running of a business requires a
certain amount of money to be spent. How does the taxman treat the money you spend, or put another
way, how can you plan things in the most tax efficient way?
2774 Consuming Credit Shops and banks used to be two different things. But increasingly, retailers are providing finance offerings
in their branches, in order to boost their sales and provide a useful service to their customers. There is
certainly evidence that the availability of in-store credit can boost sales - despite the fact that many
customers have credit cards anyway. Being able to offer a loan at point of sale and break down that scary
price into manageable monthly payments can be the difference between a sale or a customer who walks
away. Offering credit can also help upsell - moving the customer up from the easily affordable but less
desirable product to the one they really want but can't quite afford, just now.
2773 Want to Sell Your Business? Sooner or later the owners of most businesses want to retire - the alternative, which is dying in the saddle,
is not that popular! And despite the despair of their parents, it is quite common for sons or daughters not to
have any interest in wanting to run the business that has fed and clothed them from birth. Experience
shows that it would be wrong to try and cajole family members into taking on the responsibility of running a
family business if they do not want to. So how do owner-managers maximise the return on the business
they own and settle down to a well-earned retirement?
Current Articles
2688 Public or Private? Pilkingtons Tiles has finally given up on life as a quoted company. It is not the only refugee from the stock
market in the past few years, either Tom Singh wants to take his fashion business New Look private,
Debenhams has gone, restaurant group Giardino went, and property group Chelsfield has also made its
exit. To directors who dream of one day being listed, that may seem strange. Why would a company turn
its back on the stock market? There are, in fact, a number of good reasons.
2628 Popularity of Flexible Benefits Take a second look at some of the employees you see cycling to work in Oxford. Two wheels provide the
most convenient means of getting around in a city that is notoriously clogged by the motor car. But in this
case the bicycles are on the company. Bicycles are among the more unusual examples of what can be
provided by a flexible benefits scheme, the arrangement whereby an employer offers a package up to a
certain financial limit from which employees can choose the items they want in the proportions they prefer.
The shopping list, of course, is endless. A look at the options.
2605 Annuities and the Alternatives Although annuity rates have ticked up a little since June, they remain low in historical terms. Individuals
approaching retirement may be looking at lower incomes than they had hoped for particularly if their
investment performance over the last few years has not been stellar. Fortunately there are a number of
ways in which most individuals particularly those with reasonably large savings can increase their
annuity income
2583 Strapped For Cash? Youve just completed years of studying and now youre in the world of work. Well done youve sorted out
your education now you need to sort out your finances. Up to your neck in debt, you find that the financial
world is starting to bombard you with offers that you cannot refuse. Or can you? Where do you start?
2551 Practical Guide To Financial Health Checks Financial control can be one of the toughest jobs when you are running a business, unless you keep a
wary eye on credit control, prompt despatch of invoices, carry minimal stock levels and watch cash flow
like a hawk. Weve all come across business friends and colleagues who havent watched these vital points
closely enough and have suffered awful consequences. So how can you manage your business better?
2541 Are Your Credit Terms Really Working In Your Favour? Many businesses still do not consider credit management a high priority. Yet no business can afford to
take a lax line today as far as prompt invoicing and prompt payment of accounts are concerned. But how
do you chase-up payment without offending often valuable customers?
2498 Want To Complain About Your Financial Institution? David versus Goliath. Thats how most people and businesses see themselves when facing down a bank
or other financial institution over a problem which they believe is not of their own making. It might be a poor
banking service, atrocious handling of an insurance claim or just plain bad advice youve received. Either
way, you want to complain, but feel that to do so would be a total waste of time. But is it?
2474 A Family Affair Bringing in the new generation is a major threat to your business and your personal wealth. Only 30 per
cent of businesses make it to generation two, while perhaps 10 per cent make it to generation three. Many
of those pondering handing over the firm decide that an assumption of immortality is far easier than doing
anything. Nearly a quarter of the owners of family businesses have not written a will and nearly half have
done nothing to identify a successor. Yet, if the business is fundamentally healthy, then these pitfalls are
avoidable as long as you are willing to face up to the unpalatable truth that no one is immortal and now is
the time to start planning for the day you pass on the business.
2431 European Investment With the dollar recently falling against the euro, in a dramatic reversal of the last years trend, and with poor
results coming out of the US, some fund managers are beginning to ask whether Europe is a better place
to be. Well is it?
Current Articles
2355 Hoodwinking Husbands: Now Extinct Many small business people obtain bank loans to finance their business in return for a charge on their
family home. Where the trader is co-habiting with a spouse or partner the latter's agreement to the charge
will be required. On several occasions the courts have had to consider the issue of whether a bank's ability
to take possession of the charged property should be affected by the lack of understanding on the part of
the wife or partner of the full implications of giving the charge. We outline what the courts have ruled and
how it affects the borrower.
2296 Cutting The Cost Of Your Insurance Insurance is one of those costs you can't really cut out of your life. It doesnt make sense to stop insuring
your possessions, your home and your business. But for many of us it is an appreciable cost. Obviously,
one way of reducing that cost is by shopping around and finding a good quote. But another way to pull the
price down is to improve your security not only are you then less likely to be burgled, but youll probably
find your insurance becoming more competitive.
2288 Evaluating Your Portfolio Risk For anyone with investments in shares, fund management schemes and the like, 2001 is an interesting
period for them. How should the investor evaluate the risk attached to each investment?
2287 Timing The Market Watching the market on the skids at the moment, investors must be wondering whether it wouldn't be
better to sell their stocks, go a hundred percent into cash, and just avoid the pain. Superficially, that seems
a very attractive strategy. But as the aerobics instructors used to say "No pain, no gain." Market timing
would be a great idea if you could guarantee getting in at the bottom and out at the top, and not the other
way around. Some advice on how to read the markets.
2277 Preparing A Business Plan A well-drafted business plan is not only key when seeking finance, it is a valuable business tool. We
explain how to produce an effective plan.
2271 Managing Cashflow Picture the scenario. You have just had the annual meeting with your accountant. You have had a good
year and produced a reasonable profit. However the bank overdraft is at its limit and you were hoping to
take out extra cash on the strength of the years result. Sounds familiar? Many firms in all business
sectors are plagued by intermittent cashflow problems, but if you make a profit why cant you take the
money out? And where does the cash go? We show you how to turn and overdraft into a balance.
2223 Charitable Donations By Companies And Their Employees The life of the charity fundraiser is harder than ever before. The growth of the charity sector and mass
fundraising techniques have led to increased competition between charities for the funds available and the
public seem to be more cynical and cautious about giving to charity. One of the main intentions of the
Charities Commission is to increase public confidence in charities and that will lead to an increased
interest in fundraising activities. Companies are increasingly becoming a source of funds for charities either
through payroll giving by employees, direct giving/donations by the company or through company
sponsorship and the giving of time or services. We look at how the process works and how businesses can
give.
2207 Ten Top Tips For Keeping The Bank On Your Side A good relationship with your bank is essential for business success. The need for a good relationship with
your bank is important - without bank support, many companies would not survive. If your banker
understands your business and your objectives, he is more likely to assist in the event of cash flow
difficulties or other problems. So, for long-term business success, its essential to invest time and energy in
maintaining a solid relationship with your bank. Here we explain what you should do.
Current Articles
2198 What's My Business Worth? People build businesses for different reasons. Some love their sector, others love the buzz whilst a few
seek the prestige. Most however, are interested in the value of their business, which reflects the hard work
and risks taken over the years. It is always interesting to see the terms on which businesses sell
sometimes, a sale can reflect standard rules to thumb and valuation formulae, whilst on other occasions
the final deal would appear to defy logic. To understand this more fully, we need to understand the rational
of both buyer and seller. This is not a bad start point in any negotiation. So how do you go about valuing a
business?
2141 Insure Against Costly Tax Investigations A call by a tax inspector can be a stressful experience, but also costly. Accountants warn that the rate of
investigations has doubled in the last ten years. Beware of random investigations no individual or
business is immune. The Revenue will target particular trades under self-assessment. Limited companies
and large partnerships also face an ever-growing prospect of PAYE/PIID/DES (Contributions Agency) as
well as VAT investigations, which can be costly and time-consuming. A routine Inland Revenue
investigation could last in excess of twelve months and could cost more than 2,000 in professional fees to
complete. Not surprisingly, more accountants are now advising their clients to take out insurance against
the possibility of an investigation or enquiry.
2082 Managing on a Budget Managing your money isn't easy. While supporting yourself at university may have been a struggle,
financing yourself immediately after graduation can be just as hard particularly as your finances won't
change overnight. Now is the time you will want your bank to be flexible and understanding.
2038 Startups and Insurance Enthusiasm when starting a business is admirable, even vital, but the excitement of a new venture should
never obscure the risks. The law demands two types of insurance, but what of the others? What are you
missing out at your peril?
1979 Cashflow / Relationships With Banks How do you manage your relationship with your bank? What is it that they are looking for when you seek
funding?
1858 A Time For Giving Christmas time is meant to be a time for giving. Can businesses reward staff in a tax efficient way?
1833 Playing With Interest When the Bank of England raises interest rates, business owners get anxious. Whatever happens, its
certainly time to check out your businesss exposure to interest rate changes - and there are some simple
things you can do to make sure that if rates do rise, youre protected.
1825 Using Financial PRs When a company faces a hostile takeover bid - thats when top financial PR expertise comes into its own.
Thats when a war cabinet has to be formed fast to fight the assault, and financial PR advisers join the
companys chief executive, finance director, corporate bankers, lawyers and accountants, often in daily
manoeuvres to fight off the bid. Similarly, a war cabinet may be necessary to mount a takeover bid when
its likely to be contested, again including financial PR specialists. Financial PR, as one leading City retail
analyst puts it really comes into play when a company is involved in on-going corporate activity, like a bid
situation. Thats when the strength of contacts with financial journalists counts.
1797 Financing Growth Looks at ways of introducing new finance into your business.
1658 Divorce & the Family Business If a husband and wife jointly own a business which they started or inherited and the marriage breaks down
and one partner wants to withdraw his or her share, how can the business be protected? Even when one
spouse has no direct interest or involvement in the business but insists on his or her 50 per cent share of
the estate which includes the business, can continuity be assured? With one in three marriages destined to
end in the divorce courts - and often with an acrimonious break-up, can the business be saved?
Current Articles
1604 Reducing Your Liabilities The traditional approach to competition seems to be to wait until it hurts, and then start reducing the
workforce. However, reducing costs is the final step in a good survival strategy. First, businesses should
look at reducing their liabilities - with a focus on healthy cash flow - and reducing their risks. Next, they
should prioritise their investment spending. Only then should costs be addressed.
1534 On the Outside Looking In Less than one more year to go before much of continental Europe gets its first single currency since Julius
Caesar's legions marched across Gaul. The carnage could be even worse this time for British companies
that don't face up to the inevitable. For the start, at least, we're going to be on the outside looking in. But
the euro is going to happen whether British firms like it or not. But while the longer term position is
important, there are more pressing matters to attend to - and only a few months to deal with them. For,
according to one EMU-watcher, Britain looks like getting the euro "by stealth".
1520 Selling Up Has the latest wave of mergers, acquisitions and business sales gone ballistic? Merger brokers, bankers,
lawyers and accountants have rarely been busier negotiating and concluding deals for their clients. What
drives this frenzy of merger and acquisition activity?
1192 10 Financial Resolutions Whether it's the start of a new calendar year or your financial year, the opportunity exists for you to make
some resolutions to improve your business. Here are some suggestions.
802 Getting Finance From The Bank A practical guide on getting extra finance from your bank. This article covers the sorts of things that are
likely to influence a `yes or no' decision, and how to attempt to influence the person who decides your
future.
704 Looking After Your Cash Businesses don't survive because they make a profit, they survive because they have cash. Here are ten
simple and practical ways to make cash and to make it work for you.
640 Cashflows and Under-capitalisation Bills are paid out of cash not profits. But in many cases, businesses with full orders cannot meet their bills
because of poor levels of free capital in the business. This article gives a brief hint on what to expect and
what might be done to improve matters.
597 Factoring - An Accountants View The traditional financing method of an overdraft is getting more expensive, particularly when you bring in
the transaction charges and arrangement fees into the cost equation. Moreover, overdrafts are repayable
on demand and have proved to be unreliable in the recent past. Nowadays, factoring and invoice
discounting are playing an increasingly major role in the trade and asset based financing of businesses.
Factoring has an advantage over overdraft in that the facility grows with turnover, as opposed to being fixed
until the next renewal date. But what should you look for when negotiating a factoring deal? What are the
catches? Is factoring something that can be used by all businesses?
269 Credit Insurance How to insure your sales so that bad debts become a thing of the past.
261 Working Capital How to make use of confidential factoring to enhance your cash flow, but without letting your customers
know there is a problem.
203 Five Ways To Borrow Examines the various methods of raising more cash for your business.
145 10 Ratio Rationale 10 ways to examine how well your business is doing.
99 Undercapitalisation How to combat the results of a firm set up with too little capital.
64 Car, Van and Lorry Auctions This feature examines car auctions and the way they work. A guide to buying your next car, van or lorry for
less.
54 Cashflows Demonstrates the benefits of using cashflow forecasting.
Current Articles
44 8 Principles of Banking An ex-bank manager turned writer's view on what banks look for when examining requests for finance.
42 Auditing A 10 point plan to making auditing easier for the auditor and therefore, cheaper to the businessman.
Interest
3931 Death on the roads? A look at trackdays for would be racing drivers.
3868 Serving Society Service organisations and clubs are just one element of the so-called third sector that make up the fabric
of Britain. Whether its Rotary, the Lions, Round Table, 41 Club or any of the other countless groups that
exist in the community, joining a service organisation is seen, by some, as being old fashioned or for just
one small strand of society. Sadly, this line of thinking makes joining an organisation hard for many as
perception creates inertia. However, the reality of being a member of a communally minded club is so
much different as membership can be very rewarding.
3848 Isnt Tax Interesting? In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes - so said Benjamin Franklin, one of
the founding fathers of the United States of America. Although Franklin offered his advice in the 18th
century, those two certainties have been with us ever since man came out of the cave. From a time when
the ancient Greeks taxed, amongst things, slaves and wine, to the present day taxes imposed on alcohol,
flying or property, paying the state has not really changed.
3755 Sailing - If Its Good Enough For 007 James Bonds done it. Ted Heath did it. And Pete Townsends still at it. What is being described? Why
sailing of course. Britain is a maritime nation and the British are a people in love with the sea. With a long
history of seafaring and a tradition to match, you dont have to think very hard to consider how our lives
have become so intertwined with the sea. Just think of great British naval victories Jutland, Trafalgar, and
the Falklands; great British sea shanties Drunken Sailor and Rule, Britannia!; and great British sailors
Sir Francis Drake, Lord Nelson, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and more recently, Dame Ellen MacArthur. We
can all take to water if we want to - despite its image sailing isnt an elitist pastime. So whether you want to
learn to sail, hire a boat with a skipper or go on a yachting holiday letting others else manage the graft, its
all quite do-able you just need to put a little time and effort into finding what you want.
3621 So What Did The Romans Do For Us? "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Thats according to Charles H. Duell, Commissioner
of US Patent Office, in 1899. Whilst hes probably been misquoted, its quite clear that invention and
innovation have no intention of stopping. In our modern lives we are so dependent on technology. It would
be fascinating to return to a pre-industrial period, but how would we cope? So with rose tinted spectacles
on, we take a rather subjective look at several inventions that we take for granted and which make our lives
so much easier.
3500 Kid's Telly of Yesteryear Nostalgia is in fashion. Marks and Spencer are using their old logos on bags; the Milky Bar kid has
mounted up again and the 1973 Hovis delivery boy has made a return. It seems that in tough times we all
return to what we know and like. So with this in mind, let's travel back in time to children's television of the
sixties, seventies and eighties.
3407 Days out with the National Trust Its safe to say that everyone is feeling the pinch this year and the predictions are that more people than
ever are expected to holiday in the UK. And why not theres plenty to do, no risk of lost baggage and the
locals speak the same language, generally. So if you are planning to stay in the UK, what can you visit
without spending a fortune? One option is to join the National Trust. With some of the most beautiful and
interesting properties and landscapes throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland has a
separate sister organisation), youll not only see these places for free but youll also be supporting their
work in preserving land, buildings and places of historic interest.
Current Articles
3405 Things To Do When You Hit 40 Parachuting with a hangover, breaking a large plate glass window, pulling a shemale by mistake (you
realise in time), destroying a speed camera, making a bomb, giving yourself a mains electric shock and
hotwiring a car. What do they all have in common? They are part of a list of 50 things that one blogger
wanted to do before he hit 40. A little extreme dont you think? Getting old, depending on your perspective,
isnt all its cracked up to be. Sure, youll have more money, until recently anyway; youll be master of your
universe until the missus decides otherwise; and youll have the experience of your years to be wise, at
least until whatever it was you were trying to achieve goes horribly wrong.
3356 Great Roller Coasters of the World (and Great Britain) Do you consider yourself an adrenaline junkie, a daredevil competitive dad who is afraid of nothing? Are
you on the look out for different ways of expressing your enthusiasm for meeting your maker sooner rather
than later? Well what better way can there be than tackling the worlds greatest rollercoasters.
3226 Military Places of Interest There can be nothing more fascinating to red-blooded males than war. With cracking World War Two films
such as the Great Escape and The Dambusters, and seeing vintage aircraft flying down The Mall to
celebrate the Queens 80th birthday, its impossible not to be interested in war.But remembering past
military conflicts can make interesting days not only for tablers, but also for the family. Here, then, is a
guide to six places to visit. Its only a sample though there are just too many to list.
3211 Moving Abroad Perhaps you have been won over by A Place in the Sun and other television programmes. A warm climate,
excellent inexpensive wine and cheaper living all smack of a highly desirable lifestyle, especially if youre
enduring a wet Sunday afternoon in Britain. Yes, all those attractions are genuine, but many aspects of
moving abroad must be confronted before you can realise the romantic dream. Be ready for them because
they can take time and can hit your pocket. But do be sure to do your homework.
3206 History of Toilets There are several great levellers known to man, that is things that affect everyone, irrespective of rank or
status. Two are obvious death and taxes as Benjamin Franklin eloquently put it. But there is a third that
we politely ignore and its one that can prove ever so uplifting should you feel intimidated by someone you
really dont like - everybody poos. And its true just imagine your worst enemy opening their bowels and
the world seems alright again.But with our modern conveniences excuse the pun - we are so removed
from an animal part of our lives.
3015 Family Fun And It Doesnt Have To Be Expensive Its the run up to Christmas and people are thinking of holidays. Those with children may even be thinking
of a trip to Lapland. But Lapland is anything but cheap. If you are on a budget, you might be able to get
away with spending around 1500 for a family of four, but that will get you a day trip. Up at dawn with an
intensive and rushed day. A delay or a security problem and your 1500 will be flushed straight down the
pan. On the other hand, those with cash to burn can set themselves up with a fantastic trip where
everything runs like clockwork, where the parents get a break as the children are taken off to play. And
there goes Santa and 4000. But there are alternatives that are festive, much less expensive and which
are guaranteed to amuse and delight the children. Here are two of them.
2858 Taking The Piste A ski resort will be on the agenda for thousands of Brits this winter, shoals of them taking part for the first
time in this growing activity. The novices ought to be looking for a resort that offers creature comforts, and
everybody will be advised to request a guide if they are going off-piste. If you ask the experts they may tell
you the best skiing is in France and that the resorts with the most beautiful surroundings are in Austria.
They may also talk of Tigny and St Moritz and Val dIsre. However, the enterprising skier may want to
seek out something a little different.
2857 Romantic Destinations Escaping for a few days from the routine chores and the children, much as you love them, can be
paradise. There are no letters to open, no lawns to cut, and no noises off, but where to go?
2830 Consumer Rights - Customers Perspective Most buyers of xy &z products are happy with their new purchases. But sometimes, things go wrong - and
thats when knowing your legal rights can help you get things straightened out.
Current Articles
2762 Summer Breaks Now that the nights have drawn in and the scarves are out when better than to start planning your
summer getaways? We look at four of the best holiday destinations
Legal
3927 Unfair Dismissal Guidance For Employees According to recent statistics from the Ministry of Justice, employment tribunals received a total of 186,300
claims in 2011-12. 31% - the most significant percentage - of all of these claims were for unfair dismissal,
which amounts to some 58,000 claims. We clarify the situations in which an unfair dismissal claim can be
pursued, and the impact of the government's proposed changes to this complex area of law.
3925 Is Your Business Over-Rated? Business rates along with rent and employees form a large part of the fixed costs that businesses and
organisations have to pay irrespective of whatever they earn. While many at the top believe that a rates
demand, once received, must be paid in full and without question, there are others who know that the
system does have a little leeway built into it.
3918 Legally Online The growth of online shopping shows no sign of abating. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) expects a
14% increase in UK online sales to reach 57.39 billion in 2012. This means that in the UK, 13.2% of retail
sales will be online. The attractions of buying online are many. One downside is that you cannot actually
see and feel the goods until you have already paid for them and they have been delivered. This is why the
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations (DSRs) - which have been in force since October
2000 - give legal rights to consumers who buy online. In fact, these legal rights place the consumer in a
much stronger position than they would be buying goods in store. And they can be seriously
disadvantageous to the trader. However, to some extent online traders can re-dress the balance and
improve the default position through their terms and conditions.
3917 Wish You Weren't Here? - Sickness and Annual Leave Employers could be forgiven for lacking sympathy with an employee who returns from a holiday
complaining that that they were sick during their annual leave that they couldn't properly enjoy it -
particularly if the employee is sporting a suspiciously healthy looking tan. However, a European Court of
Justice case, deals with just this situation, and, whilst it makes no comment where an employer's
sympathy should lie, it does come to a very clear and potentially surprising conclusion: an employee who is
unwell during their annual leave can require their employer to reschedule their annual leave to a later date.
An employee cannot be unwell and take their annual leave at the same time.
3912 Keeping Good Company? Should you incorporate, or are you better off as a sole trader or a partnership? Its a simple question, but
the answer to it will depend on a whole bunch of factors, from what you want to do with the business to
how much money you make, and what you want to do with the profits.
3910 Sudden Death: What does it mean for your business? It is often said that we should live our lives as if we were going to die tomorrow. This advice is particularly
true for the owners of businesses. Sadly, this group is often the least likely to have made the appropriate
arrangements. Busy people, engaged in running a business often do not have time to give proper
consideration to their personal lives and to put in place the planning required. This can have disastrous
results, not only for their family members, but also for their fellow business owners.
3909 Master class on share classes The purpose for a company issuing shares (equity finance) will vary between companies. Smaller
companies often issue shares as a means for allocating control, while larger companies primary focus is
often on raising new finance. By creating different classes of shares with different rights as to voting,
capital or dividends, many companies use ingenious methods to market their securities (thereby raising
new capital) without necessarily diluting existing shareholding control. As such, the importance of having
the legal and administrative frameworks for a companys share capital and its shareholders in place,
cannot be overstated. So what are the key aspects of different classes of shares; how and why a dividend
may be declared then waived by a shareholder(s), and what constitutes an unlawful dividend?
Current Articles
3907 Steps To Take When Greeted By An Employment Tribunal Claim Tribunal Services statistics for 2010/2011 show that employment tribunal claims were up 77% on the
figures for 2008/2009. Its clear from these figures that employees are far more willing to bring claims,
which in turn, means that you are now far more likely to receive an ET1 claim form tucked away in your
morning post. But all is not lost and you can prepare for such a claim.
3906 Harassment and targets Harassment is a word commonly used by employees during grievance hearings or in Employment Tribunal
claims, but what does it really mean, who can complain of it and what action can they take? In particular,
what steps should an employer take when considering setting or implementing employee targets.
3891 Tips for shareholders' agreements Its quite common that friends want to launch a new business. They think they have dealt with some of the
main issues of setting up a business, such as incorporating the company, finding and protecting a
business name and entering a lease on new premises. The investor then asks to see the proposed
shareholders' agreement. For many, the response is why do we need this?, were all friends and arent
going to fall out or havent we spent enough time and money with professional advisers already? But
shareholders' agreements should be considered as a necessity, rather than a luxury, and thats the reason
why the investor is asking to see a copy. Here, then, are tips for entrepreneurs.
3890 Intellectual property value Intellectual property (IP) is often overlooked when assessing the value of a business and sadly it does not
always appear on a companys balance sheets. This is because many businesses do not appreciate the
value of the IP they have. IP that most small and medium-sized businesses possess include their know-
how, commercial processes and websites. Sometimes they may also have registered IP in the form of
patents and trademarks. Intellectual property, if exploited well, could become worth more than the
company itself.
3889 Banter know your limits or it could cost you! Banter at work is not uncommon. However, when can banter cross the line to become unwanted conduct
amounting to harassment and a breach of the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010)? Employers could be leaving
themselves open to legal action by not being aware of the nature and extent of banter taking place
between their employees at work, or even outside of work. Employers could also find themselves in further
trouble if they have ignored and dismissed employees concerns. Worryingly, research conducted in 2011
revealed that some employers did not consider it their responsibility to regulate the level of banter at work.
3883 Paying Your Dues: Common National Minimum Wage Errors Love it or hate it, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a fact of life for all employers, and one which
needs to be complied with if you want to avoid some potentially expensive and inconvenient
consequences. Its not specifically a tax thing, but is nevertheless enforced by officers from HM Revenue
and Customs. They have 17 small operational teams operating throughout the UK identifying non-
compliance, and in 2010/11, they identified almost 4 million in arrears, benefitting around 23,000 workers.
3870 A Practical Guide to Data Protection for Business With the high profile phone hacking scandal involving the News of the World and the Sun, privacy issues,
losses and misuse of private information has never been so prominent. Consider the data loss by HM
Revenue and Customs of the details of 25 million tax records in 2007, the 2.3 million fine levied on Zurich
Insurance following the loss of 46,000 customers personal data in 2010 and more recently, the 140,000
penalty handed to Midlothian Council in January 2012 for five serious data protection breaches. These
examples and a cursory look on the Information Commissioners website illustrate that data losses are not
a rare occurrence.
3855 Equality and Inclusion in Recruitment The recruitment of staff is frequently a headache for employers. The need to get the 'right person for the
job' is often central to a successful working environment. The recruitment process takes time, uses up
resources, and ultimately involves difficult decisions. Throughout this employers must ensure that the
process is operated in a non-discriminatory way. This requires compliance with the Equality Act 2010 which
sets out the framework of anti-discrimination legislation in the UK.
Current Articles
3852 Euro Fallout Will It Affect You? For many, the question on their lips is which country will be the first to exit the eurozone. Whether an
existing eurozone member jumps or is pushed is irrelevant. The consequences for many businesses are
likely to be severe. This is particularly so because there is no English or EU law which addresses the legal
effect of a change of currency resulting from a eurozone exit. This stands in stark contrast to the situation
in certain US states that have such laws.
3847 The HSEs Targeting of Senior Managers and Company Directors Directors and senior managers at all organisations should know the importance of taking health and safety
seriously, both for themselves and for their organisation. However, how many of these senior officials know
and take seriously the risks of personally liability under health and safety law? In times of dramatic public
sector cut backs, the HSE is finding the prosecution of individuals a much easier, quicker, and cheaper
method of punishing health and safety crimes than prosecuting organisations (or even full-blown police-led
corporate manslaughter prosecutions in the event of a fatality).
3843 Top Tips For Dealing With Commercial Disputes Part of the economic cycle is that when trading conditions become difficult, the number of disputes
between erstwhile trading partners increases. A who said what or who did what row may seem a cheaper
way out than performing a contract, whatever type of contract it is agency, distributorship, supply,
manufacturing, or just sale. But when a dispute gets serious, the first steps you take can have a profound
impact on how the dispute unfolds and who will achieve the better outcome irrespective of whether they are
the innocent party or the wrongdoer. So what should you be thinking of as soon as dispute arises?
3839 Bribery: The Civil Consequences Bribery is currently a hot topic. The World Bank recently estimated bribery costs the world $1 trillion a year.
Much commentary surrounds the recently enacted Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) and its effect on companies
and their directors and officers. Particular attention is being given to the strict liability corporate offence of
failing to prevent bribery, the defence to which is to have adequate procedures in place with a strong
focus on the criminal liability of the person or organisation giving the bribe. More stringent anti-corruption
policies being implemented and more internal investigations into corruption arising from the BA 2010 are
likely to lead to the discovery of more bribery and corruption. What many people and companies do not
realise is that civil actions can be directed at both the briber and the receiver of bribes by the principal of a
bribed agent who has entered into a contract as a result of the bribe being paid to that agent. This means
that the principal, who is the victim of the bribe, can recover compensation. It is also possible for the
principal of the briber who does not know of their agent's corrupt activities (and also arguably a victim) to
recover the bribe and damages.
3829 Potential Personal Exposure of Directors The recent case at the end of 2011 involving Langreen Limited (in Liquidation) revisits the question of the
potential personal exposure of directors if their company fails financially. For once, directors have been
offered some comfort.
3819 Maternity Rights and Pay Employment law is a very hard to navigate through and one of the areas where problems frequently arise is
that of maternity rights and pay. Whilst the Government may be planning changes in the way that family
friendly policies work according to The Guardian - employers and employees alike need to know their
rights and obligations as they presently stand.
3817 New Consumers Rights From the EU A new EU Consumer Rights Directive was adopted in October 2011 by the EU's Council of Ministers
following previous approval given by the European Parliament. The new directive aims to simplify elements
of the existing EU consumer rights directives into one set of rules; for all involved the directive will mean
greater consistency in consumer law across the whole of the European Union.
3813 To Fail to Plan is to Plan to Fail: Wills for Entrepreneurs Nearly two-thirds of the population will die without making a Will. This means that their estates will be
administered according to the rules of intestacy where the law determines how an estate is divided The
wishes of the deceased are not taken into account and in extreme cases the State gets everything. Now
throw a business into the mix and there's a receipe for real disaster.
Current Articles
3812 Employing Non-British Staff Getting it Right As a result of a high profile Border Agency campaign, most employers are now aware that if they
negligently hire workers with no permission to take employment in the UK, they could face a fine of up to
10,000 for each migrant. Further, those who knowingly hire illegal workers risk an unlimited fine and/or a
prison sentence of up to two years. When faced with a migrant worker - that is anyone who is not British, it
is important to work through simple steps one at a time to ensure the migrants permission to work in the
UK.
3811 Dont Let The Taxman Haul Away Too Much Tax Paying taxes is a fact of life. In the case of Corporation Tax, you could even say its a good thing after all,
you only pay taxes if youre making profits. But still, theres no compulsion to pay more than the law
requires, and even less reason to waste money on unnecessary administration, interest or enquiry costs.
Its worth remembering that tax is complex, and changes regularly, so in the long run it will almost certainly
pay you to find an expert who understands the issues faced by your kind of business. Here then are five
areas where your business can make tax savings legitimately.
3808 A Little Less Conversation A Little More Action? The health and safety landscape of Britain changed at the end of September as the HSEs telephone
Infoline was axed and telephone RIDDOR reporting was removed for all but the most serious of injuries.
However, more is to come as the HSE is to get the ability to recover costs from next April. Businesses
need to sit up and pay attention.
3807 To Guarantee Or Not To Guarantee Ten Top Tips You are a director of a growing UK business. Trading is good and you are keen to expand. You have met
with your bank who agreed to extend your banking facilities. However, you must agree to issue a Personal
Guarantee. Increasing numbers of UK directors are being faced with this request. Many, optimistic about
their business growth prospects, will sign on the dotted line. However, such blind optimism is often
misplaced. Here are our top ten tips for potential guarantors.
3795 Dealing with Historical Misconduct The public relations and commercial disaster that has befallen the News of the World following the phone
hacking scandal cannot have been missed. The allegations date back many years and have resulted in the
closure of an institutional publication, the resignation of numerous senior staff and managers being
subjected to scrutiny in the House of Commons. The story raises a difficult issue for employers of how to
deal with misconduct in the workplace which comes to light some time after the incident occurs.
3790 Dont Pay the Penalty: Common Health and Safety Pitfalls With a climate of redundancies, budget cuts and tax increases, many health and safety commentators
have voiced concerns that this could lead to poorer health and safety compliance as a result of businesses
tightening their belts and prioritising funds on what they consider to be more "business critical" areas. With
headlines detailing the 35 per cent cut in the Health and Safety Executives budget, many see the prospect
of inspections falling and incidents rising.
3787 Eight Common Mistakes Tenants Make In Leasing Premises The cost of leasing premises is generally one of the top three costs of any business. Commonly it is
second only to the cost of salaries. It is also one of the longest financial commitments that a business
makes requiring owners to predict how their businesses will look in five, ten and fifteen years time, which is
difficult for even the most established players. By choosing the right landlord and lease terms there are
ways of managing the ultimate costs of leasing premises, but it is vital that tenants are considering the
issues well in advance of signing up. Costly mistakes arise because tenants do not consider the
implications of unquestioningly accepting the terms landlords have traditionally offered.
3778 Data Protection: The ICOs Data Sharing Code of Practice Are you a business that holds personal information on staff or customers? If so, you need to be aware of a
new Code of Practice recently published by the Information Commissioners Office which offers guidelines
on when data can be shared and how it should be protected. The Code also includes information on data
sharing laws, advice on remaining transparent and avoiding common mistakes, and a summary checklist
that can be used as a quick reference guide to sharing information.
Current Articles
3758 Private Investigators in Fraud Cases Privacy is the hot topic of the moment, the profile of super injunctions and the News of the World scandal
has stoked the debate on what right each of us have to privacy. Whilst the courts have been elevating
privacy as a right born out of the European Convention of Human Rights, private investigators in Britain,
meanwhile, are not subject to any regulation or licensing other than the general law. Fraud has,
simultaneously, been on the rise and has become of increasing concern to businesses in a vulnerable time
when there is greater pressure to protect and grow profit margins. So perhaps now is an interesting time to
consider when it is useful for a business, and a credit manager in particular, to instruct a private
investigator, the evidence they might uncover and its potential use in court.
3756 The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 The Agency Workers Regulations are due to come into force on 1st October this year. They will affect 3
different groups: the agency worker, the temporary workers agency which provides the worker to the hirer,
and the hirer.
If you use agency workers, then you must prepare for these regulations in time for October. They impose
duties on both agencies and hirers and if either breaches the regulations the agency worker can claim
against either or both at an employment tribunal. The tribunal can award compensation, make a
declaration and make recommendations for action to be taken.
3754 Older Workers A Practical Guide Most employers will by now be aware that, as of this year, it is illegal to retire employees simply because
they have reached a certain age. Notification of retirement based on the default retirement age of 65 may
not be issued after 5 April 2011. This applies to large and small employers alike, and to employees and
partners alike. What can employers do to mitigate the impact of this potentially difficult change? Here are
some tips to help employers deal with the changed environment.
3746 The Fraud Act and Traps for the Unwary A rise in fraud has gone hand in hand with the recession. More people have turned to crime to solve their
money problems. However, the recession cannot entirely explain the worrying 25% increase in fraud in the
past 5 years (www.cifas.org.uk). Director perpetrated fraud has hit the headlines on countless occasions.
Just recently one director was found guilty on 11 counts in relation to a 1.3m property fraud for auctioning
a series of unprofitable shops whilst advertising them to be profitable. The threat of a maximum 10 year
prison sentence will be making him think twice in the anticipation of his sentencing in July
(www.sfo.gov.uk). This prevalence means that a major concern for a manager should be, how can I
identify and protect the business against fraud?
3736 Happy Holidays! After a long hard winter the holiday season is finally upon us. Paid time off from work may mean a "dream"
vacation for some, for others, the opportunity to catch up with friends, family or the gardening. Some may
just take time out to do "nothing". Whatever their plans, many employees regard holiday to be the most
significant employment benefit that they receive.
3724 References Employers Peril The recent case of Bullimore v Pothecary Witham Weld provides a salutary lesson to all employers who
are asked to give a reference. It is particularly interesting as the case involves two firms of solicitors and a
solicitor who perhaps ought to have known better; indeed, the awards against them exceeded 50,000. We
offer tips to help you avoid the same mistakes.
3711 Bullying At Work We probably know it when we see it or suffer it, but it can be hard to define. But bullying, unlike
harassment, does not have a statutory definition. The law, however, can impose severe penalties on
employers who ignore or allow bullying.
3696 Walking the Tightrope Employee References Providing a job reference can be a famously tricky business. Its well known that employers who choose to
provide a reference for former staff owe a duty of care to both of the other parties in the employment
triangle: the employee and the prospective employer. But how easy is this to do in practice?
Current Articles
3695 Economic Crime Agency (2011) One of the proposals of the Conservative Party at the last election was the establishment of a new
powerful Economic Crime Agency which would tackle serious economic crime across the board. The
proposal was to combine part of the Office of Fair Trading; the Financial Services Authority and the Serious
Fraud Office. The proposal was consequent on the break up of the Financial Services Authority with
banking supervision returning to the Bank of England. It was short on detail especially on how it would work
and how it would be funded.
3694 Corporate Manslaughter The First Prosecution Bites Directors, Managers and Health and Safety Professionals have watched with interest the trial of Cotswold
Geotechnical Holdings Limited, who were sentenced recently and fined 385,000 after being convicted of
Corporate Manslaughter in the first case of its kind to be heard in England. This is the first time that the
new tests of corporate criminal liability have been tested in a courtroom and the jury in the case returned a
unanimous verdict on Tuesday 15 February 2011 in less than 90 minutes. What does the verdict mean for
businesses?
3692 Flexibility for Working Parents The government has committed to a number of measures to help employees maximise the options
available for the flexibility they need to balance work and family life. As a consequence of this
commitment, a number of family friendly related rights will be updated or introduced to the statute book
from April 2011, in particular: the introduction of additional paternity leave, allowing both parents to share
the 12 months of leave that until now has been limited to the mother; an extension to the right to request
flexible working to employees with children under age 18; and an increase to the rate of statutory maternity,
paternity and adoption pay.
3688 Paternity Leave Changes The Nanny State? Prior to the General Election, the Labour Government passed the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations
2010. Coming into force just three weeks before the election, the Regulations had an inbuilt delay and are
now set to help those with babies born on or after 3 April 2011. The changes are quite radical and could
catch many businesses out. In a special feature, employment lawyer Matthew Welch guides readers
through what could catch many out. The detail is a trap waiting to spring.
3685 Pricing Gimmicks And Dodgy Deals A no-nonsense guide for retailers on what they can and cannot do when it comes to pricing and product
promotions.
3684 Pre-Nuptial Agreements - Not Just For The Rich And Famous 2010 has been an interesting year for family lawyers. The long awaited Supreme Court Judgment in the
case of Radmacher v- Granatino (Radmacher) was received. We are also expecting the Law
Commission's report on pre-nuptial agreements in 2012. It is hoped that Parliament may review the
existing law at that time and introduce specific legislation. In the meantime, the Radmacher case confirmed
that, provided certain pre-requisites are adhered to when drafting and entering into a pre-nuptial
agreement, considerable weight would be given to the agreement in the event of a marriage subsequently
taking place and, thereafter, breaking down.
3671 Coca Cola Or WikiLeaks? Protecting Your Assets The recent publication by WikiLeaks of confidential information from US diplomats demonstrates the
damage that can be done by unwanted disclosure and that even the largest organisations can suffer. On
the other hand the recipe for Coca Cola has remained a well kept secret for decades, which goes to show
that some things really do go better with Coca Cola. Information about your business and how you do
business is a vital asset that needs to be guarded from competitors. There are legal and practical steps
you can take to protect business information, both while employees are with you and when they leave to
work for a competitor. We examine your options.
Current Articles
3667 Brown Paper Bags And The Bribery Act 2010 The Bribery Act is arguably one of the most significant pieces of corporate governance legislation in years
with wide reaching implications for companies and their boards alike. Whilst some believe that UK
businesses are rarely involved in corrupt activities, the combination of globalisation and emerging markets
plus a more difficult and competitive economy, signals a potential increase in bribes. After all, a bribe need
not be as obvious as cash changing hands in a brown paper bag. Paying a third party to speed up an
installation of a business phone line or flying potential customers over to the Italian Grand Prix could quite
easily lead to the business gaining "an advantage". But bribery shouldnt be perceived as a foreign
problem; it can occur within the UK and doesnt need to involve huge sums of money it just needs to give
a business a competitive advantage. Here we examine how businesses with any number of staff can begin
their preparations for The Bribery Act that is due to come into full force in April 2011.
3655 CVs and Interviews A legal guide for employees on how to complete CVs and what should or shouldn't be said at an interview.
3637 A Guide to Dismissing Staff A plain English guide to dismissing staff, for whatever reason.
3633 Good Things Come In Small Packages There is legislation currently in force that has been designed to restrict the amount of packaging used by
companies. Despite coming into force a few years ago, there is still confusion as to which businesses need
to comply with the packaging legislation and how businesses should go about it. The Environment Agency
has recently been embarking upon a prosecution frenzy against businesses who have failed to comply
with the legislation.
3600 Retirement of the Default Retirement Age Age UK has been pushing for reform of the retirement regulations and the decision in the Heyday case,
which Age UK brought in 2009, indicated that the default retirement age of 65 was very likely to change.
The Government was faced with two options: either to change the default retirement age to a later age, or
to have no default retirement age at all. They have chosen the second option and from October 2011 the
Government proposes that the default retirement age will be abolished. What does this mean for
employers?
3596 The ICE Age If you have 50 or more employees you will be subject to the Information and Consultation of Employees
Regulations 2004 which are also known as the ICE Regulations. And if you fail to comply with the
Regulations you could be fined up to 75,000.
3595 The Equality Act 2010 In an attempt to consolidate a fleet of legislation dating from the Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act,
which came into force in the 1970's, through to much more recent legislation, including the Age
Discrimination Regulations, the last Government passed the Equality Act in April. The Act is a very lengthy
piece of legislation consisting of 218 sections and 28 schedules. The new Government is bringing parts of
the Act into force on 1st October 2010 with the rest to follow on other dates.
3594 Your First Aid Guide to Handling Employment Tribunal Claims You have dismissed an employee. Beforehand you took advice and believe you took all the correct steps,
but a set of forms from the Employment Tribunal lands on your desk saying the dismissed employee is
claiming that you dismissed them unfairly. What should you do? What will it cost you? This is an
increasingly common experience for employers as the number of Employment Tribunal claims is
increasing dramatically. The Tribunal Annual Statistics for 2009/10 show that from 2008/09 there was a
56% increase in the number of claims to the Employment Tribunals. The massive increase is due in part to
multiple claims but nonetheless there has been a 14% increase in single claims. There has also been a
17% increase in claims for unfair dismissal, breach of contract and redundancy. For employees it is quite
simple to bring a claim. The Employment Tribunal has a website. Employees can complete online a claim
form and they do not have to pay a fee. For the employee the tribunal is just one click away.
Current Articles
3581 Top Tips For Your Corporate Group The Institute of Directors believes the cost of regulatory paperwork is running at more than 80 billion a
year, which equates to 5.7 per cent of the UKs GDP. The new government sees reducing regulation as
vital to helping free enterprise and stimulate economic growth. In light of these plans for UK business,
below are some top tips to simplify and streamline your corporate group within the current legislative
framework.
3574 Stress at Work There are fine margins between pressure and stress. Pressure is something we are all very likely to
experience regularly and can motivate us to perform at our best. However, too much pressure can result in
feelings of being unable to cope, leaving us liable to suffer from stress in the workplace and in turn
adversely affect the operation of the business. Employers run serious risks of huge compensation claims
where stress has been mismanaged.
3572 Sickness Absence (For Employees) Sickness in the workplace can cause stress for employer and employee alike. As youd imagine, the law
has much to say on the subject. Fundamentally, to benefit from the statutory protection and entitlements
that law affords you, as an employee, if you are absent from work on because of sickness or injury, as well
as any contractual benefits relating to sickness absence, you must be aware of your obligations and
responsibilities. You cannot afford to make any assumptions about your rights.
3566 The Cost of Agents The use of commercial agents is rising as businesses find it less expensive and more productive to not
employ sales staff. But whilst using self-employed sales agents will mean that a business will avoid having
to pay employers national insurance contributions, there is no such thing as a free sales force. However,
the issue is not the payment of commission to sales agents. All businesses will accept that agents should
be rewarded if they are successful in taking orders. Instead the crunch arises because under the
Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended) agents enjoy many rights and
protections. Indeed in some respects these go beyond the rights of employees under unfair dismissal law.
3565 Using Agents It is rare for a business using employed sales representatives not to consider using self-employed agents
and vice versa. Indeed there are businesses which go from using one to the other and then back to the
one! Its quite clear that there does appear to be a trend towards using fewer employed sales
representatives and more self-employed agents. There are a number of reasons why this may be the case.
3560 Key Changes in Immigration Law For the first time since the overhaul of the immigration system in 2008, the government announced at the
end of March 2010 key changes that will affect whether an overseas worker is entitled to work and live in
the UK. From 6 April 2010, employers now have to pay those applying to work in the UK after that date a
higher minimum salary. There were other significant changes to the eligibility criteria for highly skilled
workers, including the introduction of further routes into the UK for employees transferring from overseas
companies to a branch in Britain. In view of these changes, together with the increased fees to enter and
remain in the country, businesses that wish to employ overseas workers should carefully consider the
eligibility of their prospective employees to avoid any costly mistakes.
3559 Are You Being Watched? The subject of monitoring employees goes to the heart of the human rights question - the balancing of one
person's rights against another's. The issues involved are as fascinating as they are difficult. The detail on
the state of the law for employers.
3553 End of the Sickie? The government recognises that managing sickness absence is a challenge for employers. Accordingly,
from 6th April 2010 the Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence)
(Amendment) Regulations 2010 takes effect. From this date, doctors and employees will see the
introduction of a so called fit note or Statement of Fitness for Work as opposed to the current system of
providing a sick note which simply states the reasons for a particular illness together with its anticipated
duration.
Current Articles
3552 Agency Workers Directive Prepare for changes ahead Whilst the government has been dragging its heels in the introduction of the Agency Workers Directive,
there is now a firm deadline in place of 5th December 2011 for its implementation. Despite strong lobbying
from employer organisations, this will result in agency workers having the right to equal treatment with
regard to basic working and employment conditions in the same way as legislation currently protects fixed
term employees and part time workers, provided that they have worked for a qualifying period of twelve
weeks. Agency workers are often seen as the flexible backbone of the British economy, helping
businesses to smooth the peaks and troughs of demand without all the shackles of employment law.
Consequently, it is anticipated by many that the price of better rights for agency workers will be greater
costs for employers and agencies in terms of administration and improved benefits for agency workers. So
how will the proposed Agency Workers Directive change the landscape?
3546 Fit Notes A New Regime From 6 April 2010, the sick note is being replaced by the fit note, which will switch the emphasis to what
an employee can do rather than what they cannot do. The Government hopes that the fit note will increase
the opportunity for employees to achieve an earlier return to work than they perhaps would have done
under the sick note scheme. The aim is to encourage the parties to look at whether an employee could do
some, or all, of their job with some support, rather than remaining signed off sick. But will the introduction
of fit notes create more problems than they solve?
3545 Renting And Disposing Of Business Premises Taking on premises can be very expensive and quite problematic for the uninitiated and experienced alike.
So if you have found your ideal business premises how do you minimise the risk of falling foul of the many
pitfalls, some of which can prove disastrous to your business? Christopher Sykes gives you the answers.
3534 To Write Off or Not to Write Off If you are owed money by a company in financial difficulty, and discover the company is being put into
liquidation, or 'wound-up', you may decide to write off your debt as a lost cause, particularly if your debt is
unsecured. Often, the creditor company will go under owing money left, right and centre. Once the costs of
the liquidation and the secured debtors (usually the bank) have had their slice, there is often little in the pot
to be divided up between the rest. You should be less hasty to write off what you are owed. The liquidator
will have duties to preserve the company's property and to maximise assets available for creditors where
possible. The liquidator will have the power to attack previous transactions and reclaim company property.
They can do so in a number of ways.
3533 When A Health & Safety Inspector Calls Recent changes in the law, including the House of Lords decision in the case of R v Chargot have meant
that it is getting ever easier to successfully prosecute companies and individuals for breaches of health and
safety law. Not only that, but the penalties for breaking health and safety law have been dramatically
increased by legislation - the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 - and now, many relatively minor
offences, which would have attracted a moderate fine can now be punished by significantly greater fines
and even imprisonment of individuals in the more serious cases! Can there be any better reason for
protecting yourself and your business when a health and safety inspector calls?
3525 Make Cash Be Your King: Factoring and Invoice Discounting Cash is king, so the old adage goes. A business can make all the profits it wants, it can have the largest
turnover in the industry, but without cash, it will fail. Put simply, the business will not be able to pay its way.
No wonder, then, that many in business look to sources of finance such as bank loans or equity finance.
But there are two alternatives that ought to be considered - factoring and invoice discounting. Often the
terms factoring and discounting are used interchangeably, but they are two quite separate things. So
what are they and how can they help your business?
3511 Information Commissioner Gets New Powers To Fine A new power to issue fines against offenders, which was approved by parliament in 2008, will soon come
into force from 6 April 2010. From this date, the ICO will be able to issue fines of upto 500,000 against
data controllers (ie businesses and organisations using personal information from their employees,
customers or other individuals on their own behalf) without prior warning, for deliberate or reckless
breaches of the DPA.
Current Articles
3508 Injunctions - An Introductory Guide There may be a time when your business finds itself facing a situation which could prove damaging.
Whether that is an ex-employee with confidential information, a competitor who is infringing your trademark
or a rival passing themselves off as part of your business, you will need to stop them. The process used is
an injunction.
3507 Checking Your Employees' Criminal Records How far can employers go to check the criminal background of a prospective employee? This issue has
come under the spotlight recently, in the wake of claims that police are keeping records for too long and
handing over too much information to prospective employers. Here we look at some frequently asked
questions on criminal records including: How far can you go to check up on job applicants? What if a
candidate lies about their criminal history? What should you do if an employee is charged with or convicted
of a criminal offence?
3503 In the Cloud Cloud computing which includes Software as a Service (SaaS) - means that your programs and data are
held on servers which are owned and managed by a third party. You then connect to them over the
Internet. There are many good business reasons for using cloud computing. You do not have the capital
outlay for the server hardware, software licences and data centres. You can pay by subscription, or even
on a pay as you go basis. Also, the servers are located in secure data centres and managed to a higher
level than is normally possible or economic for most SMEs. But businesses should not be blinded by the
advantages and rush into cloud computing without first considering the legal issues.
3497 Employees Online For many employees, email and the web are indispensable business tools. When you give your employees
internet access, you give them a resource that has the potential to reap enormous business benefits. But it
also has enormous potential to be misused and - in some instances that misuse can be damaging for the
business. How can you manage the rights of the employee whilst protecting your position?
3488 Top 10 Redundancy Questions According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), redundancies remain on the
cards for many employers over the second half of 2009 as the economy slowly recovers. Here we look at
some of most frequently asked questions on redundancy from an employment law perspective: How do
you decide who stays and who goes? What are the pitfalls to avoid? What are the costs of getting it wrong?
3485 Sickness Absence - What Employers Need To Know Sickness absence in the workplace is hard to resolve and many employers are uncertain about what to do
in sickness absence situations. Whilst sickness absence policies are useful in that they help employers
and managers properly manage sickness absences by providing guidance on what steps should be taken
and when, they can also help ensure that all employees are treated consistently. So what are the rules that
employers need to follow?
3475 Be Civil in Fraud A look at why discovered frauds shouldn't automatically be referred to the police.
3473 Protecting Your Money As bank finance becomes increasingly difficult to secure, people and businesses are looking to other ways
of funding their activities or getting them through short term cash flow problems. Lending money for a good
return is good business. But what happens if the business or person you lend to gets into financial
difficulties? Is your investment protected? How can you protect it?
3451 Treading Carefully Through the Perils of Recruitment Recent research from the accountancy firm Deloittes has underlined how expensive it can be to get
recruitment decisions wrong. Very often when a firm sets out to fill a vacancy, it will have to face the costs
of advertising, if not of hiring external consultants as well. This will be in addition to the diversion of
management time and the paralysis which may be suffered by the business during the time that posts go
unfilled. If you get it wrong, you face not only having to incur those costs again, perhaps on a regular basis,
but in some cases paying severance costs to the departing employee. An additional risk, which is
becoming increasingly recognised, relates to the fact that most frauds perpetrated on companies comes
from within the business, not from the outside. So how can you recruit to prevent fraud?
Current Articles
3450 Insolvent Businesses: What to do with the Employees? One inevitable outcome of recession is that many struggling businesses will face the possibility of
insolvency and may lead to the business, or parts of it, being put up for sale. What happens to the
employees in such a situation is governed by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
Regulations 2006 which introduced specific provisions to deal with employee liabilities in relation to
insolvent businesses to make them more attractive to potential purchasers....
3442 Misleading Advertising: How To Stay Above The Law Are you a business who advertises goods and/or services to other businesses? In your advertising targeted
at other businesses, do you compare your products/services with those of a competitor? Alternatively, are
you irritated that a competitor is using your products/services in its advertising to line its own pocket and
affecting your ability to sell? On 26 May 2008 the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing
Regulations 2008 (BPRs) quietly came into force and it packs quite a punch: an unlimited fine or a 2 year
prison sentence for non-compliance for those businesses that choose to ignore it.
3439 Selling Faulty Goods Can Have Long Term Consequences Consumer rights is an issue to which politicians quite rightly attach great importance. As a result, we have
acquired in this area a large body of legislation which seems to have an inexorable capacity for growth, the
most recent development being the introduction in the UK in 2008 of new EU-derived rules which identify
what amounts to unfair (and hence illegal) commercial practice. The EU is in fact currently in the process
of consolidating the numerous consumer rights directives it has issued into one comprehensive statute.
One of the key issues dealt with by the law in this area concerns the rights of consumers where they are
dissatisfied with the state of the product they have bought. As with other aspects of consumer law this
issue is becoming more and more significant with the growth of cross-border and on-line trading. So if you
are a retailer, and you are faced with a dissatisfied customer, what are his rights and your obligations?
3413 The Rise of the "Pre-Pack" New rules that came in at the start of 2009 have changed the way that insolvency practitioners deal with
companies in trouble. Using a process termed pre-pack, insolvency practitioners have been selling a
company almost immediately upon its being placed into administration and not everyone is happy.
3412 Credit Crunch Proof Contracts Businesses can help themselves weather the current credit crunch by paying more careful attention to the
negotiation and drafting of their commercial agreements. In recent months, there has been a significant
upturn in the number of clients examining their current contracts to look for loopholes to terminate early or
reduce the costs of the contract. Sound contract principles are more important than ever in the current
challenging economic landscape and there are many things that businesses can do to improve the
profitability of their contracts. So how should businesses go about handling their contracts?
3404 Top 10 Tips for Directors of a Struggling Company Your company is struggling to cope with the economic downturn. You may be struggling with the monthly
wage bill; having to seek longer payment terms or just starting to notice a downturn in sales. Directors of
UK companies need to navigate a legal minefield when deciding whether their company is fundamentally
strong enough to survive. No doubt the decision to carry on trading may depend on a range of factors such
as interest rates, availability of funding, strength of the competition, and domestic and foreign demand for
the product. Whatever your concerns, here are ten practical tips to help you.
3400 The Pitfalls of Selling On-line A case that has just been heard at the European Court of Justice could have an impact on any business
involved in distance selling. At the heart of the case is a consumers right to return goods without penalty,
even after a long period of time. Advertising and selling products on-line maximises the sales potential of
any business infinitely. You dont need to market your products in any particular locality or country or to any
pre-determined group of potential consumers. You simply set out your stall on your web site and invite
orders from anywhere and everywhere. This allows SMEs to compete more efficiently with larger
businesses at home and abroad. So far all seems fine, but a case currently before the European Court of
Justice [as of February 2009] could have some significant implications for this growing practice.
Current Articles
3396 Ten Health and Safety Myths As the significance of health and safety law continues to grow in the UK, undoubtedly catalysed by the
introduction of the new Corporate Manslaughter Act 2008 and the relatively unnoticed, Health and Safety
(Offences) Act 2008, Stuart Ponting, specialist health and safety solicitor looks at some of the continuing
mysteries surrounding health and safety law. Health and safety is so misunderstood these days that even
the Health and Safety Executive have embarked on a campaign entitled "Putting the record straight" in an
attempt to stop health and safety 'myths' becoming urban legend. However, whilst the HSE try and play-
down the ever-increasing impact of health and safety issues on businesses, a significant number of
misconceptions about the serious consequences of getting health and safety issues wrong still exist.
3395 Guidance on Handling 'Snow Leave' The first week of February 2009 gave the UK the heaviest snow fall for 18 years. Many commuters were
unable to travel to work and hundreds of schools and businesses were shut. Where businesses remained
open, some employees were simply unable to travel to work resulting in the loss of several billion working
days. What should employers do if employees are unable to come to work because of adverse weather
conditions? What are the main issues that employers should consider?
3384 Dealing With A Distressed Company A company does not go from being in rude financial health one minute to insolvency the next, there is often
a slow period of decline. How can customers/suppliers protect themselves when dealing with such
companies? Nobody wants to be left holding the baby in terms of unpaid invoices/undelivered goods when
a company ultimately fails. However, it is also commercially unrealistic to sever all ties with
clients/suppliers who start to display signs of financial ill-health. So what can you do to protect your
business?
3383 Loan Agreements - Are They Really Non-Negotiable? You are the Finance Director of a UK private company. The board have asked you to sort out a new
borrowing facility with the company's bankers. Rather than extend your current overdraft, you are offered
more favourable terms if you enter into a fixed period loan which is otherwise known as a term loan. But as
youd expect, the process isnt simple. This might be the first time youve been in this situation and youll
probably want to ask questions such as what does the process involve? Can I negotiate the loans terms or
are they standard? Are the directors obliged to give personal guarantees as well as the companys assets
being charged? And how is the "credit crunch" impacting on borrowers in the UK? These questions, and
more, are very common. Here then, are ten top tips for borrowers embarking on the loan process.
3381 Buying A Company: A Quick Guide To The Key Steps You have decided to buy a company: you have identified your target, made your offer and had it accepted.
What next? If you are being advised, you will have made your offer at a price that is subject both to
satisfactory completion of due diligence and to agreeing the terms of an appropriate acquisition agreement.
There are a number of key points are intended to help you through this phase of the transaction process.
3379 Buying from Insolvent Companies By the third quarter of 2008, over 11,000 UK companies went into liquidation in England and Wales and
more than 5,000 others went into some other form of insolvency arrangement, such as receivership or
administration (a half-way house where companies in trouble obtain a period of legal respite from creditors
claims to enable some form of rescue to be planned and put together). The state of the economy suggests,
unfortunately, that these figures are likely to get worse in 2009. Whenever a company goes bust, its
shareholders, creditors and employees can expect to bear the brunt. Shareholders will lose the value of
their investments, unsecured creditors risk having to write off their unpaid debts, and most if not all of the
companys employees will lose their jobs. Insolvency offers little comfort for those who stand to lose in
these ways. If there is a silver lining in insolvency cases, however, it is that the demised companys assets,
or even the business itself, will invariably be offered for sale, and at lower prices than would be invited in
normal trading conditions. This offers a real opportunity to those businesses that have the resources to
enhance their own situation. But buying assets in these circumstances poses its own challenges.
Current Articles
3374 Are You Ready For Key Change In Dismissal Laws? Theres a new discipline and grievances regime coming in April 2009 and employers who fail to follow a
new Code of Practice relating to disciplinary and grievance procedures will be liable to pay more
compensation. In order to avoid findings of unfair dismissal and increased awards for damages, employers
need to make sure that they have got to grips with the changes to the law sooner rather than later.
3367 The Martini Taxman The Taxmans powers are about to change to the point that it may drive you to the bottle. Now like the rest
of us, HM Revenue & Customs staff enjoy a drink; and in terms of the way the powers of HMRC are
evolving, Martini may well become the organisations tipple of choice. No doubt you will be trying to work
out whether this means taxpayers will be shaken or stirred. But the Martini reference links back to advert
which those of a certain age will recall the words anytime, anyplace, anywhere. That was the selling point
for the drink; it's also something of a selling point for the new powers regime HMRC will have from April
2009 and the rules are changing significantly.
3365 Dilapidations The tenant and landlord relationship can be fraught with dangers. One of the greatest of these revolves
around the concept of dilapidations which, in simple terms, means the obligation and expense a tenant
has to keep the landlords property in a good state of repair. This might range from a simple coat of paint
through to serious building work and can be insisted upon, by the landlord, before occupation as well as
when the lease expires. Tenants that sign a lease without checking the dilapidations terms are setting
themselves up for a very expensive and common fall.
3363 Top Ten Tips for Buyers of Assets from Insolvent Companies As well as the headline grabbing collapses and bail outs, a difficult economic climate can offer
opportunities to build and expand businesses. An astute buyer, blessed with cash in the bank, can find
many assets and businesses at bargain prices. Those being sold by insolvent companies often present the
best value. However, the acquisition process does not come without its risks. Here then, are our top ten
tips for would-be buyers.
3362 Redundancy: Potential Pitfalls Its quite possible that in todays climate that you may need to make redundancies. No doubt you will be
aware of the importance of a fair, non-discriminatory and properly documented redundancy procedure, and
the collective consultation requirements if 20 or more employees are being made redundant. However,
there are numerous common practical issues which often arise in connection with redundancies. We take a
look at those most likely to trip you up.
3361 Reducing Costs without Reducing Headcount The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developments Chief Economist is warning of an "avalanche" of
redundancies over the winter, as more and more employers prepare to make job cuts. With this in mind,
we consider some of the practical ways of restructuring or reducing costs without reducing headcount.
3353 How to Get Out of Your Lease The cost of occupying a commercial building is usually the main overhead for businesses and increasingly,
existing commercial leases are proving just too expensive. But how can a tenant get out of its lease?
3352 Tougher Penalties for Health and Safety Offences The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 is due to come into force on 16 January 2009. The Act will
have a significant impact upon the fines imposed upon companies in the Magistrates Courts for breaches
of health and safety legislation. Businesses in all sectors including, but not limited to, the transport, retail,
food and construction sectors, will be caught by this proposed legislation. Imprisonment will also be an
option for a greater number of offences. The Act does not however introduce change to businesses and
individuals existing legal duties.
3351 New Powers To Imprison For Health And Safety Offences Do you run or manage a business? You need to look out as punishment for health and safety offences
may no longer be an expense that you and your business can factor into your running costs and breaches
of health and safety law will very soon threaten your liberty. The Health and Safety (Offences) Bill, when
enacted, will make imprisonment available for most health and safety offences. Previously, imprisonment
was an option only for health and safety offences in three limited areas and was rarely used.
Current Articles
3342 A Practical Guide To The New Immigration Rules The biggest revision of the UK immigration system in nearly 50 years is taking effect from the end of
November 2008 and its aimed at curtailing immigration from outside the European Economic Area. The
new system is points based and it will be introduced in stages during 2008 and 2009. With a points hurdle
set at 70, immigrants have to earn the right to enter the UK by scoring points for various skills, qualification
and prospective earnings. To complicate matters, the Governments Migration Advisory Committee has
reported on those business sectors where there are skills shortages. If the recommendations are accepted
applicants from those occupations will get a 50 point boost that will help them breach the hurdle. November
2008 will see the activation of tiers 2 and 5 of the new immigration system. But what does it all mean for
you and your business in practice?
3335 Bullying: Whats In A Name? When businesses talk about 'managing change' these days, this commonly and euphemistically means,
'coping with the industrial relations impact of an increasingly difficult market'. It might, therefore, refer to
down-sizing, for example, or possibly acquisition. Yet businesses might be surprised to learn that closer to
every day life for many employees and of far greater impact is the simple step of a change in manager.
According to statistics from the last 'Ban Bullying at Work' Campaign, at least one in four employees (and it
may be as many as one in two) have been bullied at work.
3334 CVs What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get What should employers do if they find staff had lied at interview or on their CV to get the job?
3333 All Change On Consumer Credit Businesses that are involved in consumer credit activities, and all their customers, will see a number of
significant changes in the way that credit business is carried out and regulated with the new legal rules that
took effect in October 2008. These reforms underline the priority that the present Government has attached
to trying to provide safeguards to protect vulnerable consumers from the most destructive effects of unwise
commercial behaviour.
3311 The Dangers Faced by Employers in the Recruitment Process With relatively new legislation in place governing the treatment of people in the workplace, employers need
to be aware of their obligations and responsibilities. These extend not only to duties during the employment
relationship but also in the recruitment process. There are several potential claims that might arise during
the recruitment process such as discrimination in arrangements for an interview and discrimination by
failure to offer employment. There is also the possibility of harassment claims. Employers need to be
particularly wary as there is a potential for liability through the acts of its staff members involved in the
recruitment process. It is for this reason that each step of the process must be in line with the employer's
recruitment and equal opportunities policies. So what can be done to avoid such claims arising?
3309 Rent Review Most commercial leases contain a mechanism for the rent to be reviewed at regular intervals, usually 3 or
5 years. What should tenants do if hit with a request by a landlord for a significant rent increase,
particularly in these straightened times?
3306 Top Ten Employment Myths Can you sack a employee on the spot for gross misconduct? Can you dismiss an employee even if she is
pregnant? The answers may seem obvious, but there are a surprising number of myths surrounding
employees' rights at work. Mistaking a myth for reality could prove expensive, given that compensation for
employment claims can run into many thousands of pounds. Here we highlight ten common employment
myths and looks in each case at the reality behind the myth, and the potential cost of getting it wrong.
3303 End of Term Relocating a business is expensive, time consuming and stressful. Preparation is key and timing is
everything as mistakes can be costly. Decisions about moving should be on the board agenda at least
12/18 months before the lease comes to an end. The steps which need to be taken in order to stay in
occupation at the end of a lease or exit a building on time depend on the terms of the lease itself.
Current Articles
3302 Stopping the Cowboys Almost like a whisper but potentially huge in its effect, 26 May 2008 will herald one of the biggest changes
to consumer legislation for 40 years. This is when the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading
Regulations 2008 will come into force in England. The CPRs will implement the EU Directive 2005/29/EC
on Unfair Commercial Practices into UK law. The new law will protect consumers by outlawing a host of
deceptive and intimidating sales practices that are unfair but that were not illegal.
3300 Collecting Debts in a Tight Market Credit control is key for any business regardless of economic conditions. However, in these infamous
credit crunch times with an uncertain outlook acting quickly can prevent unpaid bills becoming bad debts.
Here we give some guidance on debt collection with a combination of well trodden techniques and some
tricks of the trade.
3285 Whose Responsibility IS That? As the credit crunch begins to bite, all businesses will be carefully reviewing their overheads. Premises
costs are usually one of the biggest. One of the most expensive mistakes commercial tenants can make is
to assume that certain major areas of expenditure are the landlords responsibility. So what should tenants
be looking out for?
3284 Balance Of Power Shifting In Favour Of Tenants As the credit crunch begins to bite, all businesses will be looking carefully at their overheads. Rent is
usually one of the biggest costs. For the past couple of years, landlords have had the upper hand as
commercial rents have risen ever higher. However the balance of power is now shifting and it may be a
good time for tenants to negotiate a better deal.
3253 Corporate Manslaughter - A Huge Change For over a decade, successive governments have faced continued criticism that the existing health and
safety legislation, and the common law offence of corporate manslaughter, is wholly inadequate to deal
with the most serious of tragedies, including those occurring in the workplace. Under the existing common
law provisions, to punish an organisation appropriately, the Prosecution have to prove, beyond reasonable
doubt, gross negligence manslaughter by an individual who is part of the 'directing mind' of the organisation
which caused or contributed to the death. This has proved to be an almost insurmountable task,
particularly in relation to large organisations where in reality, there is no one individual who could properly
be considered part of the 'directing mind' of the organisation and who is also individually guilty of gross
negligence manslaughter. The new offence of Corporate Manslaughter (or Corporate Homicide in
Scotland), however, will be committed if, the way in which a business' senior managers organise or
manage the activities causes a person's death and this amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of
care owed by the organisation to the deceased.
3249 Insolvency Directors Personal Liability When a company is in financial difficulties it is essential that the directors seek and obtain competent and
professional advice. Once the prospect looms that the company may fail and that the directors may be
called upon to fulfill obligations under personal guarantees, it becomes more difficult for directors to make
rational judgments with regard to the business they are running. The most difficult decision for any director
is whether the company should stop trading and, if so, when. In a question and answer session, Solicitor
Ben Hopps looks at a situation from the point of view of a fictional company director.
3247 Time Off From Work In Emergencies Although employees have had the statutory right to time off work in order to deal with emergencies
affecting their dependants since 1999, this is still little known to date. The time off is without pay and the
right only exists in certain situations but is available to everyone who holds a contract of employment,
whether they work full-time or part-time and whether or not their contract of employment is in writing. The
right is set out in sections 57A and 57B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
3242 Maternity Law for Employers and Employees The government's desire to provide a better work life balance manifested itself in the Work and Families
Act 2006. The new statutory framework has benefited all women whose expected week of childbirth began
on or after 1 April 2007. The rights are a minefield for both employer and employee alike. Here we consider
a mother-to-be's enhanced maternity rights and explores the impact the new legislation has had on
employers by examining the principal maternity provisions currently in force in the UK.
Current Articles
3241 How To Stop Your Staff Leaving And Competing Against You Employees inevitably gain knowledge of their employer's general business strategy, specific technology
and the employer's business or customer contacts during their employment. An employer should anticipate
that members of staff may leave and set up in competition with them, and, therefore, should take
preventative measures to prevent the employee using any such knowledge to the advantage of a new
employer or business.
3238 Tax Saving Tips Over 200 years ago, Benjamin Franklin made his famous statement that nothing is certain, except death
and taxes. Unfortunately you can only really do something about one of them the amount of tax you pay.
The other can at best only be postponed. But there are many ways in which individuals and businesses
can save tax. The following straightforward steps will help you to claim what you are entitled to and
minimise your payments to HM Revenue and Customs.
3234 Monitoring Employees in the Workplace A recent case in the European Court of Human Rights should act as a sharp reminder to employers of
what happens when employee monitoring goes wrong: The UK government was ordered to pay 3,000 in
damages and 6,000 in legal costs when a Welsh college unlawfully monitored the internet, telephone and
email use of an employee in 1999. The decision is a reminder that employees telephone calls, emails and
internet usage are afforded protection under human rights legislation and that employers must tread
carefully when monitoring employee usage of the companys communication systems. Simply informing
employees that monitoring is taking place does not allow carte blanche monitoring.
3231 Data Security and Protection In an age where face-to-face transactions are no longer the norm and paper records increasingly obsolete,
maintaining confidence in the way personal information is handled is essential best practice in business.
Organisations cannot and must not take good security for granted - the stakes are simply too high for
getting it wrong. HMRC found this out to its cost. Within hours of the announcement that that it had lost
child benefit discs there was a massive public outcry, the Chairman resigned, questions were being asked
in Parliament and the Information Commissioners Office commenced formal investigations under the Data
Protection Act 1998. Here we explore the importance of managing personal information properly, outlining
the legal responsibilities organisations have to protect personal information, the consequences of failing to
comply with those responsibilities and practical steps that can avoid some of the most damaging pitfalls.
3229 Industrial Action The strikes by Royal Mail workers have been big news in the Autumn of 2007 as they cause widespread
disruption to postal services across the country. The strikes were the result of a long running dispute
between the Communications Workers Union and the Royal Mail about pay, pensions and modernisation.
A failure to come to a speedy agreement resulted in an industrial relations nightmare with official strike
action being accompanied by wildcat strikes, court injunctions and government intervention. Many
employers are confused about the meaning of industrial action, what it means for the contract of
employment and what steps are open to employers to deal with employees who take part.
3222 Duty Of Care For Employees' Personal Property It is a common scenario which unfortunately most employers will face at some stage. An employee comes
to you to say that their wallet, mobile phone, coat, ipod, cash or the like has been taken or damaged. But
who is responsible for loss or damage caused to employees personal property whilst they are at work? Are
there any legal obligations on employers in such circumstances to repair or replace employees belongings
or to provide secure facilities for employees to store their belongings at work?
3214 Doing Business on Your Terms Every business, no matter what size it is, will no doubt have had problems with terms and conditions in
contracts and their interpretation. If incorrectly written, or missed out, any terms you thought applied will be
utterly useless; the courts will not add them in. Here then, is advice on how to make sure your standard
terms and conditions of business are incorporated into the agreement between you and your customers.
Current Articles
3212 Pricing for Success Take any high street in any part of this country and it seems that almost every other shop is having a
closing down sale (yet never closes) and the other shops have offered "50% off" on their prices so many
times that they must surely owe the customer money by now. Whilst all this sounds like good news for the
customer - it isn't always the case. Trading Standards Officers are keeping a watchful eye out to ensure
that special offers, bargain prices, and mega-discounts are actually honest and genuine claims. We look at
the issues facing traders.
3208 REACH The biggest single reform of chemicals legislation in Europe came into force on 1 June 2007. The EU
regulation for the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH) introduces a
Europe wide system of chemical registration and authorisation regulated by a new European Chemicals
Agency based in Helsinki.
3194 Flexible Working Requests In a modern world employers can expect to get modern requests including those from staff who want to
work hours that suit their lives better. A flexible working request can be wide ranging, with requests made
to change the hours worked, timing in the day and location. The law has changed in recent years when it
comes to flexible working and there are rules on who qualifies to make a request. Employers must always,
however, be mindful that there is the risk of a discrimination claim being lodged separately in connection
with any flexible working request (whether as part of the statutory procedure or otherwise), by those
disappointed at the outcome of their request if they are refused.
3180 Instore Promotions - Prize Competitions Competitions can be a great form of below-the-line advertising. But if they are not run properly, or in
accordance with the law, then they can badly backfire causing reputational damage and regulatory action
as well as financial loss. One only has to think of names such as Hoover, Blue Peter, Richard and Judy etc
etc. The first issue to consider is whether your competition is legal - especially as the Gambling Act 2005
takes effect from 1 September 2007.
3175 E-commerce and E-commerce Regulations According to a June 2007 Office of Fair Trading report , most internet shoppers are not aware of their right
to cancel, and almost one third of online traders aren't aware of the laws that relate to internet shopping.
These include the consumers right to cancel as well as their right to a refund on the outward bound cost of
delivery. Here are the basics of what you should know.
3174 Business Lease Renewals Leasing a property was, until recently, a nightmare. A tenant subscribed to a lease and could be held liable
for the payment of rent even though they may have sold up. Here we look at how the changes in the law
relating to commercial property leases which came into effect 3 years ago have worked out in practice.
3173 Mediate or Pay the Cost? The issue of legal costs is often high on most clients' agendas when deciding whether to litigate to resolve
their dispute. Not only their own costs, but also their liability to pay the other party's costs. So is there an
alternative?
3172 Discriminating Without Prejudice? With the all encompassing employment law that the UK has it will come as no surprise that claims for
discrimination are a frequent occurrence. Employers faced with these claims may wish to try to negotiate
their way out of the problem. But there are limits to the without prejudice negotiations that employers will
conduct. So how do you minimise the likelihood of without prejudice statements coming back to haunt you?
3171 Freedom of Information One of the Government's election promises in 1997 was 'a more open Government.' This led eventually to
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which came into force on 1st January 2005. The Government issued
statements extolling the virtues of the new, more open regime. What they do not tell you however, is how
the new legislation (that only applies to public bodies) can lead to your competitors discovering information
about your company and commercial practices by the back door. This story shows you how to protect your
business interests.
Current Articles
3169 Whose IP Right Is It Anyway? Your company is dynamic and growing. It employs staff, some of which create designs and drawings that
in effect, are part of your stock in trade. Naturally you want to protect your intellectual property rights. So
who owns IP rights? You, your staff, people you contract? Read on to find out.
3168 Leases Questions The Tenants Point Of View For most businesses there are two fixed costs that they have to contend with employees and premises.
When it comes to leases, there are a multitude of traps to get caught up with, any one of which can cost
the tenant dear. Here is your guide to the leasehold minefield.
3167 Tax Investigations Just a simple letter from HM Revenue and Customs is enough to put the fear of god into many people and
it's often enough to make the recipient feel guilty even when they've done nothing wrong. But when a letter
arrives, it's incredibly important to open and take notice of it - ignore it at your peril. Here then, is a simple
guide as to what to do should you receive a notice about an investigation into your affairs.
3166 Acquisition of a Company For many, buying a business is a frightening prospect its an unknown quantity that could make or break
a business and those looking to make their first acquisition will undoubtedly have many questions they
want answering. There are a number of complexities and nuances which can arise, particularly on larger
transactions and we run through the principles which apply to all transactions
3158 Key Issues When Taking on Employees There are two things that every employer needs to know about employment law: It is complicated and there
is a lot of it. Separated into a number of distinct but overlapping areas, employment law is an area in which
businesses are most at risk of getting involved in litigation. Having the appropriate policies and contracts in
place from the beginning can be a key consideration in avoiding future problems. Here are a few useful
pointers to help you reduce the risk of a claim.
3156 Setting up a Company -The Pitfalls At the start of a business venture participants are usually confident that their new company will flourish and
they can put aside thoughts of potential problems. However most new companies fail within the first three
years and 78% of existing companies have faced litigation within the last 12 months according to a recent
survey. Here are a few hints to help you navigate your way through the minefield of potential issues which
could embroil you and your embryonic business in litigation.
3153 Companies Act 2006 and Directors Duties Directors have powers to take majority business decisions on behalf of the companies. As such, it comes
as no surprise that various duties are imposed on them to ensure that the companies interests are
protected. Under the old rules, directors have duties including the duty to act in good faith to the best
interest of the company; the duty to avoid conflicts of interest; the duty not to profit from their offices, and
the duty of care and skill. These are enshrined in the common law rules and equitable principles and also
in statutes such as the Companies Act 1985 as amended by Companies Act 1989. The government
considered that these principles, while long established, lack certainty and are not easily accessible. Very
often, directors have to take advice in these areas so as to ensure that they do not inadvertently breach
any duties. The government therefore believes that codification of directors duties will make the law in
these areas more consistent, certain and accessible. The Companies Act 2006, which started to take
effect this year and which will be fully in place by October 2008, codifies directors duties - including the
long-established fiduciary duties as well as the common law duty of care and skill - into a statutory
statement of seven general duties.
3148 Buying A New IT System You have been in discussions with an IT supplier about implementing a major new IT system for your
business. The IT supplier has given you a quotation and his standard terms and conditions to sign and
return. Should you just sign on the dotted line? We check out what you should be aware of before you do
sign.
3133 Contractor Responsibility - Customer Safety Today, more than ever before, businesses must ensure that duties to their customers under civil and
criminal law are being complied with.We look at the often forgotten duties owed to customers and other
third parties under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.
Current Articles
3128 How To Get Ahead In Advertising: Top Tips On Job Adverts Filling vacancies for employment isn't as easy as it used to be. Employers cannot simply pick and choose
candidates according to whim and prejudice - there needs to an adherence to a multitude of law and
regulation. Miss out on any and employers can expect trouble from litigious prospective employees.
3124 A Question Of Selectiveness Selective distribution is the trading strategy of limiting the number of retailers of a product in order to create
an image of exclusivity surrounding the product. Many brand owners covet a form of exclusiveness for their
products. Exclusiveness will generally mean higher prices and increased margins when compared to
similar products which are more widely available and which do not have a particular cachet. In turn this
translates into consumers only being able to purchase the particular branded product in a certain store and
possibly in certain towns or cities. Indeed the very fact that a particular branded product is not readily
available everywhere to all consumers can create the perception of exclusiveness that the brand owner is
seeking to achieve. But the question that then needs to be answered is what is in it for those retailers who
participate in a selective distribution system? How do they benefit? What are the legal pitfalls?
3121 Dress Codes: What Not to Wear? Dress codes have hit the headlines in recent months, with the news reports about Aishah Azmi, the
teaching assistant who was suspended after refusing to remove her veil, and Nadia Eweida, the British
Airways check-in worker who was not allowed to wear her crucifix outside her uniform. These cases have
highlighted the difficult question of how far employers can dictate their employees appearance at work.
Here we aim to answer that question by looking at the employment claims which might arise from dress
codes, and suggesting practical tips on how they can be avoided.
3119 Fraud Act 2006 Prosecuting authorities have been, until recently, finding it increasingly difficult to prosecute offenders in
the modern electronic age using laws which were passed before the advent of desktop computers and
mobile phones.The Fraud Act 2006, which came into force on 15 January 2007, goes some considerable
way to redressing the balance. For the first time, "fraud" is an offence, and the Fraud Act repeals some of
the offences previously found in the Theft Acts, such as obtaining property by deception.
3109 An Email Is Now A Letter Companies legislation has for a long time included a requirement that a company's name and certain other
company details must appear in its business letters and other official publications. However, this
requirement predates widespread use of email and websites and it has not been clear whether the
requirement extended to electronic media as well as traditional print media. Now, with effect from 1
January 2007, the rules have been changed to introduce amendments to the Companies Act to extend the
requirements to websites and other electronic documents. Its important for directors and officers of
companies to be aware of these changes because failure to comply can lead to fines, for which directors
and officers can be personally liable.
3099 Employee Medical Conditions/Health Checks Employers have a general duty to ensure that employees are provided with such health checks and
surveillance as is appropriate, bearing in mind the risks to their health and safety which are identified by
the risk assessments that need to be carried out under regulation 6 Management of Health and Safety at
Work Regulations 1999). Here is the information employers need.
3091 Industrial Action and Union Law Industrial action is any concerted action which is taken by or on behalf of employees in order to put
pressure on an employer. The law makes no distinction between union members and non-union member in
terms of protection it gives to employees participating in a strike or other industrial action. Therefore, where
a union has called a strike following a successful ballot of its members, unfair dismissal protection extends
not only to members of the union, but to all employees who participate.
3090 Discrimination /Harassment/Equality Discrimination in the employment field is not permitted. Employees are protected against discrimination on
various grounds. Employers beware.
Current Articles
3089 Transfer of Undertakings/TUPE This area of law is governed by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
2006, which, is known as TUPE. It applies to protect employees when businesses are bought and sold
and when businesses outsource functions or bring them in-house. Mistakes can be expensive.
3088 Staff and Worker Management Employers have various commitments to their employees when it comes to managing them and their
affairs. This article deals with the principle areas for consideration by both employers and employees.
3087 General HR and contracts of employment Employees and employers have a variety of rights and obligations towards each other. These rights and
obligations are either imposed by law (statutory), or agreed between the parties (contractual). In simple
terms, an employee agrees to work for an employer in return for wages. A contract is made when the offer
of employment is accepted. But there's more to it.
3085 Contractors and Mobile Workers The issue of contractors has long been a problem area for businesses in terms of health and safety.
Often, businesses cannot practically exert the same amount of control over their contractors as they can
over their employees nor would they sometimes wish to. Often contractors are engaged for their specialist
knowledge and expertise which the business does not possess. In such circumstances, businesses are
rightly reluctant to interfere. Nonetheless, businesses still have significant legal responsibilities towards
their contractors under health and safety legislation.
3084 Environmental Requirements For Operating Centres The current legislation relating to the environmental requirements for operating centres and the
circumstances in which objections or representations can be made is contained in the Goods Vehicles
(Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 and the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995.
These aim to ensure the safe and proper use of goods vehicles and to protect the environment in the
vicinity of an operating centre.
3083 Pollution and Hazardous Chemical Regulations If you store or handle fuel or hazardous chemicals at your site you will need to ensure that you do so in
accordance with the relevant legislation.
3082 Waste Disposal There are strict legal requirements in place which control both the carriage and the disposal of controlled
waste and if you transport waste for disposal as part of your business, you must ensure that you comply
with the relevant legislation.
3081 Load Handling and LOLER LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The Regulations aim to reduce
risks to employees and other's health and safety from lifting equipment provided for use at work. The detail.
3080 Drugs, Alcohol and Breath Tests Employers have a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 section 2 to ensure, as
far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 also creates a duty for employers to assess the risk to health
and safety of their employees.Consequently, if an employer knowingly allows an employee who is under
the influence of excess consumption of alcohol or under the influence of drug misuse, to continue working
and this places the employee or others at risk, the employer will have committed an offence.
3079 Hazardous Substances and COSHH COSHH is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Generally, COSHH requires
employers and the self-employed to control exposure to hazardous substances in order to prevent harm to
or ill health of employees and non-employees alike. Employers who ignore the regulations do so at their
peril.
3078 Personal Protective Equipment The main requirements concerning the provision and use of personal protective equipment at work by
employers are set out in the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. Here we detail
what employers need to be aware of.
Current Articles
3077 Workplace Equipment and PUWER PUWER stands for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. In broad terms, the
Regulations require risks to people's health and safety from equipment that they use at work to be
prevented or controlled. The primary purpose of these Regulations is to ensure that work equipment
should not result in health and safety risks, regardless of its age, condition or origin.
3076 Workplace Safety and Risk Assessments Often cited as the 'cornerstone' of good health and safety, risk assessments are a common feature of
almost every workplace up and down the country but even today, some businesses struggle to understand
what a risk assessments are, how to conduct them and most importantly, why they should bother with
them.
3075 Workplace Accidents and RIDDOR RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. Under
these Regulations, employers and other responsible persons who have control over employees and work
premises are required to notify and report to the appropriate enforcing authority: The law.
3062 Introduction: The Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 The Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 is the most significant Act in the remit of health and safety. It
applies to everyone "at work" which includes employers, the self-employed and employees. It also
protects the general public who may be affected by work activities.
3061 Management Responsibilities and Corporate Manslaughter Health and safety offences can be committed by individuals as well as companies. When there has been a
death, manslaughter prosecutions can also be brought against individuals and, to a lesser extent, against
corporations. New legislation is proposed which will make it easier to prosecute companies for
manslaughter.
3056 Responding to a Claim - A Practical and Commercial Guide When proceedings have been issued, most company directors are likely to share the view of the American
social commentator Ambrose Bierce who said that Litigation is a machine which you go into as a pig and
come out of as a sausage. An increasingly large percentage of UK companies will at some stage in their
lifetime be served with a Claim Form relating to a cause of action - breach of contract, debt recovery or the
like. How a company immediately reacts and the steps it takes at an early stage can often be critical to
whether it survives the 'litigation machine' in one piece. Some pointers.
3050 What Impact Will The Smoking Ban Have On You? The Health Act 2006 places a smoking ban on virtually all enclosed public places and workspaces in the
U.K. as of 1 July 2007, which obliges employers to both prohibit and actively take steps to prevent smoking
on their premises. No doubt youll have concerns and questions in relation to this somewhat controversial
piece of legislation. Read on.
3046 Key Points You Need To Know About Disability Discrimination Discrimination against a disabled employee can lead to unlimited awards of compensation. It is, therefore,
vitally important that you understand and comply with the legislation which protects individuals against
discrimination on grounds of disability. A Q&A piece that covers everything a business needs to know.
3037 Dont google Google Google has become one of the worlds best known brand names. So why does Google not want us to
google any more? When it was recently announced that the word google had entered the dictionary as a
word in common usage it was, in one sense, a sign of the huge success of the behemoth search engine. In
trademark terms, however, it signalled a potential problem which could prove fatal to the validity of the
trademark. Googles concern is that the more we google (used as a verb), the greater the risk that Google
will lose trademark protection for the name. This is why Google recently moved to issue new guidelines as
to how their name should be used. Despite the light-hearted approach, Google is pursuing a serious policy
to defend the trademark protection for its brand.
Current Articles
3035 To Blog or not to Blog? In the beginning, blogging was seen as a way for cybergeeks to express their opinions on all manner of
subjects. Now blogging is part of mainstream society. Even the BBC, the grand dame of the British
establishment, has recently launched a weblog for its news editors. Traditionally, blogs functioned as
online diaries but are now used in all manner of ways including providing topical commentary or news. The
business community have jumped on the blogging bandwagon by using blogs as a means of "getting
around the filter" and pushing messages directly to the public and their customers. But there are risks.
3029 TUPE Under the Spotlight The issues that arise when businesses are bought and sold are very real and can be very emotive,
especially when viewed by the employees. Further, failure to follow the rules set down by the law can be an
expensive mistake as the follow case illustrates.
3026 More Balance In The Workplace The Governments Work and Families Act has now passed into law and with it comes new rights for
employees and new administrative obligations for employers. The new legislation is the latest in a long
series of reforms devised under the Governments work-life balance agenda. Here we list everything that
businesses need to be aware of.
3005 Feeling Harassed? An Employer's Guide to Harassment At Work Imagine that, unknown to you, one of your employees has been harassing a colleague. The first you hear
of it is when the colleague leaves, and threatens you with a legal claim. Will you be held responsible, even
though you had no idea what was happening? The latest position.
3004 Government Health Warning Do you wholesale? Do you trade in fast moveable consumable goods? Ever heard of "Carousel" or "MTIC"
fraud? "I saw the Panorama program on TV. It relates to people selling mobile telephones and computer
parts. It doesn't affect me." WRONG! MTIC is coming to your trade sector. Beware!
2999 New Designer, New Design, Now What Do I Do? A first class, plain English guide to protecting any designs, copyrighted items and intellectual property that
you may create.
2995 Retailers Rights: Bespoke Products Consumers are protected by a raft of legislation when buying from retailers. Largely, this aims to shield
consumers from unfair treatment at the hands of businesses using non-negotiable fixed form contracts.
However, some small retailers particularly those supplying custom-tailored goods and associated
services are concerned that the shoe is now on the other foot with consumers walking all over retailers.
So what can bespoke product retailers do to protect themselves against cancellations and ensure prompt
payment? What are the common pitfalls and how can you improve your chances of getting paid in full
whilst retaining customer goodwill?
2986 Changing Employee Terms and Conditions Employment law is predominantly concerned with protecting the rights of workers but it also recognises
that businesses require flexibility from their employees. When it comes to changing terms and conditions of
employment, and where there is a pressing need for business change, the law will not simply allow the
employee to stay on their existing contractual terms forever. The need to allow changes to be made whilst
protecting an employees contractual rights is seen as a balancing act by the courts. How this process
works in action has been helpfully stated in a recent case.
2971 Returning Goods What are consumers rights to return goods ordered over the internet? A retailers guide.
2965 E-Marketing - Make It Your Business The use of SMS for marketing communications is gathering pace. But, like other forms of electronic
marketing, it is heavily regulated. We take a look at what is involved.
2964 Watch out the OFTs about Businesses trading online face a complex array of legislation with which to comply. And the OFT and
OFCOM have been active in pursuing online traders who fail to comply with the law. This piece looks at the
various laws that govern e-commerce.
Current Articles
2960 Product Safety Its Your Problem! A whole bundle of new responsibilities and duties have been imposed on manufacturers, importers and
retailers by the 2005 General Product Safety Regulations.The concept of an "unsafe product" not being
allowed by law to be offered for supply to or sold to consumers still exists, but there appears to be some
real confusion as to who does what under the new legislation. Here we deal with what is expected of the
retailer (commonly referred to in the GPS Regulations as a distributor).
2959 Does Big Brother Know Your International Client Better? Now it is more vital than ever to have a detailed knowledge of clients, particularly where there is an
offshore element. This is because the chances are that, if you do not, HM Customs and Revenue (HMRC)
may acquire that knowledge independently, to your and the client's embarrassment - or worse. We show
you want HMRC can do and are doing.
2958 Website Development For increasing numbers of organisations, their website is a principal business tool; a poorly functioning
website could destroy hard-earned goodwill or even the business itself, so it is crucial to plan ahead. Here
is a two part detailed guide to planning your website.
2956 Fire Safety, The New Regime Health and safety law can prove to be a minefield for businesses and many ignore the rules that govern fire
safety and the workplace. The law in this area last changed in October 2006 when the Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Regulations came into force, replacing over 100 items of legislation that related to fire safety.
The new law requires the majority of property occupiers to carry out a fire risk assessment and comply
with its recommendations or face hefty fines and/or imprisonment. Despite the fact that the rules changed
nearly four years ago, mistakes are still being made. Fashion retailer New Look were recently fined
400,000 for a breach of the rules and Veolia ES Cleanaway were fined 150,000 over a chemical fire that
closed two motorways. The myth that fire safety is ignored by the authorities can be dispelled by looking at
the action the authorities have been taking: During 2007-2008, there were 29,000 informal notifications,
3,840 enforcement notices and 443 prohibition notices issued. There were 42 prosecutions brought under
the order in the same period.
2953 Legal Q & As on Work Relationships Work relationships, whether they flourish or fail, can have a negative impact in various ways, including a
possible decline in work standards, actual or perceived favouritism, conflicts of interest and confidentiality
issues. Is there anything that the business can do about it?
2952 Civil Partnerships: What They Mean For Employers Since 5 December last year, hundreds of same sex couples have registered their civil partnerships, with
many more couples likely to do so in the future. What does it mean for you if one of your employees has
or is planning a civil partnership? Here we explain how you should treat civil partners, and highlights other
more general considerations about same sex relationships and the workplace.
2947 An Employer's Duty to Provide Protective Equipment What legal obligations are there upon an employer to provide protective equipment to its employees? How
far do these responsibilities extend? What are the limits of an employer's liability?... And what are the
benefits to wearing an extra pair of socks in winter?
2946 Too Much Information? An Employer's Guide To Data Protection How often do you clear out your files? If the answer is rarely or never, you could be breaching the Data
Protection Act. The DPA governs how you should deal with all the personal information you hold (for
example, information about employees and job candidates) and includes requirements to keep records up
to date, and only to keep the details you need. A code of practice, called the Employment Practices Data
Protection Code, aims to help organisations comply with the DPA in relation to their employees, ex-
employees and job candidates. This is your guide
Current Articles
2941 Here At Last, TUPE Guidance Being late, some might say, is by now a characteristic of the planned revisions to the Transfer of
Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. It is now nearly nine years since they were
first mooted and almost 12 months since renewed hope of their emergence was generated by the
publication of draft regulations last March. Those who were beginning to doubt an implementation date of 6
April 2006, were reassured to see the release of a Guidance Note to accompany the pending 'new' 2006
Regulations. It appears the new Regulations will on this occasion arrive on time after all
2940 Employment Practices Data Protection Code. Part 4 - Health In this, the last part on the Employment Practices Data Protection Code, we examine the legitimate
expectations that employees personal health information can be kept private and that employers will
respect their privacy. Part 4 of the Code limits the circumstances in which employers can process data
about a worker's physical or mental health or condition in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
2939 Employment Practices Data Protection Code. Part 3:Monitoring Previously in this four part mini series on the Employment Practices Data Protection Code we have
covered how the data protection laws cover recruitment and individuals private lives. Part 3 of the Code
provides guidance for employers on how to monitor at work under the Data Protection Act 1998.
2938 Employment Practices Data Protection Code: Part 2 In the first of this series we looked at Part 1 of the Employment Practices Data Protection Code. The next
section, Part 2 of the Code, helps employers strike a balance between the need to keep records and the
worker's right to respect for his or her private life in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. It
covers all aspects of the collection, holding and use of employment records from the recruitment to
termination of an employee's employment, as well as the access rights of job applicants and employees to
information held about them.
2934 Pornography in the Workplace In a study, conducted by Queen's University in Belfast of 350 companies across the United States, the
United Kingdom and Australia, one-third of workers admitted sending pornography to others. Half of all
workers also said that they had been exposed to sexually explicit material by co-workers. With an
increasing number of businesses granting employees unlimited access to the internet, these figures reflect
a disturbing trend, which employers are being forced to come to terms with. The recent case of Moonsar
clearly underlines the fact that the existence of any pornography in the workplace can form the basis of
successful sex discrimination claims by company workers.
2923 Commercial Leases: Prevention Is Better Than Cure Commercial leases contain many hidden and costly pitfalls, the impact of which often only become
apparent when it is too late, leaving behind a sizeable dent in your profit or exerting unnecessary pressure
on your cash flow. Considering the main financial terms, your requirement for flexibility and negotiating
your main lease obligations with your landlord at the outset can avoid these problems and save
considerable sums in the long and short term. A guide to not getting caught out.
2922 Stress At Work - Coping Strategies For Employers Picture the scene. One of your senior employees, who regularly works long hours, is signed off work for 2
weeks. His sick note says he is suffering from stress. On his return he appears to have fully recovered
and carries on working as usual. A month later he is signed off with severe depression, never to return.
He is too ill to work again, and successfully claims several hundred thousand pounds in compensation
against your company because his illness was caused by stress at work. This is not as unlikely as it may at
first seem. Surveys by the Health and Safety Executive found that in 2003/4 over half a million people in
Britain believed work-related stress was making them ill, and in the same year 12.8 million working days
were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Employers are likely to see an increasing number
of complaints about stress-related conditions.
Current Articles
2881 Strike Action The high profile industrial action disputes of the past week have once again focused the attention of
business owners, their managers and their human resources professionals on the complexities of
employee rights where industrial action is taking place and highlight that even short term industrial action
can have a considerable economic and PR impact on a business. Here we outline a summary of the three
possible sorts of industrial action which an employer may face and the rights of the employees taking part
in each case.
2880 General Product Safety Regulations 2005 New rules come in on 1 October 2005 that affect the safety of products used by consumers and their recall
in case of problems. The new rules impose legal obligations with heavy penalties for those that ignore
them. Everyone in the supply chain is affected.
2873 When Is Your Software Not Your Software? Everything will be fine or we have a good relationship with our supplier or I have it all in an email are
stock responses from clients on hearing from their lawyers the importance of putting in place a clear written
agreement. If youve exchanged letters or emails with your supplier and have a good relationship, why
would you need to go to the trouble and expense of preparing a legal agreement? Failing to do so could be
a false economy and have adverse consequences.
2868 Planning for Permission? 10 Top Tips When considering new premises it is essential to check whether planning permission is required.
Employing a properly-briefed and experienced agent can save a lot of time and effort in preparing and
submitting the application. Pre-application discussions with local authority planners demonstrate a positive
approach and can avoid costly and frustrating refusals. Here we offer ten tips to make the planning process
easier.
2867 The Age Of Wealth A recent case that relates to Commercial Agents and how their retirement can affect compensation claims.
2866 New Hazardous Waste Regulations - Are You Ready? On 16 July 2005, the Special Waste Regulations 1996 were repealed and replaced by the Hazardous
Waste Regulations 2005. The List of Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 (LOWR) also came into force on
the same date. These regulations apply in England and Wales. A look at how the changes affect
businesses.
2852 Tax Investigations What To Expect If An Inspector Calls.. HM Revenue & Customs is taking a keen interest in your industry and looking very closely at your tax
affairs. Just how anxious should you be? The bottom line is that if you havent done anything wrong or you
have made a genuine mistake that you openly seek to remedy as quickly as possible, you will probably be
fine. However, taking expert advice at an early stage can ensure that things are sorted out as quickly,
painlessly, and as tax efficiently as possible.
2845 The New Licences - An Update Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 commenced on 7 February 2005. The Act consolidates the
procedures for licensing not only for the supply of alcohol, but also for public entertainment, cinemas,
theatres and late night refreshment (i.e. the sale of hot food between 11.00 pm and 5.00 am). The Rules.
2818 Information And Consultation - What You Need To Know With Spring here, it is the perfect time to focus the Information and Consultation legislation that comes into
force in the UK in April. But this legislation affects all European countries alike and in this special feature,
we take a look at how its going to work in various European countries. The differences in impact and
approach make for very interesting reading.
2795 Common Lease Misconceptions There are many misconceptions about leased premises, and while some are relatively harmless, there are
a number that may be particularly costly. An insight to some of the myths.
Current Articles
2792 Know Your Rights In Insolvency Whether your insolvent debtor is a limited company or not has implications for the likelihood of your getting
your money, or at least some of it, back. Where a business is a company, then as a rule the owner or
owners, however many of them there may be, are not personally liable for their companys liabilities. In an
unincorporated business, including a partnership, the owner or owners are personally liable for the
businesss debts. But in either case, your first concern is to do whatever you can to get repaid. A plain
English look at your rights, phoenix companies and the law involved.
2778 Alcohol at Work Many employers assume that an employee attending for work under the influence of alcohol commits one
of the more obvious types of misconduct that justify summary dismissal. Mindful of the need to operate a
safe system of work, many employers assume that they are normally entitled to dismiss an employee who
drinks at work in breach of Company rules. The law, however, rarely takes such a black-and-white view of
alcohol at work.
2766 Risk or Opportunity? In the past the mere mention of the words "consult" and "employees" in close proximity might have
prompted in some a recoiling in horror. Yet the reality is that UK companies have had to get to grips with
the concept of consultation due to their statutory obligations to consult with employees in certain instances,
most commonly where multiple redundancies are taking place or in the event of a transfer of undertakings.
The requirement to consult with employees is coming back under the spotlight, however, with the pending
introduction of new legislation on 6 April 2005. The draft Information and Consultation Regulations, which
are made under and will implement the European National Information and Consultation Directive and will
introduce new rights of representation for employees, are being heralded by the TUC as potentially "the
most significant piece of employment legislation ever to be introduced in the UK"
2710 Data Marketing And The Law December 2003 heralded a change in the legal framework surrounding data marketing and the way in
which businesses are able to contact their customers. However, regulation in this area has been around for
some time, and it is vital to remember that all marketing which involves using personal data is also
governed by the Data Protection Act 1998. An excellent backgrounder in what businesses can and cannot
do when marketing themselves.
2704 Moves To Tackle Absence An ongoing concern for all organisations is the cost to the business of staff absence. A recent report
indicates not only that absence levels are rising, but that there is also an increasing concern amongst
employers that a significant amount of time taken by workers on grounds of illness is "unwarranted". We
list a number of practical options open to employers in order to tackle absence, and the potential abuse of
sick leave, within their own workplaces.
2664 Ten Years On Are Agents A Down-Trodden Race No More? The Commercial Agents Regulations have now been in force for ten years. After the Regulations had been
in force for less than three years, the Court of Appeal expressed the view that agents are a down-trodden
race who need and should be protected. In contrast for the last three years the courts have spoken against
agents receiving excessive windfalls which would result in an injustice to their principals. How perceptions
have changed! Meanwhile in the most recent case to determine compensation, the agent was awarded an
amount equal to the net commission earned by it over the duration of the agency. So where does the law
stand?
2639 Has Your Trademark Been Googled? How do you protect your trademarks from internet abuse? This is a serious problem for businesses now as
rivals use underhand tactics to ensure that someone searching for your brandname gets directed away
from you to their website.
2622 Recruitment Procedures Employers are not free to adopt any procedures they like when recruiting and selecting employees. The
law protects both job applicants and employees' access to promotion and benefits.
Current Articles
2617 Retail Leases, The Pitfalls and Perils Apart from employment costs, rent is often the biggest expense of any retailer. However, it has the added
disadvantage of being a fixed overhead. Given this and with the current drop in footfall in the high street,
there is all the more reason now to ensure that you avoid the potentially costly pitfalls and perils when
signing up to any new lease.
2613 Trading Standards Investigations Trading Standards Officers TSO - are employed by local authorities to enforce an extensive range of
legislation. There are over 100 Acts of Parliament and over 600 regulations enforced by TSOs. TSOs have
a wide range of enforcement powers at their disposal to enforce such legislation. However, despite this raft
of legislation and the extensive range of powers used to enforce it, many people are unaware of their rights
and unsure how to deal with a TSO investigation. We offer some guidance.
2610 Late Payment of Commercial Debts It is the first anniversary since the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 was fully
implemented. It is now possible to judge the success of the Act in the real world whilst considering whether
Barbara Roches statement in 1998 that it was an an act that works was predictive of the future, or,
optimistic. A review of the working of the Act.
2598 Out of Sight and Out of Mind? Although no formal definition exists, "telework" is generally understood to be a method of working which
utilises information and communication technology to enable individuals to work, either on a full or part-
time basis, from their home; or to divide their time between working from home and working from the office;
or, where the worker is a mobile worker, to use their home as an administrative base. The demand - and
perhaps the requirement - to work in new ways is equally likely to increase. Yet it is recognised that
teleworking brings its own challenges, of a practical and social nature. There is now European and UK
guidance on how to manage teleworkers.
2571 Violence In The Workplace Work related violence has serious consequences for employees and the businesses they work for. The
psychological effects of such attacks often cause anxiety and stress which can result in not only a financial
cost to the employer, but also, low staff morale and high staff turnover. What must employers do to protect
their staff? The HSE show the way with a new website.
2564 Watch Out Watch Out The OFTs About Businesses trading online face an increasingly complex array of legislation with which to comply. The
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) have been actively demonstrating their intent to pursue online traders who fail
to comply. A look at the laws that the OFT use to police online traders.
2558 Employee Monitoring: Human Rights and the Workplace New guidance from the Information Commissioner (formerly known as the Data Protection Registrar)
advises employers on how far they can intrude on the privacy of individual members of staff in the
workplace without contravening the Human Rights Act and data protection legislation. The new guidance,
part of a comprehensive four-part Code on employment practices, gives advice on the employers rights to
monitor the use by staff of the companys telephone, e-mail and internet equipment. Although not law itself,
it will be used in a court to test whether an employer has been following the Data Protection Act 1998.
Ignore the guidance at your peril.
2530 A Practical Guide To Making Redundancies Handling redundancies is a complex process which often involves wrestling with difficult decisions and high
emotions. Here is your step by step guide to the thought processes you need to go through to minimise the
risk of successful Employment Tribunal claims. The legal risks in a redundancy situation can include
claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination and for unpaid redundancy payments.
2522 The Price Isnt Right There have been several high profile cases of online retailers making big mistakes with pricing of their
products. Names have included Argos, Kodak and most recently Amazon.co.uk. What are the mistakes
they are making and how should online retailers protect themselves?
Current Articles
2516 The End or a Wonderful New Beginning? Apart from employment costs, rent is often the biggest expense of any business. Generally, this financial
year is not proving as successful as past years and most businesses are actively seeking to reduce costs.
A good place to start is by looking at fixed overheads such as property, and in particular lease, costs. Here
are your options for reducing your leasing costs.
2514 Copyright and You What can you do if you find a rival has copied your designs and promotional literature? What are your
rights?
2507 Who Owns Your Web Site? Recent disputes and court cases have looked at the issues that revolve around the ownership of websites
and their content. This article examines the points you should consider when creating your website.
2469 Agents Out To Graze Better Buy Furnishings (FICTITIOUS) uses commercial agents to sell its products. Several of them are in
the sixties. Should they be worrying about retirement of these agents?
2468 Agents Under Fire Situation: One of my commercial agents is under performing and I want to terminate the arrangement I
have with him. I am also aware that the Commercial Agents Regulations could make this costly. What can
I do?
2458 A Guide To Management Buyouts / Ins Ever considered putting together a management buyout or management buy-in? Stunned by the
complexity of it all? Here is a good and detailed guide to the principles and terms behind MBOs and MBIs.
It will all be clear after reading this piece.
2457 Retention of Title and Standard Conditions of Business He's gone bust and still owes us for the last two consignments. I know the goods are still on his premises
but the receiver says we can't recover them or We've got trading conditions, but so have some of our
customers. How do we make sure ours apply and not theirs? Sound familiar? Do your standard trading
conditions deal with these situations? If not, or if you do not have standard trading conditions at all, then
this feature..
2455 The Best Kept Records The second instalment of the Information Commissioner's Employment Practices Data Protection Code on
Employment Records is the most comprehensive document yet and, at over 100 pages long, a somewhat
daunting prospect at first sight. However within the document itself are some very interesting and useful
pieces of guidance, providing assistance and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions
relating to data protection issues within employment.
2453 Buying IT Getting IT Right It is remarkable how little attention is paid to the contractual aspects of IT procurement. Many millions may
be spent and yet so often the customer is content to accept the supplier's standard terms of business. As a
result suppliers have become accustomed to having terms and conditions of business which - by and
large - seek to protect only them at the expense of the customer. The contractual status of IT procurement
is, therefore, often inconsistent with the commercial position where in many cases the supplier is bidding
for the customer's business in competition with others. In these circumstances it is open to the customer to
dictate the terms on which he wishes to contract with the chosen supplier. We show what to negotiate.
2450 Does It Pay To Incorporate? The UK private sector currently comprises some 3.7 million business enterprises, of which around 1.4
million are limited companies with the rest being overwhelmingly sole traders or partnerships. As these
figures suggest, the decision on how to structure a business is not a clear-cut one. In his Budget speech
earlier this year the Chancellor announced changes in the tax system which have been widely seen as
having pushed the balance of advantage firmly in favour of incorporation. These changes, though, should
not be looked at in isolation. Any decision to set up a business as a limited company, either from scratch or
through conversion of an existing business, should be taken after consideration of all the relevant factors
and, preferably, after seeking professional advice.
Current Articles
2447 New Rules for Inboxes Many people are concerned about the rapid growth of unsolicited commercial email on the Internet. For the
sender, spam is relatively easy and cheap to send. However, for the recipient it can be a nuisance and
even give rise to additional costs of download or storage. The sheer volume of spam can give rise to
network problems as it uses up Internet bandwidth. Some view spam as an unwelcome invasion of privacy.
New legislation now covers the sending of email.
2442 The E-Commerce Regulations Come Into Force The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, which implement the E-commerce Directive,
came into force on 21 August 2002. Accordingly, businesses providing services over the Internet now need
to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the new Regulations.
2437 Have You Got Health & Safety Under Control Part 5 A comprehensive look at health and safety in the workplace.
2430 Requests From Parents For Flexible Hours Requests from male and female employees who want to change their working arrangements to suit their
child care require more serious consideration following the Employment Act 2002 coming into force in April
2003.
2423 Are You Providing An Unsafe Product? Consider the following situation, several complaints have been made to Trading Standards throughout the
county regarding a particular product which you either, manufacture, supply or retail. As a result of these
complaints Trading Standards Officers are now investigating the company and possibly even individual
directors for criminal offences under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and/or the General Product Safety
Regulations 1994 regarding unsafe consumer goods. Goods can fail to comply with the safety
requirements if they are not reasonably safe having regard to all circumstances including marks,
instructions, safety standards and marketing. What can happen?
2421 Copyright or Copywrong? When preparing promotional materials most of us will look to our competitors brochures and marketing
strategy for ideas. But can using ideas amount to an infringement of the copyright belonging to someone
else? When is it safe to use materials that have been prepared by others?
2419 Docking Pay Judging by the 39,464 protection of wages complaints received overall by ACAS in 2000-2001, many
employers dock wages for a variety of reasons. However, regardless of whether the employee was at fault,
many employers will have acted unlawfully and can end up repaying the money. This may seem unfair but
help is at hand. Set out here is guidance on how you can give yourself the right to deduct pay from your
workers and not fall foul of their employment rights.
Current Articles
2418 The Fullness of the Distance Selling Regulations How full is a full refund? This issue arose in discussions between the Office of Fair Trading and each of
BOL and Amazon.com. The discussions came about as a result of the Consumer Protection (Distance
Selling) Regulations 2000 which state that:
On the cancellation of a contact under regulation 10, the supplier shall reimburse any sum paid by or on
behalf of the consumer under or in relation to the contract to the person by whom it was made free of any
charge
BOL and Amazon had both made a particular interpretation of the provision to which the OFT took
exception. They considered that consumers who returned goods within the seven day cooling off period
allowed by the Regulations would be refunded the full price of the goods. However, this full refund would
not include the costs of postage and packing for which both BOL and Amazon continued to charge the
consumer. The OFT differed and won
2387 Employment Practices Data Protection Code The long-awaited Employment Practices Data Protection Code has finally been issued by the Information
Commissioner. The Code provides guidance to employers in processing data in compliance with the Data
Protection Act 1998 when recruiting and employing staff. The Code covers the processing of both personal
and sensitive data. Personal data is any data which identifies a living person and could include the bank
details of a worker or more mundane information such as address, contact details and next-of-kin details.
Sensitive data, on the other hand, is information relating to aspects of an individual's life. In essence this
and the other Codes which are being issued over the summer are a guide to the law as opposed to law
themselves. However, if taken to court for a breach of the Act compliance with the Codes will probably see
you right. Ignore the Codes and you ignore the law - you can then expect large fines and possibly time in
prison.
2383 Time For A Drastic Change Imagine - the company is swarming with people. The Press, Environmental Officers, Health and Safety
Officers and Police Officers are all there following a serious accident that could result in the death of an
employee. The officers are not only taking statements there and then from those involved, seizing
documents and articles which you are trying to oversee but you are also expected to answer, under
caution, questions which may implicate the Company or yourself in the commission of a criminal offence.
You know or ought to know that that investigation may lead, if the employee dies, to a charge of Corporate
Killing against the Company and a charge against yourself, personally, as a director, for the
overwhelmingly serious offence of manslaughter. On top of the offences faced, by the company and
yourself, there is also the possibility that, as a director, you could face disqualification from acting in any
management role of any undertaking carrying on the business or activities in Great Britain in future. These
are only some of the consequences of the new Government bill, on Corporate Killing and Manslaughter,
due to be introduced during this Governments term.
2376 Shiftworkers Rights Defined Announcing new government proposals to assist parents to work more flexible hours, the Trade and
Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt recently said that the government was trying to achieve a cultural
revolution in the workplace. She added: There are still too many old fashioned businesses that operate as
if men were breadwinners and women the housewives. Hewitts sentiments came hard on the heels of two
sex discrimination cases which highlight the difficulties that employees and employers are encountering in
reconciling working hours and child care responsibilities. In both cases, the employees won their claims.
Here are the lessons for employers.
Current Articles
2362 Force Majeure Clauses A Means of Protection? The recent volcanic disruption of air travel impacted on many businesses. Key employees were overseas
and could not return to the UK. Supplies from overseas were delayed whilst exports also suffered. The end
result is likely to be that many commercial contracts agreed upon were not performed. The consequences
of non-performance will depend on what the contract does or does not say. Many commercial agreements
incorporate a specific clause designed to apply where contractual performance has become impossible
because of circumstances which were not envisaged by the parties and are outside their control. Typically
a provision of this nature is known as a force majeure clause.
2353 Avoiding the Pain of Customer Insolvency Most people who have had the experience of a customer becoming insolvent will have learnt the painful
fact that in the vast majority of cases there is little, if anything, available to meet the claims of unsecured
creditors. Even where (on paper) a company has substantial assets (for example a large amount of
uncollected debts) the value these produce in an insolvency is generally far less than the value they had
when the company was a going concern. Add to this the high costs of formal insolvency procedures and it
is little wonder that many creditors feel that these procedures give them a pretty raw deal. We offer
guidelines for creditor and debtor companies which may be useful in resolving the situation.
2338 Accident Costs: Just One Piece Of The Jigsaw At the heart of the HSEs drive to improve health and safety is getting industry to recognise the true costs
of poor health and safety performance. Few would argue that the figures are impressive. They should
make any reasonable manager think seriously about how much health and safety is costing their business.
Understanding the costs of safety should be an integral part of the decision making process within every
organisation. The sector you operate in is irrelevant, although manufacturing perhaps have more to gain
than many industries. You probably all have safety as an item on your weekly/monthly management
meetings, hopefully as the first item? But how often do you genuinely discuss the costs. Cost data is an
important part of the safety equation. However, relying on cost data alone will give an incomplete and
possibly misleading picture. Effective risk management is about knowledge, not numbers.
2331 Your Insurer Gone Bust? What do you do if your insurance company becomes insolvent? Are you still covered by your policy? If not,
can you recover any premiums you have paid? These were the questions that an estimated 600,000
policyholders were asking themselves in June 2001 when provisional liquidators were appointed to the
Independent Insurance Company Limited. We examine the policyholders position.
2321 Service Level Agreements : What Are They? Many people and businesses employ others to undertake services for them. Not many people service their
own motor car. Where they do not receive an acceptable quality service from one garage, they will vote
with their feet and move to another. Businesses do not necessarily have that luxury where they enter into a
long term service contract. This is particularly the case where the business has, for example, outsourced
a fundamental part of its business such as the operation and maintenance of its computer system or some
other key function of the business. So how can a business protect itself?
2319 Management At War: What Happens When Directors Fall Out? At the start of most businesses those involved normally have a rosy out look on the future - they get on,
theyve got a great business plan and the bank has agreed to fund their vision, but a few years later things
may be very different. With the passage of time, much can go wrong and we take a look at what the legal
effect of management war is and what can be done to protect everyones interests from day one.
2264 Employing Children And Young People You won't be surprised to know that the law is very strict on employment where young people are
concerned. So what does the law say?
2260 Part Time Workers A 1500 word backgrounder, in Q&A format, on the obligations placed on the employer.
2255 Working Hours A Q&A format look at the Working Time Directive and how it affects employers.
Current Articles
2250 Transfer of Undertakings: What is it for? The Transfer of Undertakings Regulations are designed to protect employees' rights when a fully
functioning business is taken over and their direct employer changes. The underlying principle is that when
a business transfers from one employer to another, as far as the employee is concerned the only change
will be the identity of their employer. His terms and conditions will largely remain the same and transfer
with him.
2245 Manual Handling A look at how the law deals with employers obligations with regard to the manual handling of goods.
2237 Risk Assessment Risk assessment is a fundamental part of an organisation's health and safety management system. The
term was introduced into law as a result of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
1992 (as amended). These Regulations implemented an EC framework directive. The concept of risk
management is developing in business, health and safety just one of many risks an organisation has to
manage. The focus is on developing systems which minimise and prevent risks.
2236 First Aid All businesses have a duty to look after the health and safety of their employees. But what exactly does the
law say on first aid matters?
2234 HACCP In relation to food safety, what is HACCP and what are its implications?
2233 Training This article examines who requires food handling training and how it should be given.
2232 Cleaning Regulation 4 of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 stipulates that a proprietor of a
food business shall ensure that all stages of food preparation and sale are carried out in a hygienic way.
This is defined as taking all measures necessary to ensure the safety and wholesomeness of food during
manufacture and offering for sale or supply to the consumer. The proprietor of a food business must
identify any steps which are critical to ensuring food. We identify what else the law says.
2231 Pest Control Pests cause physical contamination of foods and cause considerable customer concern. The general
provision under the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995, is that food premises must be
kept clean and must be designed to prevent pest access and harbourage. More detail.
2230 Personal Hygiene People are a significant source of pathogens and may easily contaminate food either directly or indirectly.
Virtually everyone carries some form of food poisoning bacteria at one time or another without necessarily
knowing the pathogens are there. A look at the legal issues for those dealing with food.
2229 Due Diligence Defence Offences under food safety laws are absolute offences, meaning that the prosecution does not have to
show the defendant intended to commit an offence. It is sufficient that a particular provision has been
breached in the Food Safety Act 1990 or in any associated regulations. In order to ensure a degree of
fairness for the defendant, the "due diligence" defence was incorporated into the FSA '90. But what is due
diligence?
2228 Preventing Food Contamination An article looking at the general steps which can be taken to prevent food contamination
2227 Hazardous Foods Some foods are more susceptible than others to supporting the growth of bacteria, toxins and viruses
(pathogenic micro-organisms). The types of food which present a high risk are those where the presence
of such micro-organisms is inherent. A brief overview.
2226 Food Poisoning: What Is Food Poisoning? What is food poisoning and what does the law say?
2216 Terms and Conditions Every employee will feel reassured by knowing his or her terms and conditions of employment. Likewise,
an employer cannot insist on terms unless these are made clear. The law lays down obligations on both
sides.
Current Articles
2210 Internet Competitions - Legal, Decent, Honest And Truthful Many web site owners are looking for ways to increase the number of visitors to their sites and also the
number and length of times that they visit. One method of doing this is to have a prize competition which
can only be accessed from the site. But the law has much to say on the subject.
2206 Successful Recruitment Whilst many employment rights, such as the right not to be unfairly dismissed, are generally dependent
upon an employee having at least one years service, discrimination legislation does not require individuals
to have any qualifying service. At present the UK has legislation which prohibits discrimination on the
grounds of race, sex (this includes discrimination against transsexuals and arguably on the grounds of
sexual orientation) and disability. The penalties are stiff for non compliance.
2193 A Rescue Culture Unfortunately, until now many attempts to rescue businesses have been thwarted by the refusal of some
creditors to co-operate even where the majority have been prepared to consider a rescue plan. When the
new sections of the Insolvency Act 2000 come into force, directors of companies in financial difficulties will
be able to obtain an initial moratorium to protect the business of the company pending a meeting to
propose a formal voluntary arrangement or rescue plan to the companys creditors. The detail
2172 Lease or Buy Property So your business requires new premises. This is a situation which all businesses face at some time or
other. One of the first requirements of new businesses is obviously premises from which to operate. Well
established businesses on the other hand often outgrow their existing premises or search for new ones in
order to open up new branches. The various scenarios are almost endless but one thing is for certain: it will
need to be decided at management level whether to search for freehold or leasehold premises. This is a
decision which must usually be taken in advance. Although it is not inconceivable that a seller may offer a
potential buyer a choice this is comparatively rare. This article outlines the pros and cons of both ways of
owning commercial property. It also considers some of the practical issues which will be relevant in
acquisitions of freehold and leasehold property.
2164 Recruitment Advice Employers want to find the best person for the job so they will make judgements on grounds of
qualifications and past experience of similar work. They may also try to discriminate to ensure the new
recruit will "fit in" to the work environment. But employing "clones" of existing staff members may
discriminate on grounds of sex and/or race and/or disability. It can also mean that irrelevant characteristics
are taken into account - like the golf club someone belongs to or the fact they went to a particular Oxbridge
college. Using qualities and characteristics irrelevant to job performance may lead to claims of unlawful
discrimination. Claims for discrimination are expensive to defend in terms of time and legal expenses and
damages for discrimination are unlimited
2143 What Happens If Your Landlord Goes Bust? Many businesses occupy their shop premises, whether as large retail outlets or small corner shops under
the terms of a lease. A business might be forgiven for thinking, subject to keeping up with its rental
payments and other obligations, it cannot be forced out until the agreed expiry date at the earliest.
Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case. The landlord to whom the sub-tenant pays rent may itself be
a tenant of a superior landlord with its own obligations to fulfil. What happens if this intermediate landlord
goes bust? Can the superior landlord throw you out? What steps can be taken to protect your business
2138 Need To Be In Quick? Most business premises in England are leasehold. Leaseholds are premises which you rent from a
landlord under a commercial lease. UK commercial leases are not standard documents but need to be
negotiated. Not only must you agree the terms of the lease with your landlord, your landlord may himself
be a tenant and the deal will need to be approved by another, superior, landlord. The superior landlord
already has your landlord on the hook for the rent and generally has no particular interest in approving the
deal quickly. So what are the alternatives if you want to occupy quickly?
2116 Human Rights Act There has been much trumpeting of the Human Rights Act which took effect on 2 October 2000. But what
will this mean for the average private business? This article looks at the real issues behind the hyperbole,
and rejects some of the more exaggerated claims, giving practical pointers to employers
Current Articles
2098 Insolvency Signposts 2 The failure of one or more of your customers to pay their debts as and when they fall due can have a
significant effect on the cashflow of your business. A customers failure to pay its debts on time is the first
sign that they themselves are in financial difficulties and possibly insolvent. This can in some cases have a
knock on effect to the supplier. No corporation is immune from the threat of insolvency and size is no
guarantee of protection. The economic climate is such that insolvency is still commonplace. So how can
you best safeguard your company's interests?
2095 A Cure For Insomnia There are many advantages for a company in appointing an agent or distributor. Correspondingly there are
some disadvantages. One that is often overlooked is the possibility that the product being sold may
become associated with the name of the distributor or, to a lesser extent, the agent.
2085 Insolvent Suppliers A number of issues arise for businesses when suppliers become insolvent. These relate not only to direct
financial concerns and the regulation of the trading position inter company but also indirectly, affecting the
businesses crucial relationships with its customers. Here are the legal issues that may be relevant in this
context.
2068 Terms on the Web The need for up to date standard terms and conditions is accepted by many companies. Most of these will
also be aware of the need to properly incorporate the terms and conditions into contracts made by them.
The situation in respect of contracts made via your web site should be no different. But it is not simply a
question of referring to your standard terms and conditions on your web site. Nor is it sufficient to simply
include the terms and conditions as part of your website.
2057 An ISP For You? It may be thought that all internet service providers are the same. This is true only insofar as any car may
take you from A to B, but different cars do so in variety of ways. Care should therefore be taken in deciding
with which ISP to enter into a contract.
2054 Bulky Goods The Government introduced a sequential test in Planning Policy Guidance Note 6 in 1996. This only
permits out-of-town stores if there are no sites in or on the edge of established shopping centres. There
should also be an unsatisfied need for further shopping floorspace. Following this, Richard Caborn, the
then Planning Minister, warned the British Council Of Shopping Centres in 1998 that the Government
would toughen up its policies for bulky goods. As IKEA prepares to develop 20 new stores, what are the
planning prospects for bulky goods stores?
2027 Refuse to Supply The retail market is increasingly competitive. New entrants and new methods for selling lead inexorably to
a quickening of the pace. Unsurprisingly therefore when a particular product is selling well those retailers
who have not received supplies can be expected to want to do something about the situation.
2026 Imitation Many businessmen have heard of the legal concept of passing off. A few may have been involved in
passing off cases. In essence it occurs where one business seeks to trade on the reputation or goodwill of
another. One example occurred a few years ago as a result of ASDAs launch of Puffin chocolate biscuits.
United Biscuits successfully claimed that these biscuits passed off its own Penguin chocolate biscuits. But
as a common law action, passing off is always a difficult remedy to rely on.
2019 Poaching Staff Key staff are crucial to the success of a people business. Key employees may do long term or even
permanent damage to a business by leaving and joining or becoming a competitor. The heart and soul of a
business (ie its people) can be removed over night. It is trite but still true that finding, hiring and training
replacements is both difficult and costly. On the other hand, enticing a talented employee, or possibly a
team of employees, from elsewhere is an attractive way of developing a business.
2009 Surplus Property? Your property requirements may well change over time. What can you do about surplus property? Selling
freehold property is relatively straightforward but leasehold property is different. By taking on a lease
(whether as an original tenant or by buying a lease at a later date), you commit yourself to the property for
a minimum number of years at a given rent. What are the ways out
Current Articles
2005 Corporate Sponsorship "Sponsorship" has been cry taken up in many a boardroom. Sometimes it is because it is the chairman's
favourite golf course which is staging the tournament. On other occasions the marketing director has
managed to persuade everyone (including himself) that the local cricket team will carry all before it - and
provide useful promotion for the company to boot. But a sponsorship agreement can best be described as
the legal form of three-dimensional chess. Who are the players and what are the pitfalls?
1921 Heads of Terms Before agreeing a lease it's important to agree the heads of terms - the main points. We show you how to
avoid some of the mistakes.
1904 Walking Away When leaving rented premises, it is dangerous to assume that you can simply leave the property, hand
back the keys and walk away. Take heed of the following.
1878 Unlocking The Value Of Your Buildings Sale and leaseback is a long established method of releasing latent, under-performing capital and of off-
balance sheet financing. We explain how sale and leaseback works and explore the latest refinement
private PFI.
1870 Celebrity Knocks Celebrities are often used by those in business to promote their goods and services. What should those
who want to hire a personality do to ensure all goes well on the day.
1851 Principles Behaving Badly As with so much of the law, there is invariably a difference between a legal entitlement and enforcement of
that right. The Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 are no different. The Regulations give agents many
rights. Some during the continuance of the agency agreement; others when it has come to an end. In
either case the issue is what can the agent do when his principal is behaving badly?
1814 Intellectual Property - Your Protection You may think that you do not own any intellectual property (often referred to as IP). However, the
overwhelming likelihood is that you do and that it is, or could be, of real value to your business.
Alternatively, you may be aware that you own IP but are not sure how to protect it. In any event, it is vital
that you are aware of the nature of IP rights, so that as you develop your business you can maximise the
value of your IP and, crucially, avoid infringing the rights of others; it is possible to infringe rights of which
you are completely unaware.
1811 Planning Pitfalls What are the problems that businesses should be aware of when making planning applications?
1801 Rent Free Periods & Stamp Duty Looks at how a tenant can attempt to get a rent free period on their lease.
1780 Break Clauses This feature gives advice to tenants who want to get out of their lease or who are about to negotiate a new
lease.
1765 Principles of Competition In every litter there is a runt. At every ball there is a Cinderella. Invariably in every law there are provisions
which tend to be overlooked or forgotten about. In this respect the Commercial Agents Regulations are no
different. Although ten cases concerning the Regulations have reached the Courts since 1994, none of
them have concerned the provisions which deal with an agent competing against his principal.
1762 Service Charge - A Tenants Headache? Service charges can be a significant expense for tenants, particularly in large shopping centres, so it is
important to know from the outset what you may be liable for and to budget accordingly. Such large costs
may have a significant effect on your profitability and cashflow. You may wish to consider capping your
contribution - a possibility in less popular centres but unlikely in prime properties.
1747 Dealing With Employee Embezzlement A company's worst nightmare must be the discovery that one of its employees has been involved in
embezzling. Many problems and serious issues can arise from a case of sticky fingers. Embezzling is the
diversion of property fraudulently for one's own use. There are criminal implications: offences likely to arise
are theft, obtaining property by deception and false accounting.
Current Articles
1725 Hitting The Acquisitions Trail The difficulty when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, especially among small to medium sized
enterprises (SMEs), is that they are in danger of not thinking the deal through and dramatically under
estimating the amount of management time and effort involved in making a successful acquisition.
Businesses in every sector - and, perhaps, especially SMEs - need an innovative, enterprising outlook,
strong management and a clear vision of where they want to go. Strong mindedness is essential but, on its
own, it is not a quality for carrying out successful mergers or acquisitions. They can be too fraught with
difficulty, and involve the ability to negotiate
1723 Fidelity In some cases, employers design at senior level sophisticated contract clauses which restrain the activities
of individual employees after they leave. But what if you have not got such elaborate restraints? The law
generally does give some protection to employers who wish to enforce their rights and protect their
legitimate interests against employees, both during and after employment.
1719 Directors Shareholding Dealings Being a director involves many onerous duties including the way in which they deal in the company's
shares. Here are the rules that need to be known.
1670 Can I Ditch My Customers? Can a manufacturer get rid of agents who effectively tie a manufacturer through geographic exclusivity
deals, yet who do so only to stop other businesses representing the manufacturer?
1645 Recovery Of Overpayments From Employees In December 1998 it was reported that Hewlett Packard's Unix division had overpaid its direct sales force
their end of year bonuses. Amounts of up to 20,000 were said to be being sought from employees, with
(according to the report) the threat that any refusal to repay would result in basic pay being stopped. This
issue raises many legal questions: what is the position of an employer seeking to recover such sums from
its employees?
1628 Late Payment of Commercial Debts Interest on late payment of debts is now subject to statutory regulation. Heralded by the government as a
weapon in the hands of small businesses and an act that works, the Late Payment of Commercial
Debts (Interest) Act 1998 came into force on 1 November 1998.
1592 Legal Audits It is often said that the actions of directors are unfairly judged with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and that
matters that may seem obvious following a company failure may not have been apparent at the time to the
directors who were battling to preserve their companies. For this reasons, directors facing an uncertain
future would be well advised to consider undertaking a legal audit of their businesses.
1579 Avoiding A Slippery Soap Preventing the receivership of a client firm hurting your business.
1571 Price of Fame The law on registering personalities likenesses as trademarks.
1417 I Think That's What We Said Many agreements exist without the need for written documentation. But the protection enjoyed by a
business under an oral agreement is unlikely to be as certain or comprehensive as that achieved through a
written agreement.
1359 Buying Big Assets Buying assets from another company is fraught with dangers. But what happens if you buy something in
good faith but which was not the sellers to sell?
1299 Discounting Brand Image Can suppliers and manufacturers force retailers to sell at a given price? What are the consequences?
1255 Caveat Emptor Size is not everything. But inequality in size can result in inequality in bargaining power and the difficulty is
exacerbated by the fact that whilst the consumer in a consumer-retailer situation is protected by many
laws, the protection afforded to the retailer viz. a viz. the supplier is much less. We look at how retailers
can protect themselves.
Current Articles
1139 Selling New Product Lines & Shop Leases Many shop owners lease their premises with leases that contain all sorts of rules and regulations. A few of
the conditions stop you selling a new line or goods. But what if you apply to your landlord to sell new lines
and he turns you down - what can you do? You may feel powerless against your landlord, but there may be
some things you can do.
859 Joint Ventures Joint ventures between companies can have many benefits to those concerned. But what are the problems
associated with setting JV's up?
781 What Happens When The Banks Goes Bust! In the light of the collapse of Barings and BCCI banks a few years ago, exactly what happens when a bank
goes under, and what are the borrowers and depositors rights?
777 Prepayment of Bank Loans Reading the small print of bank loans is probably not upmost in a borrowers mind. However, it does pay to
read them because if you do not, any attempt to repay a loan early may be met with extra charges were not
expected. This article gives a hints on what to do to minimise any unforeseen costs.
754 Photocopier / Equipment Contracts Contracts to rent, hire or lease office equipment such as photocopiers, have been the subject of many
heated arguments. Contracts often are for longer than the machines' working life and include very harsh
get-out clauses, that can leave the customer paying many thousands of pounds for nothing. Here's how to
protect yourself.
733 Standard Conditions of Business A look at using a set of standard conditions, both for buying and selling, that can protect your business.
Covers liability, cashflow, enforceability and unfair terms, and in particular, the Sale and Supply of Goods
Act and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.
710 Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts This legislation is based on European Law and it greatly enhances the power of the consumer when it
comes to buying goods and services by contract. The law means that contracts that are unclear,
ambiguous or unconcise will be invalid.
676 Outsourcing A backgrounder on the employment implications of outsourcing a in-house company function to an outside
service providing company.
581 Executive Remuneration For senior managers and directors. How to give your high ranking employees all the benefits they want and
need whilst maintaining maximum flexibility for your business.
569 Garden Leave How to take away the threat of commercial damage from an employee who might be going to a competitor.
Garden leave is relatively cheap and free of legal foul-ups.
509 Mistaken Payments What are the rights of the payee and payer when an overpayment has occurred? In what circumstances
can money be retrieved?
477 Trade Libel Looks at how businesses can protect themselves from trade libel and defamation, where competitors or ex-
employees rubbish products, services or a reputation. In today's climate, even a whisper of insolvency can
mean disaster.
433 Legal Problems of Factoring Speeding up cash flow by using a factoring company can be very dangerous. Here is a brief overview of
what you should look out for.
Management
3939 Master and Commander Owning a business and working on your own account isnt for everyone. Some would miss the shopfloor
banter; others arent comfortable with the responsibility; and to be honest, not everyone is cut out to be a
boss. But for those that feel they have a calling, a burning desire to work for themselves, stepping out on
their own might be the best thing that theyll ever do. However, while its not hard to set up a business,
there are practical and legal steps that must be followed. Blithely starting up is not recommended.
Current Articles
3920 Get Organised In a highly pressurised world and with an equally pressurised work environment, its so easy to become
disorganised and lose track of the really important things in our professional lives. But by putting a little
time aside it shouldnt be too hard to get back on the straight and narrow. So what are the steps you should
take?
3895 Corporate Fraud and Identity Theft: Dont Be A Victim A quick scan of identitytheft.org.uk, a government website backed by organisations and companies with an
interest in reducing fraud, is enough to put the frighteners on any law abiding reader. While many realise
that fraud and identity theft affects us as private citizens, few really understand that it hurts businesses too.
According to a CPP survey of 200 SMEs in September 2011, only one third of respondents thought they
were at risk of identity fraud while the awareness of fraud varied wildly across industry sectors.
3842 Cold Feet When Calling? Selling is the key to success in every business. However, selling is not something that everyone feels
comfortable with. Some especially avoid calling new people, cold calling, like the plague. Whilst a call can
go well and lead to business, more often than not, calls end in rejection and sometimes abuse. Youve got
to be thick skinned to not get upset when a phone is slammed down during a call; no can be very
personal. For anyone wanting to stay iin business, cold calling is an evil necessity. With planning, cold
calling will grow a business and can be the simplest, most effective and least-cost method of finding new
customers.
3825 Tips to Making More Money If theres a constant to our lives its the New Year resolution. At the turn of a diary page we promise to
make a change, some improvement, to the way we conduct ourselves, whether thats to lose weight, get
fitter, alter a relationship or to have a more successful year. All changes need discipline, especially those
relating to weight and fitness. But changes to commercial life such as increasing profitability also need
some thought and action. The principles of becoming more profitable are the exact opposite to weight loss
you need to earn more and spend less. Here then, are tips to give your new year a boost.
3801 Succeeding With Succession Planning for succession is probably the toughest challenge that many family businesses ever face. It calls
for courage to deal with any differences of opinion over which roles the next generation should take.
Sometimes the problem is that nobody in the next generation has the ability or desire to take up the reins.
3797 10 Tips for a Successful New Year Now that Christmas is over, its time to knuckle down to work. Whilst we all make New Years resolutions
at home, how many make resolutions for work? So cast away thoughts of turkey and festivities and move
on into 2012 with this top ten.
3773 Switch and Save on Energy In just a short period of time, the world has become utterly dependent on technology. Our voracious
appetite for energy consuming devices causes much angst and hardship as utility prices go ever higher.
And its not going to get any better. As recently as June 2011, energy industry regulator, Ofgem, has said
that it wants to radically overhaul the energy market. Its put the big six power companies on notice that
their incredibly complex tariffs are going to be put under the microscope again over the next few
months. So with the background of rising prices can business do anything to lower their energy bills?
3771 Advertising: What Are The Rules? If people dont know you exist theyll not beat a path to your door. Great if youre a criminal, not so great if
youre a businesses trying to overcome a poor economy. Whilst word of mouth might help your business
tick over, its not going to set it alight you need to advertise and there are rules to follow.
3733 Gaining Market Share Every business wants to grow. Whether thats to provide the income required by its owners, to dominate its
market however defined, or to serve an ego no business wants to stand still. But instead of a mad dash,
the trick is to grow sustainably rather than crashing in the flames of failure. In simple terms, gaining market
share means ensuring that you get a greater percentage of clients customers coming to you than
previously and ideally at someone elses expense. So how can a small business grow its market share?
3732 Writing for Success Its often been said that everyone has a story to tell. True enough. But whilst everyone has a story, how
they tell it when the time comes may mean that no one listens. But it doesnt have to be that way.
Current Articles
3716 Using the Social Networks for Business Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are just three of the names in the world of online social networking. Whilst
many use social networking to keep in touch with friends and family, they are also invaluable tools for
promoting a business. You can also use them to search for work or information on business opportunities
or you might use it to find staff. So what are the golden rules for using social media?
3714 Business Continuity: A Small Firm Perspective According to a survey for the Business Continuity Institute, nearly 1 in 5 businesses suffer some form of
major disruption every year. And as if to prove the point, Aviva, in its bi-annual SME Pulse survey
conducted late in 2010, found that only 28 per cent of those that took part in the survey had any form of
business continuity plan. Indeed, the Aviva survey found that in general business owners grossly
underestimate the time it would take to get the business back on its feet following some form of
catastrophe. Now whilst we dont suffer from earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis that have hit Japan
and New Zealand in recent months, we are not immune from other serious threats. The unlikely, once in a
thousand year event, could be coming your way. So how should you prepare?
3704 Ten Tips to Recruiting the Best Hiring staff is never easy. Indeed, surveys have shown that that CVs tend to have some form of
discrepancy which are often related to qualifications, dates of past employment or experience
accumulated - your job is to find out the truth. Here are ten tips for successful recruiting.
3664 Your Own Private Odyssey Whilst I could do without working for a living, the positive to the negative is that evenings, weekends and
time spent on holiday are made all that more special because of the time Im at my desk. However, for
many, myself included, the idea of a holiday at a traditional beachside setting is as dull as dishwater. So in
an appetiser for 2011, here are three alternatives that should strike a chord for those that want something a
little different from the ordinary.
3643 Working on Your Behalf Being a small business is not easy. Whether its premises, staff, competition, the law or day-to-day survival
theres just so much to worry about. This is why some turn to the small business bodies for help.
Organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the Forum of Private Businesses exist to
assist and to lobby on behalf of the interests of small businesses. So, being blunt, what can they do for
you?
3630 The 12 Days of Christmas Christmas is a time for festivities. But your well-intentioned plans can easily turn into a nightmare if detail is
ignored. Whether its the staff party, playing festive music or taking account of the bank holiday disruptions,
you need to think ahead. Here is your 12 point check list to making merry whilst you make money.
3620 Money Saving Tips for Businesses From banking, telecoms and property to office IT, software and stationery, we offer tips for businesses to
make savings.
3588 Could You Make Savings In Your Property Costs? As the second largest cost after staff, property plays an important role in business. With the recession far
from behind us, and the full implications of the countrys deficit yet to spread into the wider economy, cost
savings will still be high on the agenda for all businesses moving forward. We outline a number of options,
including reducing business rates, for tenants and landlords to consider in the quest to further reduce their
property costs.
3555 The Services Directive The trading of services, as opposed to goods, has been taking up an increasing share of the overall
economy, both in the UK and Europe in general. But while services now account for around 70% of EU
output and employment, the great bulk of this business remains domestic less than a quarter of intra-EU
trade and investment concerns services. It is the desire to redress this apparent imbalance, and to
encourage greater participation in cross-border services on the part of both service providers (SPs) and
consumers, that lies behind the EUs Services Directive.
Current Articles
3471 Setting Out On Your Own There are three relatively easy ways to money. Win it, marry it or steal it. The passage of time should have
taught you that theres almost no chance of winning it; that its too late for the second; and as for theft,
most dont survive prison very well. That leaves only a fourth option; having to earn it. So youve have been
with a vendor for some years and either circumstance, or a keen desire to be master of your own destiny,
is leading you down the path of running your own business. But going self employed or starting a company
is not for the uncommitted, especially those with a family, mortgage or debts to service. Its not as hard as
you think and can be incredibly rewarding, however, there are steps to follow.
3470 The Pre-Pack and You No doubt either you or someone you know has had their fingers burnt by insolvency. Like many on the
wrong side of a collapse, you may be really irritated to see that the insolvent firm seems have to arisen
again, debt free, leaving creditors unpaid all because of a process called pre-pack.What is a pre-pack and
how does it affect you?
3454 You Can Do Marketing A beginners guide to marketing a business.
3453 Training for the Future Why businesses should train their staff and where help can be sought.
3394 Corporate Fraud and Your Business Fraud is a problem, never more so during times of economic hardship where temptation and need are
great. It wont be surprising then that according to the recent annual FraudTrack report from BDO Stoy
Hayward, total reported fraud in the UK stood at 1.19bn for 2008 up 14 per cent on 2007s figure of
1.04bn. However, the survey only covers reported cases of fraud in the UK at a time before the recession
really started to bite. This is just the tip of the iceberg as the total amount of actual fraud is certain to be
substantially greater. How can you spot fraud in your business?
3344 Going Self Employed My father used say that there were three relatively easy ways to money. I could win it, marry into it or steal
it. The passage of time taught me that theres almost no chance of winning it; that its too late for the
second; and as for theft, those that know me would agree that I wouldnt survive prison very well. So that
left only a fourth option; having to earn it. Some of us work for an employer, but others, myself included,
have the privilege of working for themselves. I use the word privilege deliberately. Im hoping that by the
time youve read this you may see why.
3326 Going Green In A Tax Efficient Way Many businesses are considering how they can do their bit to go green. There is an increasing realisation
that being more environmentally friendly is good for business. There is often a market advantage to being
an organisation that is proactively taking measures to address its environmental responsibilities. For
example, an appetite amongst consumers for socially responsible products has already led to growth in the
market for fair trade products. There are also real financial benefits associated with environmentally
sensitive behaviour. Initiatives to reduce energy consumption are good for the environment as well as
being helpful in controlling costs. In addition, there are tax incentives for certain environmentally friendly
decisions, which deliver further financial benefits to business.Here we look at five ways in which
businesses might improve their environmental performance whilst taking advantage of available tax reliefs.
3308 Company Directors - Do You Understand Your New Duties? As you read this magazine, you could well be one of the UK's estimated five million company directors.
You may well be pretty sure that you understand what is involved, and are quite comfortable with your
ability to separate what you do in a personal capacity from what you do while wearing your company
director hat. If you are, though, it is fair to say that you are probably in a minority. As from October 2007
the law on directors' duties is now laid down in legislation, in the form of the Companies Act 2006.
Everything has changed.
3288 Cut Your Office Management Costs Times are tough - that's what the economic stats are telling us. And while most businesses aren't staring
bankruptcy in the face, the credit crunch together with slower markets mean many of them are seeing their
margins squeezed. So they're looking for cost cuts. And for most businesses, the office is a good place to
start.
Current Articles
3237 Improve Your Business Credit Rating Has your business ever experienced a poor credit rating, although you have never defaulted on any
payments? This is not unusual, especially for new or small businesses, to discover that they have been
stuck with a low credit rating. A credit rating is based upon all of the data taken into consideration by a
credit reference agency on a particular trading entity. But, there are quite a few ways to improve the
situation. Just as it is important to build a positive credit profile as a consumer, companies that trade on
credit, need to do the same.
3236 How To Prevent Corporate Fraud Its no wonder that the results of a recent survey conducted by Graydon.co.uk, a credit information agency,
into the levels of corporate fraud in British business sparked much debate in the press and in the credit
management industry in particular. The survey, carried out amongst those working in credit management
departments in a business-to-business environment, came up with some alarming results. The study found
that 1 in 3 respondents had experienced an instance where they had received a credit application from a
business wanting to obtain goods / services from them fraudulently. So with fraud so rife, what can
businesses do about it?
3201 Financial Ombudsman Service ABBA, Ingmar Bergman, Ikea and Ombudsmen all have several things in common. Not only are they
Swedish but they have all exported themselves successfully around the world. But of these four Swedish
exports, it is the last that were most interested in here The Ombudsman. If you offer any form of credit or
financial products to help smooth the way to a sale, you need to read on. Unlikely as it may seem, you may
receive a complaint and knowing what the system is and how it works may well help.
3179 Attention Company Directors In recent years the courts have gradually adopted a harder line in dealing with cases of misconduct and
negligence on the part of company directors. This gradual toughening-up has proceeded hand-inhand
with increased expectations on the part of shareholders and society generally and numerous scandals
which have seen creditors lose huge amounts of money. This harder line adopted by the courts has in
some cases led directly to piece-meal changes in legislation. As from October this year, new rules come
into effect which should leave company directors of all backgrounds in no doubt at all that the law will
expect more from them in the future than ever it did in the past. The changes to the law on directors duties
form one of the central pillars of the Companies Act 2006, the biggest shake-up of companies legislation in
40 years and, at 1,300 section, the biggest single statute in the history of UK law.
3146 Environmental Liabilities The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) should have been applied in the UK from the end of April 2007.
In fact, it won't be because the details of regulation have still not been agreed, despite a lengthy
consultation process. Essentially, the ELD applies the 'polluter pays' principle, and expands the scope of
damages from people and property to natural resources. It also expands the scope of what's required in
the case of pollution from immediate clean-up to reinstatement of the original condition of the environment
which could be costly and makes provisions for compensatory remediation where the polluted area can't
be reinstated. Businesses need to wake up to this threat.
3096 Pandemic Preparedness In December 2005, the Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology said the country was not
ready to defend itself against an avian flu pandemic. Since then, says Dr Doug Quarry, medical director of
International SOS Pandemic Planning Services, the H5N1 virus has spread further. But has preparedness
kept up to date with the risk, or are we becoming dangerously complacent now that bird flu is no longer in
the headlines?
3058 Business e-mail English There's no two ways about it, email has taken over from the letter when it comes to day-to-day
communication. As good as email is, it does seem to make people very lazy and laziness comes over as
being unprofessional. Here we offer tips on making sure your emails look professional and so work for your
business.
Current Articles
3048 Corporate Governance Risk managers are sometimes a downbeat bunch. 85 percent of them believe well have another Enron,
according to a survey taken at the Institute of Risk Management annual conference. Not just another Enron
but another Enron in the next five years. It makes you wonder whether all the Sarbanes-Oxley fuss has
been worth it. New corporate governance and compliance regimes were intended to avert further scandals
so why are they not working?
3002 Exhibitions Staying Alive Exhibitions are great fun. But they're also very hard work. If you're spending hours on your feet, how can
you stay fresh? Here is a dedicated feature on working and surviving an exhibition stand.
2990 Importing from Asia and the new members of the EU For those involved in importing inevitably means some degree of risk, although this can be minimised by
planning ahead. Simple steps, like agreeing with your supplier from the outset what language you want to
communicate in for example, could help you avoid any expensive misunderstandings later. This is even
more important when dealing with suppliers in areas such as Asia and the new Eastern European
members of the EU
2979 Marketing - Your Lifeblood Marketing is a very complex business. Most people, if asked, think that marketing means advertising,
mailshots, press releases and the like. Well that's only part of the story. You probably don't realise it but
every time you deal with the public, either by phone, fax, email, post or even in person, you are marketing
your business. Some tips on winning the business.
2961 Exhibition Stands Exhibitions are a major opportunity for property companies - a chance to get the message out to a huge
and appreciative audience. But there is a huge gap between what the best exhibitors get out of an
exhibition, and what the less experienced or expert gain from it. How can exhibitors make the most of their
opportunity - and get value from the space theyve booked. The hints.
2917 The Small Claims Court and Charging Interest An overview of how to use the Small Claims Court and how, if necessary, businesses can charge interest
on late debts.
2915 Top Tips For Importers With the decline in manufacturing capacity in the UK and the increase in low cost high quality overseas
manufacturing many UK firms are now looking to source product from China and other newly industrialised
countries. For first time importers there are a number of hurdles to overcome such as the mechanics of
ordering and paying for the product, declaring the goods to Customs (now HMRC) and paying any import
duty, VAT and other charges due. Here are ten tips to make an importers life easier and cheaper.
2893 Top 10 Credit and Risk Management Tips for SMEs While recognising the importance of credit management many businesses, particularly small to medium
sized enterprises, do not have or cannot afford the necessary credit management skills to maximise
profitability within their business and may turn to existing staff such as sales ledger clerks or receptionists
to undertake a credit control role. It is important that you have the right person for the role and that they
have the necessary skills and experience to enable them to be effective. Slow payers and bad debts will
adversely affect your cash flow and in extreme situations can make businesses insolvent. Here are ten top
tips to ensure you minimize your exposure to risk and get paid promptly.
2889 Buying from Overseas Trading Partners Transporting goods internationally inevitably exposes a business to a degree of risk, but this can be
minimised by taking the right steps from the outset. Sometimes, just getting the basics right can eliminate
most problems. Simple things, like agreeing with your supplier at the outset what language you want to
communicate in, could help you avoid any expensive misunderstandings in the future. We cover the basics
of what you need to know when importing.
2878 More Than A Luxury If you think the cost of theft from your store is just lost stock, then you had better think again. A good retail
security system is not just a luxury, but an essential expense. A look at the options.
2869 Why Stock Turn Is Important To You Too much stock costs you money is one of the age-old mantras of business. We look at why, and how you
can maximise the science of stock turn in your store
Current Articles
2863 Ten Tips To Put Passion Into Your Sales Pitch Selling to consumers is not easy. Here are ten simple, inexpensive ideas to help you sell.
2862 Is It Worth The Expense? Gone are the days of the good old cash register. Nowadays, everything is computerised.We ask is EPOS
worth the money? How does it work? What are the benefits?
2849 What Can We Learn From The Supermarket Phenomenon? Whether you subscribe to the view that supermarkets have been instrumental in the break down of
community stores or not, few can argue they havent been successful. We ask if there is anything we can
do to follow in their footsteps?
2833 More Than Meets The Eye How can you tell whether your store layout is right? The simple solution would be to see what products are
selling best and assume that they are the ones that have been displayed correctly, but sadly the reality is
not quite so straightforward. All sorts of things can influence the success and failure of your store layout,
from the colour of the carpet to the shape of the displays you put out. All this is irrespective of which
products you are selling. But dont fret, because there are a number of key rules to follow and experiments
to make that can ensure you maximize your sales. Follow our advice to get the best out of your store.
2828 Have You Got An Asia Strategy? Suddenly the Asian economic miracle is making big news. Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan,
Thailand and Malaysia have become prosperous, productive economies. British companies are making big
investments in China. Off shoring American and British financial services to India is growing apace. Can
any business, especially companies accustomed to selling overseas or aiming to develop export sales,
neglect these markets? Has your company got an Asia strategy?
2820 Trading Ups and Downs Money for old rope, or easy money? We examine the advantages and disadvantages of running a retail
store in the current business climate
2805 When Partners Fall Out Many professionals choose to carry on their business through partnerships. For many this is because the
Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, extends the benefits of limited liability to limited liability
partnerships which has increased the popularity of this particular form of partnership. However, things do
not always run smoothly in partnerships and so you need to plan ahead. Here is a guide to the areas you
need to consider.
2738 Top Ten Consultancy Disasters Almost every company can tell a disaster story about the consultants from hell - scope creep, overspend,
missed milestones, or complete lack of success. But in fact, much of the time the responsibility for the
disaster can be laid squarely at the feet of the company itself. There are ten top mistakes that companies
make and they are all avoidable.
2712 Training Day The retail trade has historically been poor at training. While large retailers tend to train in-house, smaller
retailers have often had little or no formal training, relying on informal coaching and on-the-job experience.
But is that really enough nowadays? With the increased complexity of products sold, increased regulation,
and more demanding customers, maybe not. So where can retailers go to find training for their staff?
2685 Teleworking For The Masses? Teleworking was management fad of the year in the late 1990s. Now, though, people aren't talking about it
half so much theyre just quietly doing it themselves. A recent MORI poll showed that up to 30% of
knowledge workers are teleworking, at least on an occasional basis. Some companies are gaining real
competitive advantage by using teleworkers. But its a difficult process not because of the technology,
which is now robust and effective, but because of the management challenge. So what are the problems of
a teleworking workforce?
2638 Asian Procurement Manufacturers jump at the chance of halving the cost of their components and materials. Thats natural.
Asia in the 21st century, particularly China and India, offers the opportunity, so why not? British traders
take this attitude but, as with any offshore buying, the reality is not as simple as that.
Current Articles
2635 Refusals One afternoon your employer takes you aside for a chat. He is keen to inform you that he has decided to re-
locate your job from your present Newbury, Berkshire office to the companys other office in Liverpool
Street, London. As a father of two content with your life in the country, you want to refuse the order. But
can you do so without fear of the sack or censure? Or will the wishes of your boss hold sway?
2618 Managing the Impossible? Managing staff or a business is an art and requires time and skill to perfect. Its not something that we
are all born with, its something that we have to learn. Get it wrong and you can expect turbulent waters.
Get it right and the world will love you for it.
2603 Splitting Up Is Hard To Do What happens to assets, especially the home and the business when a couple decide to separate? We
take a look at what the law says, what may happen if things get acrimonious and what can be done to keep
the pain to the minimum.
2591 Handling Customer Complaints UK consumers havent always been known for voicing their complaints. It can be embarrassing and
confrontational, and many people just think it isnt worth the bother. But times are changing. Now people
are wising up to their rights, which in comparison to other countries, are well weighted in their favour. Bad
news for businesses, and the retail industry in particular? On the contrary, complaints can provide the
backbone to future lasting customer satisfaction and repeat business. Heres why.
2575 The Incredible Shrinking World Think global, act local was the watchword of 1970s consciousness-raising. Now its become a motto for
business strategy, too, with the unlovely global emerging as a buzzword in many companies. But while the
phrase appears succinct, working out what it means in practice is more difficult in some cases,
companies which proudly display the tag on their websites mean no more than we have a local service
engineer. So how are companies running their international businesses?
2568 Succession Planning - New Succession planning is principally an issue for family-owned and run firms, which represent three-quarters
of all SMEs in the UK. While passing the business on to a son or daughter is often the owner's aim, it is
becoming less likely: only a quarter of enterprises survive through to the second generation and just 14%
make it beyond the third. This can be due to a range of issues, but a crucial factor is the lack of an
effective and formal plan for the transfer of ownership. A look at the considerations involved when passing
on a business.
2559 Green Retailing When it comes to the environment, the UK is one of the worlds leading nations in promoting and
implementing change. What does this mean for store owners? Well, if you consider that this drive to make
everything more eco-friendly is consumer driven, then it should mean a lot. And retailers, of course, have
the unenviable position of being exposed directly to the public. But this can be turned to your advantage.
Improve the environmental aspects of your business and the effects should be three-fold. First, youll save
on overheads as most of the action needed will make your business more energy efficient. Secondly, youll
have the opportunity to promote the fact you are running an environmentally friendly business to your
customers, and last but not least, you will of course be doing your bit for a sustainable future for the next
generation.
2545 Protecting Your Personnel Its a truism noted in many annual reports that people are our greatest asset. But few firms seem to think
of their people as an asset that is worth protecting or insuring. Compared to the number of firms which
have a formal business continuity policy for their IT, only a tiny number have a business continuity plan for
employees in the case of a crisis some sources put it at only 15-20 percent, and it might even be lower.
What should your business be doing?
Current Articles
2539 Seven Year Itch The average joint venture lasts only seven years. The seven year itch seems to kill them with great
regularity and divorce can be messy. But most companies start joint ventures with stars in their eyes.
And like a successful marriage, a successful joint venture can bring great benefits for both partners. So,
how do you choose the right company to venture with, and how do you avoid a traumatic trip to the divorce
courts later?
2536 A Fascination with the Weather The weather is of interest to many of us only when the Bank Holiday weekend arrives and we want to know
what to do and where to go. But for many retailers, the weather is much more important it dictates what
customers will want to buy. So what weather information is available and what will it tell a businessman?
2518 Retailtainment Consumer attention spans are shortening. If you want to keep customers in your store and return again,
then you need to rethink your business. Its no longer enough just to sell what they want todays shopper
wants to be entertained. So how do you go about achieving retailtainment? Its all about getting customers
to spend more time in the store, which means creating the right atmosphere. An atmosphere where a
customer wants to stay is an atmosphere where a customer will want to buy.
2485 King of the Road How much is your sales force costing you every year? Some businesses use the formula of multiplying an
employees salary by three to work out their total annual cost to the firm. This is calculated by incorporating
their share of phone, electricity and heating bills, cleaning, office furniture, equipment and stationary, as
well as their annual pay packet. But what about the costs of those people who arent office based, like the
salesman who is out on the road every day of the week? They dont accrue the same costs as the office
based staff so the total costs should be less, right? Well, maybe, but there are many costs which arent
easy to pinpoint meaning that if your salesman doesnt close many sales, you may as well be heating your
offices with an open fire fuelled by 50 notes. Some tips to use when calculating.
2480 Fraud in the Small Business It couldnt happen here, my people are like a family is a frequent response when owner managers are
asked whether they could be the victims of fraud. Unfortunately the family may be a dysfunctional one, with
at least one member stealing from the housekeeping, or helping a friend to remove the hi-fi; this
dysfunctionality is why organisations like the Fraud Advisory Panel have developed an anti fraud checklist
and code of practice to assist small and medium sized enterprises to combat the fraud problem. We run
through what you need to know.
2475 Turning Heads For Profit You probably dont regret not listening to your science teachers all those years ago at school. After all,
what does science have to do with retail? Very little you might think, but a little knowledge of physics or
biology probably wouldnt go amiss when it comes to thinking about how you display and promote products
in your store.
2473 Don't Ignore The Signs Whether a business is set up as a company or otherwise, and regardless of prevailing economic
conditions, it is the responsibility of those who control the business to ensure that they exercise proper
controls over its finances. No one expects a sole trader or the directors of a small trading company to be
experts on financial matters. But there is much that business people can and should do for themselves to
ensure that they are prepared for financial turbulence and can take effective action to withstand it. Simply
being able to recognise problems when they arise is an obvious but crucial first step in riding the storm.
Here are tips on the warning signs to watch out for.
2459 Joining the Rat Race So youve spent umpteen years in education, youve won numerous qualifications and now you have a
degree and letters after your name. Well done, but now the serious stuff of joining the world of work is upon
you. Its a highly competitive world out there. But where do you start? How do you get your first job?
Current Articles
2456 Databases and Marketing The databases that carry information on the customers of a business could be as common as the mobile
telephone and the fax machine one day. They are splendid tools for sales pitches and marketing
campaigns but they dont come cheap. Here is a piece that looks at the whys and wherefores of
database marketing.
2428 Mergers and Acquisitions the Best Route to Business Growth? Every ambitious business sees merger or acquisition as one route to growth. Its a tempting prospect in a
situation where a competitor faces problems such as losses, falling sales and an unsympathetic bank
manager and the business can be bought for only part of its real value. Or when two rivals see faster
growth by joining forces. But if you are thinking of taking the plunge, think again. When two strong-minded
entrepreneurs decide to merge their businesses, only one can really be in charge; only one can be
responsible for finance or marketing. And to achieve economies, other jobs which are duplicated have to
be cut, but which partner is going to make the cuts?
2417 Risk Management - A Laymans Guide All companies, no matter how big or small, must have risk assessments carried out and these must be
carried out by competent persons. This is a legal requirement under the European health and safety
legislation (commonly known as the six pack) and in the UK it is the Management, Health and Safety at
Work Regulations1992 which requires All work activities to be risk assessed. The aim is to ensure that no
one gets hurt or becomes ill whether in your employment or not. We detail, in plain english, what you need
to know.
2411 Setting Up A Distributorship The UK is a well developed and wealthy market, and manufacturers all over the world are looking for UK
distributors in order to access it. Thats a massive opportunity for importers, wholesalers and retailers. You
already have premises, salespeople, customers, and whats more, expertise to put at the service of a
foreign manufacturer, and you can make a good margin selling their product alongside yours. But if youre
going to become a distributor, youll need to dot your is and cross your ts, or you could be making a big
mistake.
2403 Small Businesses And Travel Accounts Its a dilemma for the growing business. The business owner who sees the turnover climbing sweetly and
the need to travel consequently increasing has to decide whether to outsource the train, flight and hotel
bookings. But then he is offered conflicting advice. Should his firm undertake to make the bookings, online
if necessary, or should the firm set up an account with a travel management company?
2398 The Future is in Your Hands A good sales plan is the heart of any business. Get it wrong and you are in serious trouble. We show you
how to work out a solid sales plan.
2397 Buried Treasure? Were you ever going through the pockets of a jacket you knew you had but hadnt worn in a while when
you found a few pounds you didnt realise you had? It feels pretty good, finding something of value where
you least expect it, doesnt it? Well that experience is there to be had when you take a fresh look through
the team of people that make up your staff extra value that you had forgotten was there (or never knew
about in the first place) which, when you identify it gives you a whole new view of your business.
2396 When The Going Gets Tough, Its Time To Restructure When a business is forced to face up to stagnant growth, falling margins and loss of profit, the cry goes out
to restructure, cut back onstaff and try something new. But can restructuring improve the business? Can it
be done soon enough? It can buy time, but making a company thinner does not necessarily make it
healthier. At least it cuts costs and stops the drain and should make staff left more crisis-and-fighting-for-
survival-conscious. But will it transform the business? What is the best course to follow?
2384 Incentives - Part 3 Many firms run short term incentive schemes. At first sight, particularly after considering the need to target
incentive schemes on improving business performance, that might seem sensible. But staff can be
confused if schemes change. What they were rewarded for doing yesterday has now become something
you dont want them to do. That's the message they will get if you suddenly withdraw one scheme and
replace it with another. So you need to think about continuity.
Current Articles
2371 Improve Your Company Credit Rating I was outraged when I found that my company has such a poor credit rating, especially as I have never
defaulted on any payment in my life! This is not an uncommon reaction to a commercial opinion that your
company has a low credit rating, according to Debra Pennington, Head of Intelligence of credit reference
agency www.graydon.co.uk. She explains that a credit rating is based upon all of the data taken into
consideration by a credit reference agency on a particular trading entity.
2359 Incentivising Your Staff People don't just work for money - there are other factors too. So what else motivates staff and how can
you use these factors to your advantage?
2352 Directors in Hot Water: Top 10 Traps There are more than 2 million limited companies in the UK with over 200,000 new companies being formed
each year. A company may be formed with just one member and with just 1 of share capital. Not only this,
but individuals are required to have no training or qualification before they assume responsibility for the
affairs of a limited company. The ease with which companies may be formed has created a situation in
which many directors are unaware of how the law applies to them.
2348 Can Franchising Pay Dividends? Franchising can be a low risk, high reward investment if you select a proven retail or service format and
plan to build a strong business. It can be a real winner if you already operate or own a successful retail
business which may be ideal for development on a franchise basis. But what are the pitfalls? Is it really
worthwhile?
2341 Appraisals and Feedback Most large companies have formal appraisal systems, ensuring that staff have their performance reviewed
at least once a year. Many smaller businesses see such systems as merely an excuse for more paperwork
so they dont bother. In fact, appraisal can be a useful way of giving employees feedback to improve their
job performance. Without installing a huge amount of bureaucracy, you can use a yearly review as an
opportunity for you to give feedback to your employees and to invite them, as well, to think about how
they are doing and what might be useful in helping them do better.
2335 Cherry Picking Staff Recruiting staff is often a hassle for smaller businesses. Few smaller firms have a personnel department,
so managers have to do their own hiring. It can be a fraught process. Some tips.
2332 The Sky Is Not Falling Whats happening to us? It seems that all of the hype surrounding the apparent downturn in economic
conditions has turned a larger than normal percentage of the worlds business population into latter day
Chicken Littles all running around in frenzied proclamations of the end of the commercial world as we
know it. If youre a guilty part of this fowl movement then STOP! STOP NOW! before you contribute to this
potential for self-fulfilling doomsday prophesy. Upon quizzing one of my suppliers, a one-man band, on his
prediction as to the likely future effect of the downturn on his business I got a simple answer; None!
because Im not taking part in it Of course, thats pretty much impossible, right? Wrong, what he has is the
correct attitude you can ride this out if you work a little harder and determine that youll minimise any
adverse impact on sales. But how?
2326 Data Management Its surprising how much data firms have about their customers and their businesses. But a lot of that data
is locked in peoples heads, or in individuals' filofaxes, palmpilots, and hard disks, and the business as a
whole doesnt have access to it. So how can businesses make their data more accessible?
2325 Graduates CV and Interview Guide Getting your first job after qualification is not as easy as it used to be. With a possible downturn in the
economy on the cards, heightened competition at all levels of business and even higher demands made on
job applicants, you need to be the best prepared of your peers when applying for jobs. There are two main
elements to winning your first post the CV and the interview. Here is a guide to getting both right.
2323 Interviewing Techniques Uncovered Interviewing is one of the things most managers think they can do and something most managers are
actually not much good at. It seems easy spend half an hour with a candidate and make your mind up
about them. But you can get a lot more out of an interview if you structure it the right way.
Current Articles
2312 Assessing Training Needs Many businesses take a scatter-gun approach to training. A good course comes along, and everybody is
sent on it. Then nothing, until another good idea appears. Or else, new employees do an induction course,
and thats the last training they get. Thats not a good way to work. Training should be about providing the
skills your business needs. That means taking a strategic look at exactly what you want to achieve for the
business as a whole, and working out what training would help your people to fulfil that plan.
2292 Playing With Fire All types of organisations are open to fraud, regardless of the market sector in they operate. Fraud may be
committed by all types of employee, from senior directors to clerical or manual staff. Fraud may involve
everything from drugs in a hospital to employee time sheets and from goods delivered to fraudulent
cheques. The customer who signs a worthless cheque in a store is just as guilty of fraud. There should be
no doubt about the serious damage that can be done to a company either by a major fraud or by an
underlying ethos of fraudulent activity. So how can you spot fraud?
2290 Business Travel A look at how the internet has changed the sourcing of business travel.
2286 Fleet Car Maintenance Car maintenance is becoming a more critical issue for fleet users. Its estimated that nearly 3 million cars
on the road are now company cars and that British business is losing as much as 200 million every year
through car deterioration and damage: in a nutshell, poor care and maintenance. What are the options for
businesses with car fleets?
2285 Creativity In Business Think of a great business idea. Think of Amazon.com, the online bookstore where you can find books on
anything from bagpipe making to nuclear physics; think of the Swatch, which almost single-handedly
revived the Swiss watch industry; think of the inkjet printer, which transformed computer printing. What do
all these great ideas have in common? Creativity, that's what. So a little creativity in your own business
might not be a bad idea. But instead, many businesses are full of the enemies of creativity. They actually
put obstacles in the way of any employee who tries to be creative. So what are the solutions to this
problem?
2279 Get The Best Out Of Exhibitions The secret to making a success of exhibitions lies in the planning and preparation that starts months
beforehand or even years beforehand! For instance, you need to integrate major industry exhibitions into
your product or service launch strategy if you have a major new product, what better place to launch than
an exhibition? If, on the other hand, you have just a few bells and whistles for your existing product, launch
before or after the exhibition in the temporary news lull youll have less competition for readers and
journalists attention. But what else do you need to consider?
2278 Improve Your Margins With The Net You might be forgiven for thinking that the internet is a busted flush. But although many internet firms are
finding life very difficult, a bricks and mortar business can take advantage of the opportunities that the
internet gives it to increase sales and just as important reduce costs. We run through what you might
expect.
2258 Can You Afford To Ignore Fraud? Fraud is high on the public agenda: The Government is clamping down on fraud in the public sector.
Several members of the International Olympic Committee recently had to depart; and the scandals which
started with a Dutch auditor whistle-blowing, and led to the sacking of the whole body of European
Commissioners, will reverberate for years. But no matter how large or small, your business is just as likely
to be a victim of fraud. So how can you combat fraud?
2246 Can Profit-Sharing Really Work For You? Tesco staff recently scooped a 38 million jackpot in profit-sharing. Employees at more and more
companies of all sizes now benefit from some form of profit-sharing or share ownership. As the trend
spreads and the subject may be under consideration, two obvious questions need to be considered. Can
the business afford any type of profit-sharing? And would profit-sharing benefit the business, in other words
stimulate faster and more profitable growth?
Current Articles
2225 Whats An Audit To You? An audit typically analyses information from the previous year to give a snapshot of the current financial
position of a business. But the real value of an audit comes in providing information which can be applied
to help improve the future management and efficiency of the organisation. It also helps stakeholders who
seek assurance that their investments are safe. This includes not only shareholders but also creditors,
lenders, suppliers, potential investors, and indeed employees and regulators.
2202 Retailers - What Can Be Learnt From The Winning Teams? Ask yourself, if you were a management consultant hired by your own firm to stand back and take a critical
look at your business, instead of paying a fortune to someone else who doesnt know your business as well
as you do, arent there at least a dozen things that could be done better? Here's an insight into what the big
boys are doing.
2192 Insuring a Warehouse Insuring your own warehouse, when youre using it to store your own goods, is easy just like insuring
your house. But for a logistics operator who might have three or four different customers using a single
warehouse, the situation is not so simple. Who should insure? Who can insure? And what cover do they
need?
2183 Management Buy-Outs And Buy-Ins - Opportunities? The idea of mounting a management buy-out or buy-in of a subsidiary or the division for which you are
responsible appeals to many managers. But how do you spot the right opportunity and go about raising the
money? And what challenges are ahead when the business, or a share of it, is yours?
2181 Ten Ways To Fight A Price War One consequence of the low inflation in Britain's economy during the past five years is that prices have
come under intense pressure. In some markets, such as personal computers or white goods, prices have
actually fallen. In others, rises have barely kept pace with inflation. What ought to be worrying more
companies is the fact that this has been happening at a time when the economy has enjoyed nine
consecutive years of growth above two per cent. Both business-to-business and business-to-consumer
sales have been buoyant. What happens if economic growth turns down, as a growing number of
economists suggest it is set to do? With fewer customers spending less, prices will come under even more
pressure. The price wars we've seen during the past five years will look like mere skirmishes by
comparison. So in this "pre-recessionary" climate, just what should companies be doing to arm themselves
for the battle ahead? Here are top ten actions which might prove important in your company. In a price war,
financial accountants ought to be among the front-line troops. They ought to be making valued input on
each of these actions.
2180 Nabbing The Market Marketing your business is something all businesses do you just havent formally structured it. Marketing
is probably the odd hand written flyer. But you can give your business a boost with a structured marketing
plan. Here's how.
2176 Worldclass Salespeople When Vilfredo Pareto formulated his famous 80-20 rule in 1900, I wonder could he have guessed that over
100 years later his rule would apply to sales in organisations like yours - with about 20% of all salespeople
making 80% of all sales. Research consistently demonstrates that over half of those in professional lack
the basic attributes required for success in this difficult profession - attributes that World-Class salespeople
possess as natural gifts or develop through training or single-minded focus. Of the remaining half, half of
these again have the potential for success in some form of sales, but are currently selling the wrong
product or service - leaving just about 25% who sell about 80% of the world's products and services. That's
why it is so key that all those of us with responsibility for driving our businesses forward have a keen
understanding of the attributes that make for World-Class Salespeople - so that we can hire more of them.
2171 Employers of Choice Even as we complain as never before about the difficulty of attracting and retaining the sort of people
essential to our organisations' success, there are some employers who seem able to do so as easily as
they ever did. What's the secret of these "Employers of Choice"?
Current Articles
2161 Internet Branding Coca-Cola always used to be pointed out as an example of a good strong brand. Wherever you went
Delhi, Moscow, or the Sydney Olympics you would see the telltale white-on-red stripes that meant Coca-
Cola. It was the worlds best known brand. But not on the net. The internet was a medium that grew up
away from the big corporates and their big brands, a Wild West where the guy from nowhere could start a
new town and end up running it. By October 1998, when Opinion Research brought out a survey, the top
brands on the web were America Online (AOL), Yahoo, Netscape, and amazon.com not a single old
economy name among them. In the UK, the single best known internet brand is online bank Egg, with
Amazon.com a rather distant second. Has the internet changed the rules? In one respect, the answer is
definitely yes.
2156 Pocket Guide To Credit Checking Every day, people are approached for credit and asked to make a decision quickly. For an SME in a
competitive industry, turning away business is painful and the temptation to accept an order when there's
no time to check the potential client's credit rating is huge. However, fraud in business is always present.
You need to be aware of these and try to avoid the unnecessary risk.
2134 Start-Ups Roughly half of all businesses started this year will have failed by the end of 2002. It's a sobering statistic
and one that must make many entrepreneurs wonder if they're doing the right thing. Many of these
businesses fail for the same reasons very basic reasons. One of the major problems behind any
business is a natural human tendency to get distracted and there are a number of distractions involved in
the process of starting up a business. So what should entrepreneurs do to make a success of their
business?
2132 Keeping Your Suppliers Sweet A two part article which in the first half looks at the changes the internet has made to the supply chain in
business, and in the second half, examines the basic rules of maintaining supplier relationships..
2122 The LLP: About To Take Off The two most popular means of conducting business in the UK are, still, the limited company and the
partnership. There are currently well over a million of each in existence. These two formats are tried and
tested and most business people feel comfortable with working through one or other of them. But from
early 2001 there will be a new format available to businesses which will add a new element of choice for
firms of all kinds and sizes. This new vehicle is the Limited Liability Partnership, or the LLP for short.
2117 Dealing With Flood Damage Flood damage to homes and businesses have cost insurance companies an estimated 500m. during the
last three years. Flooding over the last few weeks will add considerably more to this figure, according to the
British Insurance Brokers Association, and this is bound to have a knock-on effect on insurance premiums
in the coming years. In terms of practicalities, what steps can be taken?
2106 The Generation Game Man cannot live by bread alone. Everyone now talks of a desire for a certain "quality of life" too. This is an
essential consideration when it comes to designing remuneration packages that will play their part in
retaining key people. Depending on your business there could be age gaps of thirty or forty years between
members of the same team, so a single definition of "quality of life" is unlikely to fit all. Before assembling
your remuneration offerings, the first thing you need to consider is which of the following generations your
key employees belong to, and what's likely to appeal to each group.
2093 Carrot, Stick, or What? How would you like to have all of your team chomping at the bit to do what you need them to do to make
your business successful?
2092 Top 10 Management Cockups How can you avoid everyday disasters in your business, like key staff not turning up for work, the bank
manager causing endless concern, the VAT-man on your doorstep and customers getting fed up with poor
service and threatening to take their business elsewhere? Every business, whatever its size, experiences
cock-ups, not least when things appear to be running smoothly. Some of the following ten early warning
signals of trouble ahead may not be familiar, but they could hit you. Heres how to avoid them.
Current Articles
2079 King Customer Loses Crown "The customer is king" is one of the most revered tenets of management wisdom. But, according to new
research, the slogan doesn't always measure up as a practical way to run a business. Some customers
deserve to lose their crowns. As competition intensifies in many different industries, the winners will be
those companies that build a portfolio of "good" customers while avoiding as many of the "bad" as
possible. So how do you work out who to court and who to avoid?
2077 No Laughing All The Way To The Bank When a firm of chartered surveyors in Brighton ran into a temporary cash-flow difficulty but faced the need
to pay several thousand pounds' worth of VAT, it resorted to an old dodge. It sent off an unsigned cheque.
A few days later, the managing partner received a snotty letter from the firm's bank manager wanting to
know why its overdraft had jumped a few thousand over the agreed limit. It turned out the bank had
accepted and paid the unsigned cheque. You can't rely on banks for anything these days. Or so it certainly
seems to many small and medium-sized businesses complaining about usurious interest rates, inaccurate
charging, failure to provide enough risk capital and lack of interest in business potential. Of course, there is
nothing new in these complaints. They've been around for at least 20 years. But is the situation now
changing?
2076 Support Your Sales Force When you look at ads for salespeople you often see words like 'self motivated', 'self reliant', and 'self
starting'. And it's true, if sales personnel dont motivate themselves, no one else will be able to do it for
them. But many employers expect the sales force to survive with little support from the business. That's a
mistake. Because you're investing a lot of money in your sales force, and unless you support them properly
you'll get a poor return on that investment.
2070 Softening The Redundancy Blow Giving redundancy notices is admittedly never easy. The loss of a job means a loss of income, but the
accompanying erosion of self-esteem can be even worse, especially for employees dedicated to their jobs,
those whose substantial identity is involved in their work. So what are the correct techniques?
2022 Free, Win, Save These are the three magic words of marketing, the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll of selling. Use them
selectively and they can have a potent effect on your profitability, but, like anything powerful, treat with
respect. Sales promotion is the second most important marketing tool after advertising and, in small retail
operations, arguably the most important. The underlying principle of promotions is to add value to a
purchase, to direct marketing spend exclusively towards buyers rather than browsers. A good ad campaign
will fill the shop; a good promotion will fill the till
2007 Getting The Best Out Of Your Training We're always being told that companies dont spend enough on training. But what you spend isn't the only
criterion for a successful training programme. In fact some firms spend a fortune on training only to
waste it by poor management. Getting the best out of training is not complicated, but you do need to work
at it
2006 Be A Good Appraiser Many employees dread their yearly appraisals some for good reason, but many more because they find it
a painful and tedious process. But if they dread the appraisal season, their bosses often dread it even
more. Few managers enjoy appraisals. Some see the process as a piece of bureaucracy that must be
complied with but grudgingly while others find it difficult to criticise their staff, knowing they will have to
spend the next year working with them. Very few managers are good appraisers and that means not only
that they hate doing appraisals, but that they dont get any value out of doing them.
2004 Mergers and Acquisitions 1999 saw a record $2.2 trillion of mergers and acquisitions. With the Glaxo-SKB deal as well as EMI-
Warner Music marriages already announced in January, it looks as though the first year of the new
millennium is on target to beat that record. Even new research by management consultants KPMG from
which shows that 83% of mergers failed to produce any benefits for shareholders seems unlikely to
dampen the enthusiasm. But it ought to cause managers to look more closely at the rationale behind
Current Articles
2003 Channels Chess There's no question that the impending explosion of e-business has added a new frisson of excitement to
the game of channels chess. If only because it's opened a massive new channel to customers - with the
potential for changing the shape of markets. But it's important to understand that channels chess is not
only about e-business. It's about reaching customers through a whole variety of ways to make offers,
supply products, add extra value through service and build relationships. And it's about doing it in ways
which customers most value. We look at the strategies you should bear in mind when going online.
2002 Ten Ways To Win The Business Even in todays tough business climate where juggling to keep ten balls in the air at the same time is the
name of the game, many owner-managers and chief executives still have the magic formula to succeed in
building super firms. Studying the secrets of todays successes and some of the wisdom of management
gurus, what are the ten key lessons for winning todays business battle? How can they help you?
1969 Plugging The Sales Skills Gap Picture this scene: the management team is sitting round the boardroom table. Everybody is grinning from
ear to ear because you've just discovered that you're getting the chance to bid for a plum contract - one
that will propel the company to new heights if you win. But the smiles start to disappear from the faces as,
one by one, you realise what it means. You're pitching against some big and well prepared competitors
who have far more experience at this sort of thing that you. So how do you combat this?
1967 How To Deal With The Press Any business that knows how to deal with the press can get good publicity for free. It just takes a little
effort finding out who the journalists are who cover the relevant beat, giving them the right information,
and having some idea of what's news and what's warmed-over porridge. On the other hand, if you can get
good publicity for free, you can get bad publicity even cheaper. So here's a list of ways to ensure you get
no publicity, or worse, a lousy write-up
1966 How To Spot A Customer Going Bust It's happened before and it will happen again; a big firm goes bust, and half its suppliers go bust the week
after. And when you ask around, very often, everyone could see the signs but they'd made excuses, or
they thought they were the only people being paid late.
1965 Avoiding Conflict in a Family Business Family firms make up 60% of all UK businesses. It seems like a great idea; set up a family business and
ensure that children and grandchildren have a job for life. Yet only 30% of owner-managed enterprises
survive to the second generation, while 11% make it to the third and 4.3% make it beyond that. Conflict
inside the controlling group is high among the reasons for failure. A successful business can become a
nightmare when threatened by family conflicts and the emotional baggage of its principals.
1964 Handling Your Customers Most businesses hate handling customer complaints. They see a complaint as a problem where any
solution will be a compromise, and probably cost them money. But a customer complaint can be an
opportunity. If you can solve the customers problem in a friendly and efficient way, you may even win their
loyalty - and future business.
1963 Watch Your Mouth A trusted friend tells you to go and see the latest Tom Cruise movie, that its your type of story - great
acting, a wonderful script etc., Chances are that next time youre booking a night at the cinema youll take
their recommendation, right? Everyone likes the comfort of a recommendation or a testimonial when
theyre about to invest some of time, effort, or money - however small. Word-of-mouth can make or break
movies - and just about any other business. Here's the who, what, and when ? of good word-of-mouth
marketing.
Current Articles
1888 Importing If you're importing from the European Union, you'll not have any problems with customs. If you are bringing
goods into the UK from another EU Member State, you are not an importer as far as Customs and Excise
are concerned! There are no Customs controls within the Single European Market and no barriers to trade,
although VAT must be accounted for. On the other hand, if you're purchasing within the EU, you might not
be able to access the cheapest markets for your product. It's quite likely that you'll want to look at importing
from the Far East, for instance and then, you need to hone your skills at dealing with UK Customs and
Excise's various requirements. So what do you need to know?
1838 Are Your Markets Changing Most businesses manage from day to day, trying to do so efficiently and to meet their customers'
immediate needs. So far, so good. But that assumes that the market you're working in is still the same
market it was last year - and that's not always true. In these days of e-commerce and mega-mergers, in
fact, it's an assumption that probably doesn't work any more. Are your markets changing? Yes, they
probably are. But how do you work out what's going on?
1837 Keeping Your Business In Trim What steps can a business owner take to make sure that a business is in good financial order? Is it all
about cutting costs?
1832 D-I-V-O-R-C-E in Joint Ventures Joint ventures often fall apart very messily sometimes destroying the reputations of the parent
companies in the process. Often, acrimonious disputes can continue between the former partners for years
after the joint venture died a natural death. But there are ways to make sure that the end of a joint venture
isn't a trauma. A good premarital contract is one of the main essentials to avoid an acrimonious divorce.
1818 Avoiding Financial Trouble When the good times roll - as they are for most of the economy at the moment - it's tempting to think they
can go on for ever. But it's just when times are good that's it also time to be prudent. For financial Nemesis
is never far away. Business failures reached record peaks in the early nineties recession as the goddess of
divine retribution went about her work. There are, of course, many urgent questions facing those
businesses facing financial danger. But for the thousands of fundamentally sound businesses that will pull
through the new downturn in various degrees of good health, there are also key issues. For business
failure is like a contagion, spreading its sickness indiscriminately even among the healthy
1817 Ring Better Customer Relationships How can businesses better serve their customers via the use of telephones and call centres to forge
relationships with customers?
1759 Joint Ventures Joint ventures can work very well or cause their founders to curse. An inside look on what makes a good
joint venture as well as tips to make them work.
1758 Choosing A Management Consultancy Choosing a consultancy for your business can be very difficult. We offer advice on what to look for.
1705 Coping With Falling Prices Falling prices are now a reality for many companies. For the last ten years, we have had an environment
where it has been fairly easy to put prices up every year. Many companies used to base their business
plans on rising prices, and rising profit margins. That's no longer possible for most companies. What does
a company have to do to remain successful in this new business climate?
1704 Velvet handcuffs Every time a valued employee leaves you a large portion of your bottom line goes with them, never to be
seen again. Using velvet handcuffs you can make your company so attractive that these valuable assets
dont wants to leave. If someone leaves your company it's not just a case of having to go back through an
increasingly difficult and time-consuming search and recruitment process. The financial costs vary, but can
be as high one or two times the defector's annual salary. And that's just the financial cost - look at the
many impacts on other areas like morale, productivity, customer confidence and so on, and you'll see that
the real cost is much higher. One US financial institution estimates that for every 10 managerial employees
that defect, it loses $1 million in revenue
Current Articles
1685 Assessing The Worth Of Your Brands Every business has a brand, manufacturers especially so. How can a business assess what these brands
are worth? Why should they want to know?
1683 Killer Sales Campaigns Sales are crucial to every business. So how can a business put together a campaign that will succeed
where others have failed?
1682 What A Recruitment Consultancy Can Do How many people are appointed to jobs on the whim of the interviewer? And how many of these
employees turn out to be walking disaster areas? Companies today may be a little more careful about the
appointments they make but the recruitment consultancies are still seeing some sloppy attitudes. Poring
over brochures to find the best deal for the company car fleet, inviting competitive tenders from vending
machine manufacturers, even planning expenditure on capital equipment are all vital, yet they pale into
insignificance compared with acquiring the right workforce.
1619 Freeflow Information Information flows within an organisation like blood in the human body. Generally, it has three ways of
flowing - across (from division to division, or team to team, at the same level); down (from senior
management to the shop floor); and up (from customer facing or operational teams to their managers, and
so on). If your blood only flowed in one direction in your body - you'd be dead! So it's important to make
sure that knowledge is passed on at all levels, and in all directions. Let's have a closer look at these three
types of information flows.
1617 Acquisitions Looking at the 'tombstones' in the Financial Times or the Wall Street Journal, you might be forgiven for
thinking that it's all over once an acquisition has been made. In fact - except for the investment bankers -
that's very far from the truth. The hard work is only just beginning.
1616 Using Expatriates Any company which has foreign operations has to make the decision of whether to use local staff,
expatriates, or a mixture of the two to manage the operations. This is not an easy decision - expatriates
may not know the local culture or the structure of the industry in that country, while local managers may not
understand the parent company's culture and methods of management.
1587 How Not To Manage Teleworkers Getting staff to work from home can work well for both the employer and employee. What are the pro's and
con's. What are the tips that both sides should note?
1586 Expanding Outside of Your Home Market Selling in the domestic market is all well and good, but shouldn't you plan ahead for a market slowdown?
1535 Customer Continuum Do you sometimes feel that you spend too much time, effort and money on retaining the wrong customers,
only to find your truly profitable customers slip away? There are basically two ways to approach your
dealings with your existing clients. You can either manage their requirements on a transactional, deal-by-
deal basis, or on a relationship basis where you seek to partner the customer organisation to your mutual
benefits. Given the great expense involved, relationship-based account management and development is
not for every account, despite the recent single-minded focus upon it in the business press
1518 Choosing A Good Consultancy Management consultancies come in many flavours - some good and some bad. So how do you choose the
one that is ideally suited for your business? And how do you pick out the good apples from the rotten?
1465 Talk 'em Down No matter how good you, your products/services and your people are, you will occasionally encounter an
angry customer. A normally reasonable, happy customer transforms into a flesh-eating beast bent on your
destruction, and comes at you foaming at the mouth and demanding satisfaction. How do you talk 'em
down from the ceiling?
1444 Competence Related Pay According to one estimate, competence-related pay is now used at least somewhere in as many as 650 of
Britain's largest one thousand companies. On the face of it, paying people on the basis of how well they
are doing their job ought to be blindingly obvious. In fact, this is just what happens in small companies
where the boss knows the strengths and weaknesses of each of his employees personally.
Current Articles
1443 Telebusiness: Delivering Direct Here is some bad news for companies building up their telephone business. You can do everything you
ought - answer the call quickly, deal with the query efficiently - everything, in fact, that contributes to
"excellent service" and still not delight your customers.
1421 Non Executive Directors It would seem obvious that adding an experienced and independent voice to the board is going to be good
for any small business gathering momentum. Yet hardly anything is known about the role or prominence of
non-executive directors (NEDs) in the board rooms of the UKs smaller companies. As one academic puts
it there is little research but much anecdotal evidence. This is very dangerous situation when small firms,
particularly the 4% of 5% in the fast growth corridor, are the major force behind job and new wealth
generation. Our ignorance about the role of the NED in the growth firm is a major omission.
1324 Doing Business With The Big Boys Becoming a supplier to a blue chip can be the route to propelling your own business into the fast lane. We
consider experiences and lessons learnt from three companies whose growth largely depends on their
success in selling to the big boys.
1294 Lifetime Value Existing customers are the real assets of any sales-oriented organisation. Knowing their "Lifetime Value" is
key to helping you make important decisions on how much you can afford to spend on recruiting new
customers and perhaps, more importantly, on how best to go about increasing the earnings you achieve
from each of these existing customers.
1293 Put Your Customers On The Map The key to success in your selected large accounts is understanding the power dynamics of the target
organisation: who makes the decisions, who assists - who holds the power. This implies that the team
selling to such key accounts have a solid handle on the structure of the decision making group in the
account, are clear on how each member of that group views the selling organisation, and a uniform plan to
systematically apply the resources at their disposal to the effective development of relations with each
member of the decision making group. Here is a guide to mapping your customer.
1290 Fighting Fraud Fighting vandalism and theft and improving security in the home, the office, the factory or retail store is
becoming harder at a time when crime is on the increase. Fraud is becoming a major problem, hitting
every type of business. We offer advice on fighting fraud.
1274 We Don't Want To Lose You Just how do we get rid of a chief executive who has passed his sell-buy date? Indeed, how do we quietly
remove any board member or other senior executive whose services are no longer required without
generating the wrong kind of headlines and sending a damaging message to other staff and our
customers?
1263 Retail Psychology Everyone has noticed displays of impulse-buy products at shop tills, or experienced a salesperson
appearing at their side with the time-honoured opener, "Can I help you?" What they may not have noticed
are the floorcovering in the shop, or its colour scheme and lighting, though they will assuredly have been
influenced by them. So how can retail psychology be used to generate more business?
1258 Tips To Better Risk Management The management of business risk is one of the most important issues currently facing businesses. Recent
high profile cases such as Barings demonstrate the consequences of not managing risk properly. But risk
is not just about financial markets: a risk is any serious threat to an organisations well being. We guide
you through the process of examining risks to planning for them.
1204 Insurance - Managing The Risks Part 2 In this concluding article of the series, highlights the most vital assets that a business has and arguably it's
most neglected - it's people - and looks at the insurances available to protect them.
1199 Compete To Win Competition is an essential part of business life. It pushes us all along the road to better service and
greater achievement. When it comes to winning and keeping clients we must all compete. So what are the
most effective ways of keeping your competitors at arms length and winning profitable new business?
Current Articles
1191 Insurance - Managing The Risks Part 1 Part one of a two part article that looks at the full range of insurances a business is likely to need. A
backgrounder on product types rather than a review of specific products on the market.
1151 Investor Relations The top directors of companies are taking their relationship with investors a lot more seriously with more
than 60 per cent of finance directors and 45% of chief executives spending a "significant proportion" of
their time on investor relations. Yet just how many are spending their time wisely? Is investor relations
really not much more than having a quiet word in the ears of the diminishing number of big institutional
shareholders? Or are there more subtle trends at work that make this a more demanding business?
1148 Boardroom Chemistry Directors are often ill prepared for their work of directing, according to management gurus who have
studied the performance of boards. Despite the new management fetish with teams, it is in the boardroom
where the lowest level, if any, of team building work takes place. Most boards are not particularly self-
aware and self-critical of their own performance. So what can be done to enhance the boardroom and the
corporate results?
1145 Strategic Alliances Run your finger down the Times 200, and you'll find that many businesses are into alliances and
partnerships. However, while some companies put co-operation at the heart of their business strategy -
and reap rich rewards - others enter partnerships half-heartedly. Their co-operations limp along delivering
small or no business benefits or fizzle out after a few disappointing years. Yet while there is nothing
inherently new in alliances, the scale of activity is remarkable. And there are new lessons to be learnt from
this activity.
1123 Brands v. Own Brands The burgeoning rise of own label thrives on the premise that retailers' own label brands are as good as
leading manufacturers' brands, but can be offered at a lower cost while earning higher margins. If leading
supermarkets succeed by offering lowest prices, highest quality, widest range and best customer service,
should independents follow the own label route or build their own distinctive image and identity by majoring
on a choice of brands?
1110 Interim Managers Businesses of every kind and size are discovering a solution to the problem of finding affordable skilled
specialists. Just as it has become normal practice to hire a temp to cope with the computer or the
switchboard, or to get orders or invoices out on time, its now possible to hire managers for weeks or
months to oversee or inject new drive into marketing, production, purchasing, IT or financial control.
1107 Are You Ready To Acquire? When a business is looking for expansion purchasing another business can be an attractive option.
Reasons for the move may include greater economics of scale, achieving critical mass, getting synergy
benefits (2+2=5) or an enhanced geographic coverage. Either way acquiring a company may look inviting,
however you should be aware of the pitfalls and precautions that are essential to successful integration.
Remember, statistics show that over 50% of acquisitions fail.
1103 Valuing Your Assets Theres always been debate about exactly what a businesss assets are worth. Some people will give you
the balance sheet value. Others will tell you what it would cost to replace them. Others will estimate what
they could sell them for. One thing is certain. Because assets are shown at historic cost - what you paid for
them in the first place - the value shown in your balance sheet is quite different from their real value. We
show you why you should have a good understanding of asset value.
1102 Business Health Check Most of us are well aware of the need to check up on our health every year. But few businesses are equally
alert. Only too often, when a business goes under, it turns out that many of its employees, customers, and
competitors knew there was something wrong years ago - only the management hadnt got to grips with it.
Here are pointers to look at.
Current Articles
1094 20 Ways To Win In Business There is no single recipe for success in business. But there are some basic rules which, when mixed with a
generous dose of entrepreneurial flair, will greatly increase your chances of getting it right. Some of these
rules are blindingly obvious, others less so. All are proven, both in theory and practice - and all of them are
broken with monotonous regularity and predictably disastrous results!
1029 The Midas Touch Of all the traps which lie in wait for the businessman, a cash flow crunch is amongst the most serious. Yet
there really are firms around with so much cash in the bank that they struggle to find uses for it! Is there a
secret to building a cash pile - and can you do it too?
1002 Copywriting: How To Make Your Words Sell Professional copywriting is an very precise skill. Whether you're putting together an advert, a brochure or
even a slogan for your business, the difference between runaway success and dismal failure often comes
down to a few well chosen words. Yet there is no great mystery to writing good copy. Proven rules and
techniques do exist - and here they are.
978 Financing Exports And Limit Your Risks Financing exports and getting paid is becoming a harder problem in today's competitive market conditions
unless proper steps are taken to check out and avoid all the risks that are likely to occur. Even when you
have decided whether to work through overseas agents, confirming houses or joint ventures, an efficient
sales and credit control function, working closely together with export sales management, is absolutely
vital. Some hints.
935 Points of Purchase Persuading customers to part with their hard earned money is difficult. But with the correct in-store
marketing, miracles can be achieved and sales can be increased by some 40%. Some hints and tips for
success.
886 Venture Capital & Business Angels For the small company other less conventional forms of finance, such as venture capital and business
angels, may well prove to be the font of good health. But what are they and where can they be obtained?
876 Retail Crime Retail crime costs the UK a fortune and it's something that we can all help combat. Here's a guide to what
can be done to minimise the risk of crime happening to you.
849 Pricing Properly Too many businesses set their prices poorly. With either little or no thought as to profitability, work is taken
on that is not going to grow the business. How can this be corrected?
848 Managing Your Sales Staff Managing staff is never easy, but with salespeople, this is especially so. What do you need to do to push
your company forward? How best can you incentivise your staff?
822 Cashflow Management The importance of adequate cash flow management in maintaining the financial well-being of a business is
difficult to overstate. Cash is indeed the lifeblood of all enterprises. There is a common misconception that
an automatic link exists between achieving an adequate level of sales to produce a paper profit and
enjoying a business which is financially secure. Here is a brief guide to show the importance of cashflow
planning.
792 Marketing: Image Building of a Business There are many aspects to marketing a business, but one that is often missed out concerns the actual
building of a business's image. Here's an outline on what you should consider.
745 Assertiveness Skills Many companies are spending vast sums on assertiveness training, a key essential for firms wishing to
bring out the best in their staff. So what is assertiveness training and what can it do for your business?
702 Discount Decade Many individuals will not buy things unless they feel they are buying at the keenest of prices. But this is not
limited to those who are no so well off - even 50000 a year executives feel `ripped off' unless they get a
discount. This article shows you what to do get their business.
Current Articles
701 Recording Unmet Demand Even with the advent of computers, businesses seem to only hold records on purchases and complaints
about items purchased. But what about items not sold because they're not in stock? A huge market awaits
the businessman who can see through the mist.
695 Supplier Strategy Suppliers of your everyday and more unique purchases are competing for your business. A rough guide
through this minefield of getting the best prices and service is provided here.
679 Quality Assurance Quality Assurance is a concept that has been around for years, but which has only recently been taken up
by business. This article is not for the complying company, but instead, for the unaware and uninitiated.
There are many reasons for obtaining QA and this article expounds on them in a simple understandable
way.
478 Credit Information Only 1 in 15 UK companies bothers to check the creditworthiness of the customers. This article looks at
what you can find out, the costs and most importantly, what it will do for your business.
375 Cuddling The Customer A 10 point plan to keep those customers coming back for more.
253 Retail Security Covers simple and practical methods of improving the security of your premises without spending a penny.
249 Power of the Telephone How to use the telephone to debt collect. A 12 point plan.
214 Choosing A Solicitor How to choose the solicitor for your business
204 Keeping Your Bank Manager Happy How to win over and keep your bank manager happy. Written from an ex-bank manager's perspective.
86 Sales Selection How to recruit successful salesmen. An interview with the U.S.A.'s leading recruitment specialists, who in
their time, have recruited 750000 staff.
82 Self Defence at Work An overview on how to protect yourself in the workplace.
68 Car Repairs This article shows you how to opt for third party fire and theft insurance, whilst making sure that you are
prepared for any accidents that may happen.
24 Best From MP A practical guide to using your MP to solve any business problems that you may have. A useful insight into
getting access to the corridors of power.
Medical
2395 Stroke and Hypertension A stroke, medical name cerebrovascular accident, (CVA), occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain
is cut off. This may be due to an arterial blood vessel in the brain becoming blocked by a blood clot or the
artery may rupture, causing a brain haemorrhage. The specific part of the brain that is affected becomes
deprived of oxygen, glucose and other essential cell nutrients that are normally carried in the blood. Brain
tissue that is thus deprived of nutrients becomes damaged or dies. At worst a stroke may prove fatal, but
many other sufferers experience varying degrees of weakness or paralysis on one side of the body.
Sometimes the ability to speak, read or write also becomes impaired. Stroke is the largest single cause of
severe disability in the UK. Each year approximately 100,000 people suffer a first stroke and 10,000 of
these sufferers are under retirement age, with 1,000 of them being under the age of 30. At present, there is
no cure once a stroke has occurred, therefore prevention is vitally important.
Current Articles
2386 Tinnitus Tinnitus is a distressing condition characterised by noises within the head or ear. The most commonly
reported noises are ringing, hissing, whistling, and buzzing. These noises are generated within the auditory
pathways and occur in the absence of external sounds. Tinnitus noise may be experienced in one or both
ears or even in the middle of the head. In other cases, the sufferer may experience diffuse sound and be
unable to pinpoint its exact location. The intensity of noise ranges from a constant low hum to a level
equivalent to that of a jet engine. What are the options to sufferers?
2378 Alzheimer's Disease and the Stress of Caring Alzheimer's Disease, named after the German physician Alois Alzheimer who first described it in 1906, is a
distressing and cruel disease because its progress has so far proved irreversible. It is the most frequently
diagnosed and common type of dementia. Current estimates suggest that about 500,000 people in the UK
may be affected by it. Four out of five sufferers live in the community and are cared for primarily by their
spouses or their children. An outline of the disease and the treatments.
2310 Colds and Flu There is almost a sense of inevitability that most of us will catch a cold or 'flu this winter. A few lucky
people might avoid catching a cold or even be able to fight it off, but there is really no guaranteed way for
any of us to avoid catching a cold this winter. About half of the population of Europe suffers at least one
cold each year and children are even more susceptible than adults. Despite this, there is no need to
meekly succumb. You could try to actively prevent becoming infected by addressing some important
lifestyle issues.
2307 S A D - Seasonal Affective Disorder Winter is here and for some people this heralds a time of severe disruption to their lives. These people are
suffering from seasonal affective disorder, (SAD). A SAD sufferer experiences depression, a physically and
mentally draining condition that affects many areas of life. Home life, personal relationships, work, friends
and finances all suffer. Self-doubt, apathy and despair often prevail with suicide being a distinct possibility
in the most severe cases. Here is a look at all of the treatments available.
2304 Improve Your Memory How many times have you forgotten where you put your keys, or wondered where you have parked the
car? Most of us have forgotten important things from time to time and usually think little of it. Often, we
may actually recount these events with some amusement. Usually, absent-mindedness can simply be put
down to tiredness, stress or when we have extra pressures to cope with. Fortunately, there are some
things that you can do to improve your memory, but don't expect any easy answers! Improving your
memory is a skill that can be learned, but it does require commitment and perseverance. However, it is
well worth the effort because as you begin to focus on memory improving techniques, you will soon begin
to notice a vast improvement.
2283 Asthma On The Increase! A look at what causes Asthma and the treatments that are available.
2201 Bites And Stings And Other Nasty Things Summer's here at last and we can hopefully start to enjoy the long summer days and warmer
temperatures. However, there are a number of summer health hazards that are lying in wait and seemingly
intent on giving you a dose of the summertime blues. Just sitting outside, even in the UK, puts you at the
mercy of a wide range of insects. The bites and stings from many of these insects can cause the body's
allergic response to come into play with the release of histamine. We look at bites and stings and the
treatments available.
Current Articles
2195 Relief For Hayfever Summer's coming, but for most hayfever sufferers this is the time of year they dread most. From late May
or early June onwards, when the pollen count starts to rise, the typical symptoms of congested nose,
wheeziness and watery irritated eyes begin to appear. No picnics in the park, or barbecues in the garden
for them. Sufferers are more likely to lead a reclusive type of existence in an attempt to avoid their sworn
enemies - pollens and fungal spores! A new survey published by the British Allergy Foundation* has
revealed that one third of the UK's adult population, almost twenty million people, suffers from some form
of allergy and that hayfever is the most common type affecting 66.6% of allergy sufferers. This means that
there are approximately twelve million hayfever sufferers in the UK. And, it seems that allergy sufferers
would be willing to give up almost everything if it meant saying goodbye to their allergy. So what can
sufferers do?
2119 Irritable Bowel Syndrome A medical perspective on the causes and treatments for this condition.
2115 Haemorrhoids - a pain in the posterior! Haemorrhoids (also known as piles) are an embarrassing and sometimes painful condition that affect the
veins in the terminal portion of the rectum and anus. Haemorrhoids are one of the most common problems
associated with the lower digestive tract with as many as 1 in 3 adults in the U.K. regularly suffering from
them. Many others will also suffer from haemorrhoids at some time in their lives, but fortunately for the
majority of these people, they may represent nothing more than a temporary discomfort. A guide to what
they are, the causes and treatment
2071 Keep Healthy Do you sit in front of a computer monitor all day? If so, the intense concentration and visual strain can soon
takes it toll. By the end of the day you will probably feel frazzled and simply want to crash out on the settee
and do nothing more strenuous than watch the box. Eventually, the combined effects of a sedentary
occupation and an inactive lifestyle will start to tell on your health. This becomes inevitable if you also
smoke, drink excessively and eat the wrong sort of foods! Britain's biggest killer is still coronary heart
disease (CHD). Each year it is responsible for the deaths of 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women. We offer advice
to staying healthy.
2066 Hair Loss Hair loss affects about 8 million men in the UK, according to the Institute of Trichologists. The condition is
more common in men than women and it is quite natural for most men to lose some scalp hair as they
grow older. Ageing is a significant factor in male balding. The process can start as early as puberty and by
the age of thirty five, about forty percent of men will have experienced significant hair loss. By the age of
sixty this will have increased to about sixty five percent of men. You have a better chance of keeping more
of your hair if your hair loss doesn't start until later in life.
2051 Patient Handling Today, the word lifting has become taboo in nursing circles. It is no longer considered acceptable practice
for nurses or carers to lift all or most of a patients weight (or heavy objects), because of the increased risk
of spinal injury to the nurse and the possibility of doing harm to the patient. The days when nurses spent a
greater part of their day lifting patients into and out of the bed or chair, onto the toilet or into and out of the
bath are hopefully gone for ever. What are the rules and regulations to be noted?
1976 Sleepless Nights Sleep is a natural process that is familiar to us all. The right amount of sleep keeps us feeling active and
alert the next day and is also important for continued good health. The actual amount of sleep that an
individual requires varies tremendously from just a few hours to as much as twelve hours. In fact, most of
us spend about one-third of our lives sleeping or trying to sleep! Despite this, sleep researchers still know
remarkably little about the actual biological processes involved in sleep. Although dreams may have been
analysed and interpreted for hundreds of years, the science of sleep is only now just beginning to be
understood. Although there are many theories about the purpose of sleep, researchers are still unable to
conclusively prove its essential function. It is easier therefore to describe sleep, rather than define its
purpose.
Current Articles
1513 Sleep Disorders We spend around one third of our life in bed asleep. Why is it so important to our well being and how can
we deal with the many sleeping disorders?
1500 Indigestion In today's fast society, junk food and poor diet are commonplace. So how can we deal with digestive
problems?
1499 Strokes Backgrounder on this debilitating and sometimes life threatening condition.
1412 Repetitive Strain Injury Medical background to this often painful condition. Practical self help tips are offered.
1073 A Pain in the Neck Dealing with neck and back pain
331 Round Shoulder Looks at the physical problems encountered by people who stand up when working, for example hair
dressers and shop staff. Solutions are offered.
291 Stress Stress in the workplace. Covers the symptoms, likely sufferers and what to do about it.
150 Back Pain Methods of preventing back pain and its re-occurrence. A practical plan.
Small Business
3744 Buying into a Franchise Franchisees can enjoy many of the benefits of self-employment with less risk. Successful franchise
operations have a much lower failure rate than completely new businesses. You can make a good living
but you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls. Here is a guide.
3743 10 Tips on How to Choose an Accountant Selecting an accountant can seem a daunting task, but if you choose correctly, they can be an extremely
valuable asset to your business. A good accountant will not only handle your financial and operational data
but will offer professional business advice on a number of other topics too, leaving you free to focus on
maintaining and expanding your business. So how do you choose?
3742 Tips on Talking to your Bank Manager Accountants are the financial advisers of choice for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), so who
better to ask for advice on how to get the bank manager to say yes? So how do you handle your bank
manager?
3741 How to Keep on Top of Bad Debts Keeping on top of debts is critical for any small business, here we set out key advice on chasing up bad
debts.
3391 Dont Stop Advertising: Its Your Lifeblood Marketing, more specifically, advertising, is all about knowing what your customers want, tailoring your
offering around that need and communicating the benefits you can offer them. If you stop telling customers
why they should buy from you they will simply stop buying theyll even forget about you. Yet despite this,
the knee-jerk reaction of companies is cut advertising, despite the evidence that if anything, now is the time
to keep advertising.
3382 Finance for Business In these difficult times many will be wondering what they can do to keep their business going until the
economy bounces back. Invariably survival is down to having enough cold hard cash and with the banks
seeming to hoard all of the billions that we, as taxpayers, have invested, where can you turn to get cash?
We outline the options.
2515 Call centres and the SME Many companies start telesales by just picking up the phone themselves. But while this is the easiest
option, its not the only one - there are hundreds of outsourcing companies supplying telemarketing
services, too. So should companies do it themselves, or outsource?
Current Articles
2467 Evaluating Store Design Youve heard the phrase if it aint broken dont fix it, but how do you know if something is broken in the
first place? Retail, for example, is not easy to evaluate. Even the most profitable retailers can squeeze a
few extra pounds out of their customers if they can polish up all areas of their business. Store design is
one such area. You might think you know which of your products are best sellers. But perhaps its not the
actual products themselves that are the main driving force behind the high sales. It could be their position
in the store, point of sale material, or even the way you the product is displayed. We offer hints and tips on
bettering sales per square foot.
2465 Space The Final Frontier In the boom, many companies tied themselves to long leases on luxurious office space they didnt really
need. Those same companies are now negotiating with landlords to get out of the lease and in some
cases are going belly up. Many firms are now trying to let out surplus space. With their workforces cut,
they're sitting on empty space. But there are few tenants out there. It may be too late for these businesses.
But if you're still in start-up mode, or growing fast, how do you make sure you dont repeat their mistakes
2399 Starting Up A Business When Times Are Tough Life is pretty difficult for most businesses right now. But it is twice as difficult for startups. Not only do you
have the problem of getting customers to buy from a new supplier, and possibly a new product, but you
probably need to raise finance at the same time. And there's not a lot of finance out there whether that's
from banks or from venture capitalists. Here are some good hints and tips to get a new business going well.
1978 Do I Stay Or Do I Go? The right business in the wrong place is dead, whilst the wrong business in the right place can overcome
its shortcomings and flourish. Little wonder that business consultancies sing the litany "Location, location,
location". Getting this right in the first place is clearly critical, but when the question "Do we move?" arises
it becomes all the more vital. You've invested all that time, money, sweat and love into the business, so
this is not a decision to take lightly
1977 Is Your Advertising Working? Go to the till, take out half the money in it, go into the street and give it to passing strangers. Then, next
week, do it again. This is effectively how a lot of small businesses spend on advertising and marketing.
They waste it and they don't know why. So how do you evaluate your options, how do you get best value
on your spend, where do you go for advice and information? Above all how do you define "working" ?
1940 Top Ten Financial Traps A guide to the top ten financial mistakes that businesses commonly make.
1891 Be Your Own Spindoctor Spin doctors can earn more than prime ministers. Whether they are worth it or not, their skill can benefit
every type of organisation, especially the growing business which can ill-afford it. Can PR be done on a
budget? Launching a new product needs promotional support, ideally substantial advertising, but that's
rarely affordable. A young company planning to raise finance needs to get itself known to the investment
community. A new shop needs as much launch publicity as it can get. How can you build strong awareness
of the business, its particular talents, style and products or services and build a reputation which will speed
up sales and growth? Can it be done without the help of top-flight PR assistance, internal or external
1805 10 Ways To Keep Your Customers Happy A simple 10 point plan on ensuring that your customers keep coming back.
1761 Cutting out the Cost Maintaining a competitive edge in today's modern market is all about keeping costs in control. What can be
done to get a business into tip top shape?
1706 Tools For Small Business Survival Too many businesses are persuaded that they need the most sophisticated systems if they are to survive.
Thats nonsense. We show how to implement a simple cash management system in your business for less
than a fiver.
Current Articles
1618 Business Interruption Insurance Remember the floods that virtually destroyed the Cornish town of Boscastle in 2004? How about the bomb
that ripped the centre of Manchester apart in 1996? Apart from the obvious human misery caused by these
disasters, a common bond that they share is that innocent businesses were prevented from working
through no fault of their own. Some survived but many did not. As a businessman or woman, common-
sense if nothing else tells you that to operate a business without insurance whether buildings, contents,
motor or employers would be tantamount to commercial suicide. Yet why do so many businesses cover
those elements but not cover their businesses against unforeseen interruption. Business Interruption
Insurance, BI to the insurance profession, is what they are missing.
1605 Increase Your Prices Which would you rather have - prices ten percent higher, or volume ten percent higher? Many businesses
would prefer an increase in volume. But in fact, an increase in price would come straight through to profit,
while an increase in volume might well not be very profitable at all. The difficulty, of course, lies in
persuading your customers to accept a price increase and not take their business elsewhere.
1603 Retail Security Theft from shops is very common. Retailers are aware it happens to everyone, but it doesn't happen to
themselves because they don't see it happening," comments a security specialist. Shrinkage is commonly
accepted as being between 2 and 5%. The term shrinkage tends to imply that it's a natural phenomenon -
something that retailers can't do much about, and another overhead, like the merchant's fees on credit
cards. But it also implies yet another way in which the dealer's margin reduces before he even gets it to
the bank. And yes, something can be done about it - and should. A retailer who is known for not having
security systems in place or who displays a lax attitude about shoplifting (or staff pilfering for that matter)
will soon find he is attracting more criminal attention.
1526 Industrial Auctions How to re-equip your business with quality goods at a `knock down' rate, and with no waiting.
1483 First Impressions Last You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Your company image is all about lasting
impressions - so getting your image right first is one of the most important exercises you will undertake in
assuring the success of your business.
1473 To Grow or Not to Grow Not all businesses grow up to be as big as Unilever or Shell, with annual turnover counted in the billions
and lavish headquarters in the City. Although many assume that it is the aspiration of all businesses to
emulate companies like these, and that companies which remain fairly small are not successful, this is
actually not the case. 99% of all companies in the UK fall into the small or medium sized category (SMEs).
Although some will certainly have the ambition to grow and become more and more profitable, most SMEs
decide, for a variety of perfectly sound reasons of their own, to remain at a modest size.
1385 Time Management Too much to do - too little time. I expect you know the feeling. It seems that the amount of work each of us
has to do is far too great to get done. How can we manage our time in order to work more effectively? Here
are twenty steps to help you become a better manager.
1287 Fit To Burst How often do companies read the contracts which they sign? In one case, a company began leasing a tyre
fitting machine and balancer on a five year term. The advantage to it doing so lay in what appeared to be a
reasonably lucrative return in the margin which could be made on tyres which were also to be supplied.
Here are the potential problems to avoid.
1206 Mail Order Secrets Mail order has been the fastest growing way of selling products and services each year since 1970 - that's
quite an achievement! The result is an industry with annual UK sales of several billion pounds. Although
mail order is still dominated by big catalogue firms, there are tens of thousands of specialist firms which
have prospered by selling through the post. So what are the secrets of building a successful mail order
business?
Current Articles
1162 Retailers: Take A Lesson From Multiples If you believe that struggling against competition from local supermarkets is like fighting a losing battle,
take a closer look at those independents which are fighting back - and thriving. Here are 10 tips to beat the
multiples at their own game.
1160 Foiling Retail Fraud Fraud is an ever-present risk in retail, and never more so than in busy times, when staff are under
pressure, and more inclined to cut corners. Fraudsters look on a busy Saturday, or a seasonal crush as
protective cover which reduces the likelihood of their being challenged. So it is a good idea to recheck your
fraud prevention procedures, and make sure sales staff are alert to the dodges, and know what to do when
they smell a rat.
1124 Reducing Your Accountancy Fees How many of us know the way to halve our accountant's fees and thus save ourselves money? We show
you how.
1022 Making More Profits Imagine you are a management consultant brought in to examine every single part of a business -
production, technology, finance, sales and administration: you are standing back examining how every
process, every operation might be handled better, more profitably and with growth in mind. Would you find
scope for improvement?
1001 Double Your Profits The two most important measures of business health are cash flow and profitability. The pre-tax profit of
many businesses, at around 10% of sales, is considered by most observers to be adequate. But almost all
firms could double this figure and transform their enterprises in the process. This is an area where clear
thinking and an open mind are essential. We show you how.
979 The Birth of a Multiple Whilst the definition of a multiple retailer is usually assumed to be a minimum of ten shops, the real birth
takes place as soon as the owner commences trading from his second shop. From that moment, they
cease to be a shop manager, and takes on the duties of a supervisor. Success in that post will lead to the
opportunities to add more and more retail outlets: failure will inevitably lead to, at best, stagnation; at worst,
the eventual return to single shop trading, a little bit older, a little bit poorer, and perhaps with no clear idea
of what went wrong! We show you what steps you can take to help you to success.
896 Putting Your Case In A Press Interview Speaking to the press can work wonders for a business or alternatively, it can lead to the destruction of a
positive image. By planning ahead and working constructively with a journalist, you can make sure that you
come out of an interview winning. We show you how.
854 The Fine Art of Purchasing There are two things a business can do to improve its profitability - either sell at a higher price or cut costs.
Whilst the former can be difficult to do, the latter is achievable with a little purchasing prudence. We show
you how.
851 Direct Marketing Direct marketing can be very profitable if done correctly. In this article, we run through all the
considerations and the steps that need to be undertaken to succeed in this area of marketing. A practical
guide.
847 Retail Profitability - The Key Elements We all aim to provide our customers with a service, but at the same time we need to be profitable. There
are certain key elements to making a retail business profitable - stock turn, gross profit, floor space and so
on, but how important are they?
815 Shop Refitting A look at how to spruce up a shop but without investing huge sums.
810 Co-operation There are many functions that businesses have in common, whether it relates to debt collection, accounts,
marketing, buying and so on. As in grocery retailing, the symbol groups bring independent shops together
to co-operate by using their common aims to enhance their buying power. This article uses various
examples to show how like minded businesses in the same area can work together to increase their
individual prosperity by linking up to carry out given business tasks.
Current Articles
800 Employee Performance Appraisal Employees in many businesses are the single greatest cost and largest asset. Yet despite this, proper
appraisal of an employees performance is a rare thing. This article gives an idea on the what, why and how
of staff appraisal.
703 Marketing Isn't Just for the Big Guys Every business does marketing just by opening. But marketing isn't just for big businesses, anyone can do
it. This article gives some practical hints and tips on how to market your business.
677 Who Prices Your Goods For those businesses involved in the production of goods and services rather than for the retailer. Gives an
insight into an alternative way of pricing goods.
562 Tighter Stock Control A brief guide to some of the things that independent retailers can do to cut down on the losses that can be
incurred by holding too much stock.
557 10 Tips To Tighten Up On Costs For businesses who find that costs are still too high.
549 Tax Catching A guide to some of the strategies used by Inland Revenue to catch tax evaders, plus a ten point plan to
stay out of trouble.
236 Marketing A Small Business Simple but practical tips on marketing a small business.
187 Space Invaders For retailers. Looks at how to best utilise a shop's potential as a revenue earner.
162 Choosing An Accountant A simple to follow plan to help choose an accountant for your business.
111 Ten Tips For Advertising How to maintain a reduced marketing budget with a minimal effect on sales.
35 The Art of Negotiation How to cope when a buyer walks in and offers to buy most of your produce for the next few months. A
guide to winning when negotiating.
29 Contacting Your Customers Aimed at the retail sectors, this article looks at the best ways of contacting your customers through the
printed press. Examines timing, methods and target population.
Technology
3869 Clever things to do with technology Technology can be a wondrous thing. Sure, it can be an irritant, especially if you consider the always on
24/7 world that we live in where email and work follow us into our private time. But consider where youd be
without a mobile and youre running late? Where would you store and how would you update the 32 printed
volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica if the Internet didnt exist? And could you cope with paper
accounts ledgers rather than Sage?
3792 Get Your Head Stuck Into The Cloud Technology has the scope to baffle, frustrate and destroy. Yet it can be very creative and highly productive.
If used in the right way it will free you to serve clients better whilst making your practice more profitable.
3791 Cloud Computing Lacks A Silver Lining Unless youve been incommunicado recently you cannot have escaped the phrase Cloud computing and
how the media is suggesting that its made huge in-roads into our daily lives. Whilst this might be true in
parts do you want it in your practice?
3772 Service Level Agreements and Cloud Computing With our dependence on the internet as well as other utilities and services comes a need to assure a
continuity of supply. However, issues do arise and there will be times when service or supply is interrupted.
How this is managed is something for the parties to the contract to settle, but in practical terms, it is best
handled in a service level agreement. What are the considerations that all need to understand?
Current Articles
3763 Creating A Website: What Do You Need To Know? The web has come a long way in a short time. What started as a 1960s US government project to keep
computer networks open in the event of nuclear war is now an all encompassing strand of our life that is
everywhere at home, at work and whilst on the move. The web, for many, is now the primary, if not only,
source of information and purchases. This means that if you want to stay in business during 2011 and
beyond, and you havent done so already, you must get yourself online with a decent website. As if to
prove the point a survey by IMRC and eDigital Research of retailers found that 63 per cent of respondents
expect to increase their staff numbers to handle increased web sales. The high street, on the other hand, is
suffering.
3750 Protect and Survive So many people consider computers to be infallible and a good number believe that disasters will never
happen to them. Sadly time will prove them wrong on both counts. Man made computers and man is
fallible. A disaster given time will befall everyone albeit to differing degrees. Now whilst you cannot live
your digital life wrapped up in cotton wool, there are simple, everyday steps that you can take to minimise
the risk of computers turning your life upside down.
3740 Computer Love Considering that its only 25 years or so since computers really started to ingratiate themselves into our
lives its frightening how reliant weve become on them. Whether its for email, online banking, web
ordering, a database or plain old word processing, when the computer fails, we are lost. So what simple
steps can you take to keep your computer PC or Mac in good order?
3683 Which Mobile? Can you live without a mobile phone? Its a pretty safe bet that you cant, especially if you run a business.
Whilst some hate them with a passion, mobile phones are a fact of life. But how do you choose a new
mobile?
3654 Must-Have iPhone Apps Christmas is coming and hopefully depending on your perspective - business will be getting a little
quieter. No doubt youll be wondering what to do with the extra time on your hands. Well if the statistics are
to be believed theres a fair probability that you own an iPhone. If thats the case, youll have time to scan
Apples iTunes App Store looking for something useful or a little different. So with the season in mind, what
are the must-have apps?
3609 Telecoms for Business It wasnt that long ago, that if you wanted a telephone you had no choice but the GPO and its successor,
BT. But since 1984, UK telecoms has been opened to competition and in recent years the combination of
technological development and deregulation of telecoms has made choosing your communications
solution a very complex if not impenetrable task. Indeed, we are now served with technologies that include
fixed line phone, mobiles and internet telephony. So if you do want to update your technology to one which
costs less to run, or even change telecoms provider, where do you start?
3587 Making Microsoft Word Work For You: 3 Microsoft Word is a great system for writing documents. But once you start using pictures, charts, columns
and tables, it can spring surprises on you - pictures won't stay where you keep them, the text moves
around columns when you're trying to edit it, and everything starts looking chaotic. Your file sizes grow, as
well, and if you're unlucky your computer starts to slow down, making life unbearably tedious. Fortunately,
Word has plenty of ways to keep your document under control.
3586 Making Microsoft Word Work For You: 2 Microsoft Word is a great system for writing documents. But once you start using pictures, charts, columns
and tables, it can spring surprises on you - pictures won't stay where you keep them, the text moves
around columns when you're trying to edit it, and everything starts looking chaotic. Your file sizes grow, as
well, and if you're unlucky your computer starts to slow down, making life unbearably tedious. Fortunately,
Word has plenty of ways to keep your document under control.
3585 Making Microsoft Word Work For You On one level, using a word processor is easy - just open a document and type the words in. But you'll
need to know a bit more to make your documents look really professional - and by going a bit further you
can automate some of the job, too, saving yourself time and effort.
Current Articles
3582 Choosing Accounting Software Choosing software can be difficult. But add in the need for specialist accounting packages and the choices
become harder. Make the wrong choice and youve wasted money and time. Get it right and youll have
control over your data. We offer tips.
3537 Socially Network Your Business Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Linkedin and Plaxo are just some of the names in the world of online
social networking which no doubt you will have heard of. Itll be a safe bet that most people, yourself
included, would say that they use social networking sites to keep in touch with friends and family. But as
these sites become more widely accepted, they are also being used to promote businesses. You too can
jump on this bandwagon.
3527 How To Choose A CCTV System George Orwell was so prophetic about the surveillance state - CCTV is everywhere. But as the technology
has advanced so its uses have diversified. Indeed, the take-up of the technology in the UK has made us
the most spied upon nation in the world there are more cameras in the UK, per person, than anywhere
else in the world. So what began as a method of watching V2 rocket testing has rapidly morphed in the
fight against crime. So how do you choose a CCTV system for your business?
2982 Getting Online Nowadays pretty much everyone has a computer and some will use it to search on the internet if they want
to find something. That search could involve finding a business like yours, so you need a website, an
'online shop'. Getting online and creating your own website can be quick, simple and not very expensive,
but you will need a few things. A laymans guide.
2836 Locking up the Online Shop All businesses lock up at closing time to make their premises secure, but a single break-in is less likely to
bring them to their knees than a lapse in security on their computer system. The very nature of the internet
makes it vulnerable to a growing range of risks, and with an online shop that never closes those inevitably
multiply. So what can businesses do to protect themselves?
2690 Your Own Wired World? So, you want to expand your customer base using a website but not sure about how to proceed? The
biggest questions are: who will design and develop your site, what will it cost and how will your customers
and the public be aware of your new site.
2633 Payroll IT The contrast could not be more obvious. Todays payroll department, computerised and practically
paperless, is a million miles from the ant hill office where clerks used to stuff banknotes and pay slips into
brown envelopes. The state-of-the-art payroll is managed with a meticulously designed piece of software
equipped with all the financial mechanisms required to make accurate payments. Several 21st-century
developments have led to the introduction of the automated payroll, whether an employer chooses to
operate it in-house or send it outside to a specialist. A look at how businesses can use payroll systems to
best effect.
2612 Spam: Dealing with the Dark Side of the Internet Will new EU legislation that takes effect on 11 December 2003 defeat the dark side of the internet or inhibit
new technologies as a marketing media for small and medium sized businesses? What do businesses
need to know to comply?
2427 The Enemy Within What's your IT security like? Many businesses, asked this question, say: "We're okay, we've got a firewall."
Most businesses believe the big threat is from hackers sophisticated criminals or college kids. But in fact,
there's a much greater threat from within your organisation. It's called your staff. Heres what you can do
to protect yourself.
2147 10 Ways To Improve Small Business IT Computers are the bane of our lives. You cant live with them but then you cant live with them either. For
most, there is mystique surrounding their purchase, maintenance and use. Nevertheless, there are some
things that you can do to make your equipment work harder or make your budget stretch further. Here are
ten tips.

Adam Bernstein - Small Business Journal Articles

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