By Calum Covell on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Leaving your job and setting a competing business in direct competition to your previous employer is one of the most high-risk areas for any entrepreneur.
Those who get it wrong can find themselves hit by legal action which can be a disastrous prospect for any new business.
I want to cut ties with my employer and set up a rival business. Can my employer stop me doing this?
Before you do anything, check your employment contract. These could have explicit and implied obligations that apply both during and after your relationship with your previous employer. In most cases, provided that you are not a director, LLP member or partner with fiduciary duties you can generally take “preparatory steps” towards setting up a competitor business without being in breach of your obligations.
However, this will be dependent on what your obligations are stated to be. Be mindful too that they may not be found solely in your employment contract. They may be in a variety of places, including service agreements, shareholders’ agreements, membership or partnership agreements and long-term incentive plans, bonus, or other remuneration schemes.
>See also: How can a restrictive
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Can my employer stop me from setting up a competing business?
by Calum Covell • • 0 Comments
By Calum Covell on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Leaving your job and setting a competing business in direct competition to your previous employer is one of the most high-risk areas for any entrepreneur.
Those who get it wrong can find themselves hit by legal action which can be a disastrous prospect for any new business.
I want to cut ties with my employer and set up a rival business. Can my employer stop me doing this?
Before you do anything, check your employment contract. These could have explicit and implied obligations that apply both during and after your relationship with your previous employer. In most cases, provided that you are not a director, LLP member or partner with fiduciary duties you can generally take “preparatory steps” towards setting up a competitor business without being in breach of your obligations.
However, this will be dependent on what your obligations are stated to be. Be mindful too that they may not be found solely in your employment contract. They may be in a variety of places, including service agreements, shareholders’ agreements, membership or partnership agreements and long-term incentive plans, bonus, or other remuneration schemes.
>See also: How can a restrictive
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GDPR three years on: make sure your small business is compliant
by Chris Cook • • 0 Comments
By Chris Cook on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) came into force on January 1 2021 and sets out the key principles, rights and obligations for processing data in the UK. It is almost entirely based on the EU GDPR (which applied in the UK before January 2021) and sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).
With the plethora of initialisms, some small businesses are understandably overwhelmed. Some actively ignore what they deem to be an administrative burden, while others unknowingly stray into breach of data protection regulations. Regardless of your view of the UK GDPR, one thing is clear; overlooking it could have costly repercussions by way of hefty fines and reputational damage to your business.
The body in charge of enforcing data protection breaches in the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Much of the enforcement action pursued by the ICO relates to aggressive direct marketing techniques, such as nuisance calls and emails. For example, ColourCoat Ltd, a home improvements business based in Hastings, was fined £130,000 by the ICO in June 2021 following a substantial amount of direct marketing calls.
Businesses should also be
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How to avoid unfair dismissal claims
by Simon Robinson • • 0 Comments
By Simon Robinson on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Dismissing an employee is never an easy process, and many employers will avoid taking action against a problem or under-performing member of staff out of fear of a claim in the employment tribunal.
However, while the dismissal process may seem complicated and risky, for many businesses, failing to tackle problem employees can have huge repercussions for the future; and a failure to act risks damaging the business in both the short and longer term.
Wrongful and unfair dismissal
Wrongful dismissal is a dismissal in breach of the employee’s contract and applies where the employer has terminated employment without full notice. The value of a wrongful dismissal claim is usually limited to the pay and benefits the employee would have received during the notice period provided by the employment contract.
Unfair dismissal is where employment is terminated, and the employer did not have a fair reason for the dismissal. Alternatively, a dismissal may have been fair in theory, but the employer’s failure to follow the correct procedure renders it unfair as a result.
It is worthwhile noting that an individual will require two years of service before they are eligible to
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Sick leave – Making changes to company sickness policy
by Peter Done • • 0 Comments
By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Changing the terms and conditions under which your employees work, which is essentially what you would be doing making changes to a company sickness policy, should be done with careful consideration.
Firstly, your approach is dependent upon whether your sickness policy is contractual or not.
If the policy is clearly non-contractual and reserves the right to be amended from time to time, then you are generally able to simply make the changes you want to make and make your staff aware of this.
>See also: Can I dismiss an employee for sending threatening text?
If the policy is contractual and therefore constitutes part of your employees’ terms and conditions, then you need to tread more carefully. Introducing changes to an employee’s terms and conditions requires agreement by both parties because unilateral changes are not permitted – this means that you cannot simply impose a change unless it is required by law, as was the case when the indoor smoking ban was introduced.
A consultation process is required during which all affected employees should be informed of the intended changes, with an explanation of the reason why the changes are required.
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Can I dismiss an employee for sending threatening text?
by Peter Done • • 0 Comments
By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
This employee has made a threat of physical violence and her conduct in sending a threatening text should be treated as an allegation of gross misconduct. Whilst the sanction for allegations of gross misconduct is summary dismissal it is important not to make any hasty decisions and ensure that you follow your disciplinary procedure. If you simply dismissed without following your disciplinary procedure then the dismissal may be deemed unfair because the employee has not been given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made against her.
>See also: Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
You should consider suspending the employee in these circumstances due to the nature of the alleged conduct. It’s important not to jump to suspension as the only way to remove the employee from the situation – you could achieve the same effect by other means – but a threat of violence in such a threatening text may make actual suspension necessary. In order to support the notion that the behaviour could be gross misconduct, it would be appropriate for some type of measure in this regard to be taken.
>See
Hot Business News Today
Sick leave – Making changes to company sickness policy
by Peter Done • • 0 Comments
By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Changing the terms and conditions under which your employees work, which is essentially what you would be doing making changes to a company sickness policy, should be done with careful consideration.
Firstly, your approach is dependent upon whether your sickness policy is contractual or not.
If the policy is clearly non-contractual and reserves the right to be amended from time to time, then you are generally able to simply make the changes you want to make and make your staff aware of this.
>See also: Can I dismiss an employee for sending threatening text?
If the policy is contractual and therefore constitutes part of your employees’ terms and conditions, then you need to tread more carefully. Introducing changes to an employee’s terms and conditions requires agreement by both parties because unilateral changes are not permitted – this means that you cannot simply impose a change unless it is required by law, as was the case when the indoor smoking ban was introduced.
A consultation process is required during which all affected employees should be informed of the intended changes, with an explanation of the reason why the changes are required.
Hot Business News Today
Can I dismiss an employee for sending threatening text?
by Peter Done • • 0 Comments
By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
This employee has made a threat of physical violence and her conduct in sending a threatening text should be treated as an allegation of gross misconduct. Whilst the sanction for allegations of gross misconduct is summary dismissal it is important not to make any hasty decisions and ensure that you follow your disciplinary procedure. If you simply dismissed without following your disciplinary procedure then the dismissal may be deemed unfair because the employee has not been given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made against her.
>See also: Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
You should consider suspending the employee in these circumstances due to the nature of the alleged conduct. It’s important not to jump to suspension as the only way to remove the employee from the situation – you could achieve the same effect by other means – but a threat of violence in such a threatening text may make actual suspension necessary. In order to support the notion that the behaviour could be gross misconduct, it would be appropriate for some type of measure in this regard to be taken.
>See
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Are purchase orders legally binding?
by Paul Barnes • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Paul Barnes on Small Business
Understanding the legal implications of purchase orders is important. After all, if faced with a client refusing to pay an invoice, or you receive an invoice for twice the amount stated on a purchase order (PO), you need to understand your position.
So, is a PO legally binding? And above and beyond the legal ramifications, are there other advantages to raising POs? Here, Paul Barnes, MD of MAP, an outsourced finance function for digital creative agencies, provides his purchase order insights.
Purchase orders are a legal contract
If you issue or receive a PO, it’s a legally binding document once accepted. In essence, it’s a contract between the buyer and the seller. As a supplier, if you raise a PO and send it to your customer, this is notifying them of their legal obligations to pay you the agreed amount. As a customer, you need to be aware that when you receive a PO, this is obliging you to pay the amount on the purchase order. If the amount is incorrect, this must be disputed immediately and a new PO issued. Failure to dispute a PO at the time of issuing will place you in a
Hot Business News Today
Are purchase orders legally binding?
by Paul Barnes • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Paul Barnes on Small Business
Understanding the legal implications of purchase orders is important. After all, if faced with a client refusing to pay an invoice, or you receive an invoice for twice the amount stated on a purchase order (PO), you need to understand your position.
So, is a PO legally binding? And above and beyond the legal ramifications, are there other advantages to raising POs? Here, Paul Barnes, MD of MAP, an outsourced finance function for digital creative agencies, provides his purchase order insights.
Purchase orders are a legal contract
If you issue or receive a PO, it’s a legally binding document once accepted. In essence, it’s a contract between the buyer and the seller. As a supplier, if you raise a PO and send it to your customer, this is notifying them of their legal obligations to pay you the agreed amount. As a customer, you need to be aware that when you receive a PO, this is obliging you to pay the amount on the purchase order. If the amount is incorrect, this must be disputed immediately and a new PO issued. Failure to dispute a PO at the time of issuing will place you in a