It’s important to note that in the world of business, your legal standing is everything, and while it might not guarantee you success, it can certainly protect you from undue failure. Often, the laws that might seem restrictive or intensive are there to help you and your brand. For instance, employment law is there to protect the wellbeing of your staff as they work for you, which is what you want. Health and safety laws may seem overbearing in some circumstances, but ultimately, they’re here to prevent injuries and casualties, which is more than worth some administrative strain.
Covering your legal bases as a new firm, then, is essential to consider. Not only must we make sure that we’re registered and properly operational within all the right contexts, but that we know how to prevent issues coming back to us in the case of lawsuits or reputational knocks. In this post, we’ll discuss a few measures that new businesses should use in order to protect themselves. Without further ado, please consider:
The Correct Insurance
It’s essential that you have the correct insurance as a business. Of course, some of these are non-optional. For instance, public liability insurance can protect you and make medical funds available if a product of yours causes harm to someone, or causes damage to property.
Asset insurance can protect essential investments and elements of your inventory. Employer’s liability insurance is another essential and required insurance form, which will cover the cost of claims made against you if an employee is injured or ill working for you. While insurance is not necessarily considered ‘legal protection’ more than it is financial protection, having it is considered so essential that you would be breaking the law operating without it. For that reason, it’s essential to find a broker dealing in packages such as public liability insurance, one that can help you arrange a full, serviced arrangement, netting you a competitive package you can use for years.
Clear, Detailed Contracts
It’s essential to make sure that your employment contracts are thoroughly read and edited by your legal team or outsourced lawyers, as well as ensuring that none of the language is vague, that all stipulations are properly laid out, and that the contract is updated as regularly as you need to make alterations, depending on the length of employment. Here you can make sure that any extra time off during the day is set in stone, how business expenses should be handled, what transparency measures they are obliged to be part of, and more.
Of course, all contracts must comply with employment law, and so this should be poured over by a lawyer specializing in that litigation, allowing you to make sure that the recruiting relationship starts off on the best possible footing going forward. It can make a tremendous difference to make sure that everything that could be reasonably expected from both parties is in that contract, even if you’re dealing with freelancers or subcontractors online and wish to stipulate that you will be the primary client they work for during the day.
Pay On Time & Always Reliably
It’s essential to pay your invoices on time, your payroll on time, your suppliers on time, and to settle every debt you can as quickly as you can. Of course in some scenarios, accommodations can be made to better work around the cash flow of your small business (this is why suppliers often give a month or so for payment to be given), but it aids your relationship with those entities if you can clearly and proudly pay as quickly as possible. With certain measures like payroll, there is absolutely no negotiation to be had here. It must be paid on time, lest you suffer the consequences of disgruntled staff who may or may not sue if this becomes a pattern.
Cybersecurity Compliance
Cybersecurity compliance is essential in a technological environment constantly in flux, where ransomware attacks are increasing, and when new legislation like Biden’s recent cybersecurity executive order is forcing companies to properly onboard should they wish to compete for any government contracts at all.
Make sure that you use properly maintained IT services with cloud functionality that utilize 24/7 support, constant patch updates, and can provide you with cybersecurity compliance practices on a whim. This way, you’ll be much more likely to prevent breaches and data leaks, which can ultimately leave you legally exposed at the behest of your affected clients and business-to-business connections.
With this advice, you’ll be sure to properly cover your legal bases as a new firm.
