Category: Legal Advice for Freelancers

The rise of e-commerce has been one of the most significant business trends of the last decade. According to the British Retail Consortium, online sales account for 6% of the UK’s retail sales, which increased in September and October 2010 by 19.1% and 12.8% respectively over the equivalent monthly figures for 2009.

An innovative new method for business debt collection has been launched allowing Small & Medium Sized businesses the ability to radically speed up the process collecting their outstanding debts using Twitter.

The new parental leave rules will give parents and adopters greater flexibility in the amount of leave they choose to take following the birth of a child. Chris Inson, partner with leading commercial law solicitors Capital Law explains how the changes will affect businesses.

Many starting at university over the past few days are aware of the need to earn whilst they learn and this is fuelling a boom in part-time working. This growth in part-time students could turn out to be a bonus for small businesses, as many students committed to studying part-time for up to six years will seek part-time work that will support their long-term career plans.

We spoke to Chris Sherliker, founding partner of the London based law firm Silverman Sherliker, who gave us a non-exhaustive 50 point checklist designed to help you avoid some very common legal pitfalls and maximise the legal security of your business.

The London law firm, Silverman Sherliker LLP, has just launched Namesearch TM Legal, an interactive application for iPhone and Blackberry smart-phones that helps you protect your trade marks, business names, logos and brands without being tied to your desk.

Is your company ready for ‘fit notes’? If you’re unsure, then you are not alone. A new survey shows that a third of employers are unaware of the system replacing the 62-year old sick note, and a further 64% haven’t received any guidance on how to manage the new notes.

Tens of thousands of businesses could benefit from a loophole and receive VAT payback following the introduction of VAT on some Royal Mail services such as Parcelforce.

With the England squad finally announced yesterday and manager Fabio Capello now putting the finishing touches to his game plan, UK businesses are being advised to make sure they too have their World Cup strategies in place in time for kick off on 11 June.

The phrase “all hands to the pump’ has been well used over the past week with staff who work in travel related roles, but can travel businesses suddenly ask their staff to work around the clock to cope with the huge upsurge in business? Victoria Russell, an employment law solicitor looks at the legal implications

A shareholders agreement is an agreement among the holders of shares in the start-up corporation. In general, such agreements address the following matters:

If you are a start-up in need of funds, you are likely keen to bring interested angel investors on board. But before you sign an early-stage, seed or angel term sheet, make sure that you understand, from a legal perspective, the basics of dissecting the key provisions.

The National Fraud Authority has announced that fraud costs the UK economy £30bn each year. Of this, identity fraud is responsible for an estimated £1.2 billion per year. It is also one of the fastest growing crimes in the UK and a threat to all businesses.

Heavy snowfall has disrupted commuters, shut schools and caused traffic chaos in many parts of the UK. So what are your rights if you couldn’t get into work or if you are an employer and your staff couldn’t make it in? We have asked Richard Nicolle, partner in Denton Wilde Sapte’s employment practice looks at some of the issues.

Survey findings highlight companies may be at risk of data theft despite 46 per cent of employees admitting they worry about information getting into the wrong hands