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Calling all Dentists

Should I incorporate my dental practice? We often revisit the topic of practice incorporation with our dental clients. Practices opt to transition to trading as a company, rather than a sole trader or partnership, often seeking our assistance in navigating the legal steps involved. This decision is frequently prompted by advice from their accountants, aimed at tax minimization, a goal that is attainable under the right circumstances.

19 Legal Q & A’s #2

HOW CAN I PROTECT MY BRAND AND IDEAS? Protecting your intellectual property makes it easier to take legal action against anyone who steals or copies it. Here are some key tips for ensuring no-one makes use of your ideas! Understand What You Have: Identify what intellectual property you have, whether it’s patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secrets.

19 Legal Q&A’s Week 1

Q: “What Legal Structure is best for my business?” So you’ve a great business idea, done all your cashflow projections and sorted a marketing strategy. But what is the best legal structure? A: The main 4 options for a Start-Up:- Sole Trader: Being a sole trader means you’re self-employed. Register with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for self-assessment when you start trading. You’re responsible for your business, can keep profits after tax, but are personally liable for business debts. You can hire staff, and taxes depend on your profits. You can file taxes online or on paper. If you’re a sole trader you need to pay income tax and National Insurance subject to thresholds for profit generated.

Mediation is good for business!

Mediation is a well-established process designed to resolve disputes. It is the most popular form of Alternative Dispute Resolution. The mediation process is informal; a mediator, who is entirely independent and neutral, acts as a facilitator to help the parties achieve an amicable resolution that is legally binding. Court proceedings entail substantial legal costs with no certainty of achieving a favourable outcome. When giving evidence in court, a party can often feel intimidated by the process. Unlike court proceedings, mediations are: VOLUNTARY Mediation is not a substitute for court proceedings. The parties are not obliged to reach a settlement, so any party who is not willing to accept terms offered at a mediation has the right to pursue court proceedings.

Five Tips on running a Successful Business

Do something you love – the great thing about being an entrepreneur is that you can choose what kind of business you start up and where. Do your research properly to ascertain whether there is a gap in the market. Customers and clients – targeted networking; make new contacts and shout about what you do that sets you apart from the competition but always remember 70% of new business comes from existing clients/customers – look after them. Cash flow – keep a close eye on cash flow – you cannot change something that happened 6 months’ ago – get pro-active professional advisers to keep your business in check and keep costs to a minimum. People – never be scared of hiring people better than you are – build a good team around you, put employment policies in place and make sure you follow them. Planning – regularly set your objectives and revise strategies, set measurable challenges and acknowledge achievements. Annually update the three year plan and stick to it.

Terms and Conditions: They may be water tight but are they incorporated?

Whilst businesses are often rightly concerned about whether their terms and conditions offer enough protection, this is probably of secondary importance to the main issue – making sure they are incorporated in contracts to begin with. Similarly, from the perspective of the party upon whom terms and conditions are being imposed, the question arises: What amount of notice needs to be given about those terms and conditions in order to be bound by them? Questions that typically arise include: Must a copy of the terms be provided? Can they simply be referred to? Do they need to have been read?

Employing Agency Workers?

Agency workers do obtain the legal status of an employee. However, over the years the distinction between the two has blurred. Agency workers with at least 12 weeks’ service are now entitled to the same basic employment rights and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the end-user. It is valuable protection for an Agency Worker and goes some way towards levelling the playing field between temporary workers and the employees they work alongside. But the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has decided in a recent case that workers on “indefinite” or “permanent” assignments are not covered by the Agency Workers Regulations and so do not get employee-equivalent rights. This is a pretty significant shift in the current understanding of the law.

The Minefield of Pre-Termination Discussions

‘Without prejudice’ conversations are a human resources hotspot. What can be said freely in the lead-up to an employee’s termination without fear of it being repeated during a tribunal hearing is, at best, confusing. But what about where the employer is prevented at tribunal from referring to discussions which it did not think were properly without prejudice? (Those relaxed conversations which were not influenced by the threat of an impending tribunal claim, for instance?) The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has highlighted how details of the most amicable discussions where there is no actual dispute can be inadmissible in evidence.

February Focus

Business owners make sure you have a Shareholders’ Agreement – fixed prices starting from *£600. Ensure your hard work and investment are protected ACT NOW! Call Jane on 01772 972591 or email Jane@nineteenlegal.co.uk A shareholders’ agreement is a contract entered into between a company and some or all of its shareholders. It can deal with all aspects of the relationship between the parties, including the personal rights and obligations of the shareholders. Together with the company’s articles of association a shareholders’ agreement creates internal “rules” by which a company is governed.