How are small businesses meant to manage?

[smo]

I have given this much thought over the last few years, particuarly on this afternoons dog walk!

With all the red tape and heavily biased laws and regulations relating to all things employment, health & safety, compliance, accounting etc etc. how is a small business without relevant specialists meant to manage?

I recently employed some more new staff and need to draw up contracts, we simply dont have the funds to use a solicitor but it seems without one anything you put in a contract is probably not worth the paper its written on and potentially could land you in very hot water should you ever need to refer back to it in a legal dispute.

So, if budgets are tight (as most business find they are) and third party specialist help is simply too expensive what are we supposed to do to remain complaint and within the laws??

 

[Alan]

Using a highly paid lawyer doesn't necessarily mean that the contract is good either (although probably better than writing it yourself)

But there are 'volume suppliers' of these services, after all it is the same for each small business.

Just google 'online legal documents' or similar

Then there organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses http://www.fsb.org.uk/legal-information . I can't recommend them or otherwise as I have not used their services. i'm just pointing out their existence.

 

[smo]

Volume suppliers are often the worst culprits of rubbish contracts though and there is nothing more individual than an employment contract with every company, and probably every person having different conditions, pay, holidays, terms etc.

 

[Alan]

I agree that there will obviously be individual terms and conditions, but the bulk of legal wording can be boiler plated, surely?

 

[BustersDogs]

I started with 'statements of employment' from the now gone Business link, which I then got a lovely gentleman from here to help me turn into something specific to my business and my staff because I wanted some specific bits and pieces in there. I'd previously tried another HR company but they messed me about too much.

It is worth the investment, and should be included in the budget for your staff, along with training, uniforms, insurance etc.

 

[All Web Services]

for legal join the FSB (£120 a year) you will get all the contracts you can re write. plus you get 24/7 legal advice - the best choice i ever made as the legal team has helped me win court cases.

 

[smo]

Do the FSB just provide off the shelf (normally out dated) type of standard contract or do they actually taylor them to your needs?

 

[Freelancer87]

for legal join the FSB (£120 a year) you will get all the contracts you can re write. plus you get 24/7 legal advice - the best choice i ever made as the legal team has helped me win court cases.

I have always been dubious about the FSB Legal Advice....is it the real deal and how does it work? If I have an HR related issue or need advice on HR, is it as easy as picking up the phone? I'm not going to be pitched additional services am I?

Cheers!

 

[Steve Sellers]

If you are not in the position to pay someone to do bespoke contracts then whilst it may be tempting to buy a template and alter it, this is a risky strategy.

A far better option for a lay person who doesn't want to risk changing the meaning of clauses is to use a simple statement of terms and conditions of employment. Of course these are not as good as using a robust contract as you can far better control your contractual and working relationship with a contract.

Business link did provide a template as mentioned below so I can't link to that. However what you must include is provided for here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/1

If you get a statement of terms together I would be happy to give it the once over, free of charge, to check it has all the necessary.

 

[smo]

Thanks Steve, excellent advice as always

 

[internetspaceships]

Smo if you don't have the few quid needed to get the contracts right, then you can't afford the new staff.

Simple maths.

 

[smo]

Thats not true at all.

Just because the budget doesnt stretch to huge lawyers bills for contracts doesnt meant that staff arent needed or cant be afforded. Its all about priorities and im afraid mine is on building on our 21 year history and growing whilst maintaining excellent levels of customer satisfaction, not on red tape and crappy paperwork!

Also my new staff came on board when we moved, the previous lot were made redundant as the distance was too great to bring them with, so they were all essential and all replaced but that doesnt mean suddenly there was a huge pot of money to cover the extra costs involved.

 

[internetspaceships]

Smo, speak to Steve or Karl. It's not a fortune to get these done mate.

Also I'm more than happy to get some copies of mine copied over to you free, and let these guys change them to suit your particular circumstances if that helps. But I stand by what I said, you need to pay to get these sorted before running the risk of the potential liabilities you might face for NOT doing them. It could cost you far more than not doing them at all.

You cannot afford NOT to do them, and if you have been going 21 years - they should have been done a LONG time ago.

Offer's open Smo.

 

[Contact Law]

Hi smo,

I'm not sure what you consider too expensive, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that there are plenty of solicitors out there that are very cost-effective and do this type of thing on a fixed-fee. It would be worthwhile looking into that avenue, but bear in mind you will need to be realistic about costs.

Regards,
Contact Law

 

[Peter_TopLine]

With regards to health & safety and compliance with regulatory requirements like RIDDOR or OSHA there are a handful of really user friendly health and safety software tools on the market that will take out the paper work element of recording and reporting incidents and risks.

They also have health and safety auditing and people/training management tools in built that help you to ensure that your back is covered should incidents and accidents arise.

You don't have to be a H&S professional to use these tools, which is great as they are designed so that your entire workforce can participate in overall health and safety within your business.

There's lots of innovative useful tech out there that is especially good for start ups and small businesses. Yes, they require an initial investment, but if you're a small operation they can save bundles of time and reduce so much stress.

 

[Peter_TopLine]

With regards to health & safety and compliance with regulatory requirements like RIDDOR or OSHA there are a handful of really user friendly health and safety software tools on the market that will take out the paper work element of recording and reporting incidents and risks.

They also have health and safety auditing and people/training management tools in built that help you to ensure that your back is covered should incidents and accidents arise.

You don't have to be a H&S professional to use these tools, which is great as they are designed so that your entire workforce can participate in overall health and safety within your business.

There's lots of innovative useful tech out there that is especially good for start ups and small businesses. Yes, they require an initial investment, but if you're a small operation they can save bundles of time and reduce so much stress.