Administering a business has always been worthwhile and exciting, but it is important to manage it uninterruptedly & peacefully avoiding legal inconveniences. It is significant to protect your business interests by complying with and conducting your business as per applicable laws, rules and regulations that govern any business activities and transactions. It is equally important to get expert opinions in making any workable decision so, you need not spend massively upon unwanted legal expenses. We would like to suggest below on how you can avoid getting into any legal troubles & unwanted settlements robbing you of dollars in your business;
State terms & conditions clearly:
Every business should set up basic terms & conditions as an essential document to carry out all the business activities and transactions successfully. You need to make sure that your business is well complied with the necessary law & policies including all legally enforceable agreements and contracts which will fortunately help you limit your liability and protect you against non-payment and also prevent any kind of disputes at a later date.
One size doesn’t fit all hence, you can’t be sure they are legally agreeable, enforceable or drafted in the best interests of your business. We believe each business is different from other and has extraordinary (unique) needs.
Protect the rights of your trade mark, patent & copyright:
In any business today, I.P. Rights have extremely important place as a valuable asset for growing a business. ‘Intellectual property right’ is something that you and your business creates which is different from that of others in the market. Infringing/ violating someone’s IP right is not the kind of legal hot water you want to find yourself into, even if that infringement was an honest mistake. However, taking a little time to think about your IP rights and to protect them in the long run is worth considering ever. Enlisting or registering them gives you prompt assurance from any unapproved or unauthorized usage of it by other persons. It also further promotes brand-awareness and diminishes the chance of mistaking your brand name with other traders. It further empowers you to promote your brand image.
Employees:
Many reputed business houses have experienced that they hire someone in the belief that the other person is likely to be more qualified, trustworthy and well competent to be a part of their business & will help in taking the organization ahead with their skills but, soon they realize that they are losing money by employing them. They do not fit right as compared to other employees and also affect the productivity system as well as morale of the entire team. In such hostile situation, you need to cut them off from your business. Here comes the specific need to draft a perfect “employer-employee agreement” in which all the terms & conditions should be mentioned clearly before hiring anyone through comprehensive recruitment process. All this is because right employment documentation is a necessary step to protect the interest of your business as well as that of your employee. Still, if you’re on the horns of the dilemma as to what you should do, then we will advise you to seek legal assistance from your attorney to avoid any legal disputes.
Further, every organization should make an ‘employment committee’ where all the employees will register their respective grievances for redressal. But employment law is much more than grievances and disciplinaries. You should know how to deal with sick leave, maternity or parental leave etc. or if someone asks to see personal files. These are only a few issues, there can be numerous issues which can arise anytime sooner or later. You need to be well prepared by having the right policies and procedures which will help to keep you at the right side of the law.
Shareholders’ agreement:
These kinds of agreements are highly confidential and are between shareholders of a company. Business is always unpredictable and full of risks. You even don’t know when & where the table will turn. You don’t know when your business will split or be sold out to others and if there is no proper agreement then legal battles would take their places. So, its not a good idea to leave any grey area when it comes to who gets what. The agreement should be drafted under the supervision of an experienced lawyer in such matters.
Put arbitration clause before drafting any agreement or contract:
This is one issue that you can control yourself to a larger extent. Don’t rush into litigations because, doing so means you’ll end up spending heavy fees over legal disputes. So, it’s a wise step to put a properly drafted arbitration clause in any kind of agreement or contract so as to find a way to settle things out of the court.