Legal Update - January 2009
Welcome to Business Lawyers first monthly newsletter of 2009 and an especially warm welcome to new subscribers to our free service.
Despite the economic downturn opportunities exist for the entrepreneurially minded and we know of countless instances of new businesses coming to the fore with many others in the planning stages of formation. In such circumstances it is always prudent to take what free legal advice exists and we are pleased to support such new businesses by way of these monthly newsletters as well as through our regular legal support newsletters, articles, audits and advice guides which can be found online at www.business-lawyers.org. As the law is always changing it pays to keep abreast of developments. For instance new companies should be aware of the increase in late filing fees which impacts from 1st February 2009.
Like many of our clients we too have been busy and have now added a new centre in Bury (just north of Manchester) which we hope will allow us to diversify further. A “soft launch” formally is soon to follow and if you are in the neighbourhood you are always welcome to drop in should you have a legal issue that is troubling you. Otherwise by all means continue to use our free contact service or telephone support. Our Bury centre is supported by seven capable individuals who have many years experience of the legal market and who will be able to assist you in addressing your legal needs.
Many of the new businesses we have seen started have come as a result of redundancy-a necessary sign of the times unfortunately. We have advised both businesses and individuals of the appropriate procedures to follow and communications to make. If you are a business in need of drafting redundancy letters to your employees we can assist. Alternately we have drafted and supported businesses and employees with respect of redundancy compromise agreements which by law need to be approved by an independent solicitor of the employee. Of course if you know of any redundancies affecting friends and/or family and need assistance here please do not hesitate to get in touch as we operate an affiliate/ reward scheme for referrals that bring in clients to the business.
One notable development of the economic turmoil has been an upturn of interest in payment protection insurance (PPI) plans which aims to protect the policy holder of mortgage and loan repayments from illness, redundancy and so forth. However as we write the law is about to be changed from 2010 to put to an end to typical PPI misselling whereby lenders missold policies that would never pay out and which were aimed primarily to boost the banks’ commissions. In many cases the commissions dwarfed the loan payable unbeknown to the policyholders. As from next year it will become illegal to sell such a policy as the same time as a loan so do be aware of this if you are planning to borrow for a home extension, conservatory, car loan or to make any other relevant borrowing. Indeed we offer a “no win no fee” claim system for such PPI misselling matters and would invite you to take the test here to learn if you would qualify for being eligible for free legal assistance in making a claim.
For other forms of “no win no fee” against debtor businesses and administrators that owe your business unpaid invoices please get in touch as we may be able to assist on this basis or alternately offer your business equally viable alternatives to improve your business cashflow. As the accountants say “cash is king” and on this basis we have supported a number of businesses over the last few months that were continually being given the “cold shoulder” from recalcitrant clients until our intervention prompted settlement payments on favourable terms.
Another way to protect a business can be through a post termination restrictive covenant in the employee’s employment contract. If you have a business or are an employee of such and wonder if you could work elsewhere then this case may assist though you are advised to have your own situation individually assessed as subtle differences of fact can mean a different outcome in your own circumstance.
Wishing you the best and look forward to hearing from you about your plans for your business in the future.
