Business Advice Services News

Fightyourcorner.com was recently authorised by the Ministry of Justice under the Compensation Act 2006, in respect of regulated claims management activities as recorded on the website: www.claimsregulation.gov.uk

“This is very good news” said Robin Carlyle, MD “and will give our website added credibility and the ability to be involved in:

• Criminal Injuries Compensation
• Employment Matters
• Financial Products/Services
• Housing Disrepair
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits
• Personal Injury”

www.fightyourcorner.com was launched in October 2006 to provide subscription free access to problem-solving business advice for small and medium sized businesses through a UK wide team of specialist advisers on a number of subjects ranging from Employment Law and Health & Safety to Business Recovery/Liquidation and Vat.

The initiative was welcomed by the Federation of Small Businesses, whose regional chairman Tim Steward said: “Small businesses often have neither the time nor the expertise to get the best deal for themselves and any help from experts is always welcome”

The enterprise was also supported by The Business Gateway and the local Chamber of Commerce whose director Alasdair Kerr said: “This is a quality business that will add value to the business community”

Robin Carlyle, who was a director of his local Chamber of Commerce, said “I often find it difficult to access the right advice when I need it for issues including Vat, Employment Law, Health & Safety, Insurance and a number of other subjects which arise unexpectedly. Due to the increasing amount of complex legislation being introduced on a regular basis, it is impossible for business executives to keep up with it all and inevitably and quite innocently, we fall into a trap and need some specialist help. This is where “fightyourcorner.com” comes in and through our specialist team, we provide a free initial confidential consultation and if necessary, fight your corner.”

For further information and assistance with business issues, call: 0800 130 0473 or
Email: mailbox@fightyourcorner.com

In todays economic climate, redundancy is a harsh reality for employees and employers. Employees fear losing their jobs and employers fear that if they don’t cut costs their companies will not survive.  In this article we discuss the key areas that employees and employers should consider if faced with redundancy. (more…)

When things are not going well with your business, as is the case with a lot of businesses at the moment, it is difficult to see the wood from the trees.  It is therefore important to recognise the warning signs and seek advice early.  Most Business Recovery specialists or Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) offer a free “Business Health Check” or initial consultation.
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HMRC has issued in excess of 800,000 fines to construction related companies since the CIS TAX came into being in April last year. (more…)

The use of parts of residential properties for business purposes is growing and becoming more and more popular, particularly for small businesses. However, many business are not taking advantage of the mortgage interest relief on offer.
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If you employ more than 50 people, you should be complying with the ICE Directive (The Information and Consulting Regulations) which came into force on 6^th April 2008. As a result, you will be legally bound to inform and consult with your workforce in permanent collective representative structures, i.e. European Works Councils (EWCs). This came into effect for larger companies employing 150 plus people in April 2005 and has now been extended to smaller companies of 50 employees or more.

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We recently got a call from an employer in Buckinghamshire who had a serious problem with an applicant for a position they had advertised.

The applicant, who was deaf, contacted the company to ask why he had not received the opportunity of an interview. Unfortunately, the wrong person took the call, informing the applicant that the company did not have any sign language facilities within the organisation.

The applicant sued the company under the DDA and at a subsequent tribunal was awarded £11,000 compensation.
fightyourcorner.com was contacted by the employer with a view to an appeal but, due to the circumstances, our Employment Law team advised the employer “not to throw good money after bad”. There was very little chance of the appeal being successful.

In addition to non compliance with DDA, the other lesson to be learned here is to make sure that whoever is dealing with employment issues is fully conversant with the latest employment law and DDA legislation. This is virtually impossible for most employers, who simply do not have sufficient time to keep up to date with all the complex constantly changing legislation being introduced.

This is one of the main reasons why fightyourcorner.com was set up 18 months ago. We are here to help employers, through our UK wide team of advisers, when problems arise and also in addition to being reactive, we help in a proactive way with advice on employment law strategy to help employers avoid the very serious problems, as illustrated here.

For further information and assistance with a confidential free initial consultation, call 0800 130 0473 or email: mailbox@fightyourcorner.com

A new Statutory Instrument, 2008 No 1276, was introduced on 26th May entitled “The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008” which should be taken into account when preparing the content of adverts, web pages and brochures.

It prohibits misleading advertising and sets out conditions for comparative advertising. Breach of it is a criminal offence and will lead to investigation by the Office of Fair Trading and/or The Weights and Measures Authorities.

Emphasis is placed on being fair with advertising to trade and consumers alike.

For more information click here.

For further information and assistance, call 0800 130 0473 or email:

mailbox@fightyourcorner.com or visit: www.fightyourcorner.com

Good debt management should protect companies affected by sudden changes in contract terms.

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Are you aware that the new Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act came into force on 6^th April 2008?

For those who are unaware of it, it is worth spending a brief amount of time getting familiar with it as the ramifications from a business and company’s perspective are extremely onerous.

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