Having and running your own business can be extremely challenging at times, but the upside is that it can also be very profitable. In the past, the fruit of your labors went to your boss, and all you received was a meager salary every week. That has all been turned on its head now, and you are the sole person who will benefit the most from a successful business. This is why you need to do everything that you can to protect what is yours, and to reduce your liabilities. No business owner wants to be involved in a lawsuit with a wholesaler, competitor, or customer, and so it is essential that they hire themselves a professional, that understands the intricacies of business law, and general law.
It is your business lawyer’s job to make sure that you are not contacted by compensation lawyers on behalf of your customers, because you have failed to meet the terms of a contract, or maybe a customer has been hurt while shopping on your premises. A lawsuit can be incredibly time consuming, expensive, and this can really drive your emotions to the edge. There is a culture of going to lawyers now, that was never prominent in the past, and so as a business owner, you need to take steps to protect yourself from the expenses that might come, from an unfavorable decision in a court of law. The following are some of the ways that your business can avoid a lawsuit.
- Separate yourself from liability – If you operate as a sole trader, then you are leaving yourself open to liability when it comes to a judgment against your business. Your personal property, including your home, your back accounts, and any other assets that you might have, will be open to recovery in the event that you receive an unfavorable decision in the law courts. The best thing that you can do is to incorporate your business, and try to separate yourself from these liabilities. This way, if you do get sued, they can only take the assets that are associated with your business. A good business lawyer can help you to minimize liability, plus they can assist you with business formation and tax strategies, and ensure that you have adequate insurance to cover every eventuality. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to minimize risk and taking out specific insurance policies helps to protect your business from compensation claims.
- Staff Training – If your employees receive the right training, this will minimize the risk of accidents, indeed, many companies hire manual handling experts to put together a course to teach staff correct manual handling techniques that prevent back and neck injuries. If you would like to learn more about manual handling training, a Google search will put you in touch with a provider and they would be happy to visit your business premises and carry out an inspection to see exactly what your workers do. This allows them to create a short training session when they can demonstrate correct manual handling techniques, and the session would take half a day and would include all relevant employees.
- Get the relevant insurance – You need to talk to your local insurance company to set up a policy that will help you to meet your legal fees and other liability costs, in the event of a loss in court. There are a wide number of liability policies currently available, and so you need to take your time and consider which is the right insurance policy for you. Many businesses across Australia take out liability insurance that helps protect them in the event that an employee decides to file a lawsuit, due to getting hurt while doing their job. You can also get insurance policies that protect you in the event that a mistake is made during a contract, and so you need to talk to an insurance broker to figure out which policy is best for you. You will need public liability insurance of at least a few million dollars, which would cover most things, and if you are employing staff, you will also need employer’s liability insurance, plus your business premises, stock, vehicles and other assets should all be insured.
The above are a few of examples of the many things that you can do to protect yourself. Others include the need to draft legal contracts that protect your interests. The addition of company policies and procedures with regard to the workplace, is something else that you really need to consider, and hiring a good business lawyer is the best way to move forward in regard to protecting your business. A Google search will put you in touch with an established business lawyer who can help to protect your business, and they would offer you a free initial consultation, when the expert can show you a range of business protection solutions.
