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regulations that govern the trading activities of most business ventures。
Getting a licence or permit
Some businesses； such as those working with food or alcohol； employment
agencies； mini…cabs and hairdressers； need a licence or permit before they
can set up in business at all。 Even playing music in public； recorded or live；
or pu。。ing table and chairs on a pavement means ge。。ing permission from
someone。 Your local authority planning department can advise you on
what rules will apply to your business。 You can also use this Business Link
website （businesslink。gov。uk 》 Your type of business） from which
you can use their interactive tool to find out which permits； licences and
registrations will apply and where to get more information。
Advertising and descriptive standards
Any advertising or promotion you undertake concerning your business
and its products and services； including descriptions on packaging； leaflets
and instructions and those given verbally； have to ply with the relevant
Business Law 181
regulations。 You can’t just make any claims you believe to be appropriate
for your business。 Such claims must be decent； honest； truthful and take
into account your wider responsibilities to consumers and anyone else
likely to be affected； if you say anything that is misleading or fails to meet
any of these tests then you could leave yourself open to being sued。
The five bodies concerned with se。。ing the standards and enforcing the
rules are：
。 The Advertising Authority （asa。uk 》 Advertising Codes） for
printed ma。。er； newspapers； magazines and so forth and the internet。
。 Of （wwwof。uk 》 About Of 》 pliance； Accessibility
and Diversity） is responsible for ensuring advertisements on television
and radio ply with rules on what can and cannot be advertised；
including any special conditions such as the timing and content of
material aimed at children。
。 The Financial Services Authority （fsa。gov。uk 》 Being regulated
》 Financial Promotions） has the responsibility to see that financial
promotions are clear； fair and not misleading。
。 The Office of Fair Trading （o。。。gov。uk 》 Advice and resources 》
Resource base 》 Approved codes of practice） is responsible for ensuring
that advertisements are not misleading or make unfair or exaggerated
parisons with other products and services and to help consumers
find businesses that have high standards of customer service。
。 Trading Standards （tradingstandards。gov。uk 》 For business 》
guidance leaflets 》 Trade Descriptions） covers anything such as quantity；
size； position； method of manufacture； strength； performance； place
of manufacture； date； brand name； conformity with any recognized
standard or history。
plaints； returns and refunds
Customers buying products are entitled to expect that the goods are ‘fit
for purpose’ in that they can do what they claim； and； if the customer has
informed you of a particular need； that they are suitable for that purpose。
The goods also have to be of ‘satisfactory quality’； that is； durable and
without defects that would affect performance or prevent their enjoyment。
For services； you must carry out the work with reasonable skill and care and
provide it within a reasonable amount of time。 The word reasonable is not
defined and is applied in relation to each type of service。 So； for example；
repairing a shoe might reasonably be expected to take a week； while three
months would be unreasonable。
If goods or services don’t meet these conditions； customers can claim a
refund。 If they have altered or waited an excessive amount of time before
182 The Thirty…Day MBA
plaining or have indicated in any other way that they have ‘accepted’；
they may not be entitled to a refund； but may still be able to claim some
money back for a period of up to six years。 Trading Standards （
tradingstandards。gov。uk 》 For business 》 guidance leaflets 》 A Trader’s
Guide to the Civil Law Relating to the Sale and Supply of Goods and
Services） provides a summarized guide to the relevant laws in clear plain
English。
Distance selling and online trading
Selling by mail order via the internet； television； radio； telephone； fax or
catalogue requires that you ply with some additional rules over and
above those concerning the sale of goods and services described above。 In
summary； you have to provide wri。。en information； an order confirmation；
and the chance to cancel the contract。 During the cooling…off period
customers have the unconditional right to cancel within seven working
days； provided they have informed you in writing by le。。er； fax or e…mail。
There are； however； a wide range of exemptions to the right to cancel；
including： acmodation； transport； food； newspapers； audio or video
recordings and goods made to a customer’s specification。 The Office of Fair
Trading （o。。。gov。uk 》 Advice and resources 》 Advice for businesses 》
Selling at a distance） publishes a guide for business on distance selling。
Protecting customer data
If you hold personal information on a puter on any living person； customer
or employee for example； then there is a good chance you need to
register under the Data Protection Act。 The rules state that the information
held must have been obtained fairly； be accurate； held only for as long as
necessary and held only for a lawful purpose。
You can check if you are likely to need to register using the interactive
tool on the Business Link website （businesslink。gov。uk 》 IT & emerce
》 Data protection and your business 》 ply with data
protection legislation）。
Consumer credit licence
If you plan to let your customers buy on credit； or hire out or lease products
to private individuals or to businesses； then you will in all probability have
to apply to be licensed to provide credit。 If you think you may need to be
licensed； read the regulations on the website of the Office of Fair Trading
（o。。。gov。uk 》 Advice and resources 》 Advice for businesses 》 Offering
credit 》 Do you need a credit licence）。
Business Law 183
EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
Employing people full or part time is something of a legal minefield； starting
with the job advert and culminating with the point at which you decide
to part pany。 Three prehensive sources of information on the legal
aspects of employment are：
。 Acas （acas。uk 》 Our publications 》 Rights at work leaflets） is a
link to free leaflets provided by the Advisory and Conciliation Service；
who should know a thing or two about employment law。
。 Business Link （businesslink。gov。uk 》 Employing people 》
Recruitment and ge。。ing started）。
。 TheSite （thesite 》 Work & Study 》 Working 》 Workers’
Rights） is a site run by YouthNet UK； a charity that helps young people
have access to high…quality； impartial information as an aid to making
decisions。 It covers everything to do with work； including drug testing
at work。 While the site’s centre of gravity is young people； the law as
described applies to employers。
Advertising the job
As with any advertising； you are governed by the laws on discrimination
and equal opportunities。 That means that any reference to gender； age；
nationality； sexual orientation or religion is not permi。。ed。 You can still
describe the job and the ideal candidate in terms of their experience； knowledge；
a。。itude and qualifications。 For tips on the sentences you can use；
visit VizualHR （oneclickhr 》 HR Guide 》 Recruitment &
Selection 》 Recruitment）。 The basic information； tips about the applicant；
the organization； the job and the job package are free and very adequate；
you have to subscribe for fuller information。
Contracts of employment
Employers are required to give employees a contract of employment within
two months of their starting work。 The contract has to contain all the
obvious things such as where the job is to be； what the responsibilities are；
pay； holiday entitlement； as well as details on sick pay； pension； period of
notice and the grievance and disciplinary procedure。
Business Link （businesslink。gov。uk 》 Employing people 》
Paperwork 》 Create a wri。。en statement of employment） has an interactive
tool to create a document of everything you are required by law to give a
new employee。 The law requires that all workers have a statutory right to
at least four weeks’ paid annual leave； pro rata for part…timers； that you
184 The Thirty…Day MBA
pay the statutory minimum wage； dependent on the age of the employee；
that they work within the working time limits （48 hours a week）； and that
parents are entitled to periods of paid leave when they have children （up to
52 weeks for women and one or two weeks for men）。
Employment records
Employers must maintain records on employees； keeping note of absences；
sickness； disputes； disciplinary ma。。ers； accidents； training； holidays and
any appraisals or performance reviews。 If you have an unsatisfactory
employee and want to dismiss them； this information will be vital。
OyezWaterlow （oyezwaterlow。uk 》 HR Paper Forms） has a record
keeping system priced at ￡78。95。
So。。ware such as that provided by Vizual Management Solutions （
vizualms。uk 》 Personnel Manager） will cost several times that of the
paper version and for most small businesses will add li。。le value。 If you can
write a simple database program using so。。ware such as Access then that
is worth exploring。 If you keep records on a puter you will need to be
mindful of the Data Protection Act as it applies to employee records。 You
can get that from the Information missioner’s Office （ico。gov。uk
》 For organizations 》 Data protection guide）。
Safety at work
Employers have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that anyone working for you
is working in a safe environment and is not exposed to possible health
and safety hazards。 You need to make an assessment of risk and working
conditions covering everything from fire exits to ensuring that ventilation；
temperature； lighting and toilet facilities meet health and safety
requirements。 The Health and Safety Executive （hse。gov。uk 》
Businesses 》 Small businesses） has ready…made risk assessment forms and
a basic guide to health and safety at work。
Unfair dismissal
Although it’s the handful of cases usually brought by City workers that grab
the headlines； some 180；000 unfair dismissal claims are filed with tribunals
each year： 40；000 of those proceed to a hearing and just under half of those
are won by the employee； with the average claim being se。。led for ￡5；000。
Employers who have been through the process say that it’s the stress and
administrative burden rather than the se。。lement itself that is of greatest
concern。 You can find a list of fair reasons for dismissing an employee on
Monster’s Employment Law （wwwpactlaw。uk/monster/empf9。
html）。 Also Iambeingfired （iambeingfired。uk 》 Claim Evaluator）
Business Law 185
is worth examining as it gives the employee’s side of the argument。 The
Claim Evaluator Tool takes an employee through a series of questions to
see if they have a case for unfair dismissal； which could be useful as MBAs
are o。。en high on the casualty list during restructuring or a。。er acquisitions。
The site also has prehensive information on all aspects of employment
law that impinges on the likelihood of being dismissed。
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The holy grail of petitive business strategy is to have a product or
service with sufficient unique advantage to make it stand out from others in
Societé Générale； the French bank； reported a trading loss of �4。9 billion
on 24 January 2008 after liquidating �50 billion in what the bank says
were unauthorized futures positions taken by a relatively junior trader；
Jerome Kerviel。 The bank claims that Kerviel forged documents and
e…mails to suggest he had hedged his positions。 But Kerviel insists that
his bosses at SocGen； as the bank is generally known； must have been
aware of his massive risk taking； and turned a blind eye as long as he
was making money for the bank。
Kerviel plans to file a plaint for unfair dismissal and extract
pensation from his employer based around three points of defence。
First； Societé G�