Essential Legal Considerations For Any Start-Up

When you’re first starting a business, there are all kinds of factors you need to consider. You’ll need to think about the gap in the market that you’re going to exploit, how you’re going to secure finances needed to get your idea off the ground, and the best way to market your product or service to a given target audience. One of the most important things to do is making sure you’re staying in-line with all the laws that apply to whatever business you’re starting. Here are some of the most important legal considerations you’ll need to cover… 


Choosing the Right Structure 

Choosing the correct legal structure for your business is absolutely essential, as it will have major implications for the long-term future of the business. The structure you select will depend on a number of things, including the niche you’re planning to occupy, how much financial risk you’re willing to take on, your required level of flexibility, and tax consequences. Generally, there are four main structures that you can choose from: sole proprietorship, limited liability company, partnership, and corporation. Do a little research on the legal implications, pros and cons of each one, and make your decision accordingly. 

Document the Structure 

If you’ve settled on a partnership structure, or you’re otherwise going into business with another person, it’s always a good idea to document the arrangement. Having the rights and obligations of all involved parties is particularly useful in the event of a massive success, or disputes between the different owners. Either or both of these might seem very unlikely, but nothing’s ever certain in the life of a business! Partnership agreements and shareholder agreements are two of the most common documents used to outline the relationships between different parties, but you may need something bespoke depending on the kind of business you’re planning to launch. Again, a lot of diligent research, coupled with some discussions with an experienced commercial lawyer, will put everything in perspective for you. 

Your Employer Responsibilities


Unless you’re planning to make it as a sole trader indefinitely, you need to spend some time considering the conditions of employment that you’re going to be offering to your staff. In the vast majority of countries, there are certain standards that all businesses need to meet, such as minimum wage, along with severance and redundancy pay agreements that provide a safety net for employees. A little reading is generally all you need to make sure you’re going to be complying with these standards. One of the most important, and unfortunately, most commonly overlooked employer responsibilities, is compliance with health and safety laws. You’re going to need to make sure there are policies in place for preventing health and safety hazards in the workplace, and may have to source HSE clothing and equipment, or add modifications like fall protection systems and emergency lighting to your business premises. You may want to guarantee certain things for your employees above and beyond the legal requirements, simply to make your business more attractive during recruitment drives. Either way, having formal agreements in place between the business and its employees will document the rights and obligations of each party, and avoid any disputes that could occur. 

Protect your Intellectual Property 

You’re putting a lot of time and money into getting this business off the ground, so naturally, you’ll want to protect its assets as best as you can. Intellectual property is an extremely important asset to cover, and unfortunately, one that many promising entrepreneurs simply fail to think about. Our intellectual property includes things like your website domain name, brand name, trademark, copyright, and the schematics and recipes for any products that you’ve created and brought to market. It’s pretty common for inexperienced business owners to underestimate the value of their intellectual property, but it can in fact be one of your company’s biggest assets. You can also protect yourself legally by having professionally drafted terms and conditions. This is particularly important when it comes to payment terms; your employees aren’t going to be exactly thrilled if you’re not making enough profit to pay them! Privacy policies are also very important, especially in this increasingly digital world of ours. First of all, this will ensure that your company is in-step with modern privacy laws. Furthermore, it will assure your customers that you value them, and take a professional approach to protecting their personal information. 

If the legal aspects of starting a business were making your head hurt, we hope that this brief guide has made everything much clearer.

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