With the UK economy and housing market teetering and consumer confidence plunging, many UK businesses are facing tough times ahead Business owners will have to ride out the coming storm, and ensuring that their companies have no legal or operational vulnerabilities will be a crucial part of this

There’s no denying it – buying a business creates a real buzz of excitement The key is to make sure this keenness doesn’t cloud your judgement and leave you with a business you don’t want, or don’t know the full history of

Every employer, at some point or another, will have to fire one of their employees It isn’t easy, and it certainly isn’t fun, but whether it is because of economic cutbacks or a poorly performing employee, sooner or later it is going to happen

Each year, October is usually the month when a wide variety of changes to employment, company and trading law are rolled out Many of these of are small changes, and many more will not be applicable to your particular business, but be careful – getting caught out by the changes could lead to a serious legal headache

Contracts of employment come in all shapes and sizes, but if you’re in full time employment and not a freelancer there are certain guarantees you should be entitled to If your contract doesn’t contain these things, your employer is breaking the lawy – and if you’re the employer, well – you could be leaving yourself open to costly legal battles should your employees feel litigious

So you’ve had enough of your start-up business, and want to sell it while the going’s good and move on to better things (or simply retire on the profit you make)

Sport and activity holidays are hugely popular nowadays, as people look to practice their skills in a new environment or even learn an entirely new sport as part of their holiday Many sports and activities, like skydiving and scuba diving, can be much cheaper to do abroad than in the UK

It sounds like an obvious cliché to say it, but like many clichés there’s truth in it: happy employees are more productive And yet it’s amazing how often you hear of companies suffering from massive turnover, instability and a failure to live up to their full potential by ignoring this

Employment contracts are some of the most important UK business documents you will ever sign in your working life, and yet they are written in a deliberately convoluted and confusing manner, which often makes it difficult to get the clear points of what you’re signing up for Take your time, and read and re-read every contract, but pay special attention to the clauses, to ensure you understand them

In today’s business world, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements are becoming increasingly important for businesses looking to protect themselves from damaging leaks Most employee contracts will contain some kind of confidentiality agreement as standard, but these kinds of agreements are very important if you share information with another company for any reason, or if you hire outside contractors to work for your business