It's important for all businesses to have systems in place to determine whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors, as tax, super and other government obligations are different depending on whether the working arrangement is employment or contracting.
Employees generally have PAYG withholding, super and fringe benefits tax paid by the employer. Contractors generally look after their own tax obligations. If you get it wrong and fail to meet your obligations, you risk having to pay penalties and charges. Long gone are the days when accepting a directorship meant occasionally turning up to a company’s annual general meeting, accepting a director’s fee and turning a blind eye to how a company was actually being run.
In recent years, with increasing regularity and at times severity, Australian Courts have made it clear that directors have significant personal responsibilities and duties and may be held to be personally accountable and liable for breaches of those duties. Steps you can a take to mitigate against personal liability From the outset it is essential that a director fully understands and complies with the scope of any duties that come with the directorship in order to be able to take appropriate steps and to act in such a way that personal liability is limited. It is also important that if you are a director you take steps to maximise the protection the company of which you are a director is able to provide to you. Finally it is also recommended that a director understands any cover provided under a directors’ and officers’ insurance policy especially any exclusions or limitations that may be in place. It is crucial that people who have a security interest in personal property take it seriously or risk losing their security interests.
Many businesses are struggling to understand the implications of the Personal Property Security Register (PPSR). In this article we have provided a simple summary and a timely warning about what to do, following changes that were implemented to the Personal Property Securities Act (PPS Act) in 2014. If you are in business, whether it’s in the capacity of a company director, in management or if you represent a company as its accountant, you must know of the power of a Statutory Demand. This article sets out the huge benefits in using this as a method of very quickly and effectively collecting a debt. Alternatively, if your company receives a Statutory Demand you will see the need to act urgently and seek immediate legal advice.
When renting business related property it is important for both landlords and tenants to understand the relationship they are entering into and the rights and obligations that they each have, the document that governs this relationship is usually a Commercial Lease.
So what is a Commercial Lease? A lease is a legally binding contract that gives you certain rights to a property for a set term. A commercial lease is used when leasing property used primarily for a business. Common examples include office accommodation and industrial premises. You should never sign a lease without understanding all of its terms and conditions. If you don't understand what you are agreeing to you could experience serious financial and legal problems. It's important to properly investigate the property and lease document before you sign. It is a good idea to ask your lawyer to explain each clause of the lease to you. Your lawyer can give you legal advice, draft new clauses and help you negotiate the terms and conditions to suit you. Most people recognise the importance of having a Will to determine how their estate is distributed when they pass. If you are self-employed, a partner or co-director, having a ‘Will’ or succession plan for your business is equally important.
Think about what may happen to your business when a key partner dies or is incapacitated. Generally, business partners are mutually dependent owner/ operators – each relying on the other/s for their skills, expertise and capital so the business can prosper. The death or incapacity of a key player causes unprecedented interruption. The continuing partners need to fill a void and, unless funds are available to buy out the departing owner’s share, there is uncertainty over the future control and sustainability of the business. Business disruption due to the death or terminal illness of a partner however, can be controlled through buy-sell insurance and an effective buy-sell agreement. The contentious data retention laws passed by the Federal Parliament in 2015 which allowed Telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers until April 2017 to fulfil their implementation plans are now in effect.
The data retention laws require telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP) to keep records of consumer metadata for a minimum period of two years. Background Law enforcement agencies have publicly identified the lack of availability of data as a key and growing impediment to the ability to investigate and to prosecute serious offences. The changes to the data retention laws provide additional tools which reflect the level of change in the telecommunications environment in the last 15 years. To better understand the laws we have provided an overview below of some of the key issues. Terms of Trade are the terms and conditions on which a business sells goods and services to customers and on which they buy goods and services from suppliers.
These terms form the basis for the trading relationships for all businesses. If a business is the supplier of goods or services then it should have written terms of trade which:
A lot of businesses don’t take the opportunity to set the terms on which they do business which can mean they are left at a commercial disadvantage, or worse, a legal disadvantage if the transaction does not go according to plan. It is important that the terms of trade are set and understood before any commercial dealings have taken place. Intellectual property (IP) is the property of your mind or proprietary knowledge and can be an invention, a trade mark, a design or the practical application of your idea.
It is important that you understand how to protect IP as it is a valuable business asset and it will usually be easier and cheaper taking enforcement action following a breach of your rights if they have been protected “up front”. In this article we provide an overview of the different types of IP and look at the basics for protecting your IP rights. Employers can easily fall into dispute with their employees by failing to properly handle redundancies. There is often uncertainty surrounding redundancy, in terms of handling it within the law, as well as cost.
Redundancy commonly occurs when a business is sold and a new owner offers jobs to the vendor's existing workforce. Some employees decline the offer of employment by the new owner. In this context, an issue can arise as to whether or not redundancy payments need to be made to an employee who rejects an offer of employment by the new owner. |
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