Legal compliance is a crucial part of running any business. No matter what industry your business is in, it’ll be subject to lots of rules and regulations – some of which you may have never thought of.

Does Your Business Really Need to Follow All Guidelines?

In short, yes. You may think the litany of regulations are frivolous, but it’s not worth risking fines, prosecution or the downfall of your business.

Put it this way: you won’t get away with feigning ignorance. Simply “not knowing” about certain guidelines won’t get you off the hook.

This is how Health and Safety law differs from criminal law: in criminal law, you’re innocent until proven guilty, but for Health and Safety compliance, you must prove your innocence (by, say, offering proof of your compliance and Duty of Care practices).

So, if you’ve got an inkling that your business is cutting corners, don’t bury your head in the sand. It’s better to be professional and feel at ease knowing your conducting business the way regulatory bodies expect you to.

What if Your Business Fails to Comply?

You will be prosecuted. Fines, closure and even prison sentences are all possible for those who fail to follow business legislation.

Here’s a few hypotheticals:

  • You’re not so clued up on Waste Management guidelines, so rather than look into it, you just chuck everything into your general waste bins.
  • You’ve not bothered to implement any fire safety procedures, because you don’t think it’s all that likely that you’ll need them.
  • You don’t even know what Legionella is, and you haven’t heard anything about it from other business owners, so that must mean it’s not important.

Surely it won’t make any difference, and no one will find out – so no harm done… right?

Wrong.

Businesses get reported all the time for this sort of activity.

What if an employee doesn’t feel safe in your premises because you haven’t implemented sufficient Health and Safety procedures? They’d be well within their rights to report you. Or maybe you put a hazardous substance or sharp implement in your general waste and it ends up harming someone – then it’s you who is responsible for that injury, and the courts will see it that way too.

Thinking you can “get away with it” is a dangerous presumption, one that puts your business in constant jeopardy.

Save Lives with Legal Compliance

We’ve made the point that legal compliance will help your business to avoid prosecution, but that’s just one minor part of it.

Safety is at the heart of many business guidelines. They’ve been created to make workplaces safer, healthier and more pleasant for owners, employees and visitors alike.

Adhering to Health and Safety rules, from electrical testing to pest control, eliminates your responsibility in injuries or fatalities.

Is it Really Possible to be 100% Compliant?

It is possible, but trying to handle all the guidelines on your own can be massively time-consuming and take you away from the day-to-day running of your business.

Without professional help, legal compliance is difficult to keep on top off. Now, by professional help, we don’t mean you need to go and pay for legal advice. If you pick the right provider of services, then their professional help comes as part of that service – as does their legal compliance. When using a company, check that they comply with the relevant regulatory bodies, so your business does too.

In short, use an accredited, legally compliant supplier, and your adherence to the regulations becomes literally effortless.

How to Find Out More About the Regulations You Should Follow

It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the regulatory bodies that specifically apply to your business.

Start with broader legislation, like the Health and Safety Executive, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the International Organisation for Standardisation. Then narrow down your focus to industry-specific associations:

Talk to other businesses owners or simply hop online to get an instant idea of the things you ought to be doing.

Legal Compliance with Direct365

Let us reiterate: saving a bit of money by not following the rules is not worth it. Trust us, it will cost you more in the long run.

So now you should be thinking about what sorts of services or supplies your business needs to be legally compliant. Where to start?

Luckily, we’ve taken the hassle out of sourcing help from lots of different companies. Come to us, you’re one-stop-shop for a range of legally compliant services and facilities – including COVID-19 protection.




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