5 Areas of Compliance Your Business Must Consider
Every business needs to comply with certain laws in order to legally operate. There are so many different areas of compliance - some of which are specific to certain industries. However, there are a few main areas which largely apply to every business. Below are those main areas of compliance (and how to make sure that you are compliant).
Health and Safety
No business wants to be responsible for the physical harm of others. Health and safety laws are in place to stop injuries and accidents from happening. This includes everything from making sure employees wear PPE to making sure that your premises complies with fire safety laws.
The best way to make sure that your company is compliant is to host a health and safety audit. This is carried out by a qualified health and safety inspector who can assess all the risks of your business. In some industries, an inspection is required before you even open and may be continued to be carried out every year or two. On top of making sure that your business meets the minimum requirements, it’s worth also putting in place a few advisory health and safety measures to further reduce injuries and lawsuits.
Data Security/Privacy
It’s important that you respect people’s privacy when collecting data. It’s also important that you adequately secure the sensitive data of your clients and employees. Various laws ranging from GDPR to state data privacy laws dictate how data should be protected.
How do I find out which laws I should be following? And what measures do I need to put in place to implement these laws? IT support companies like CMIT solutions can tell you everything you need to know about data compliance. It’s worth noting that there are added certificates you can apply for that involve securing your company further - these certificates can build extra trust among clients.
Marketing
There are certain things that you cannot do when marketing your business. This includes false advertising tactics and sending emails/cold calling without permission (such as unwillingly subscribing someone to your mailing list or ringing someone on a Do Not Call list).
By outsourcing marketing companies to do your marketing, you can usually ensure that tactics are legal. Alternatively, you can always seek legal advice from a business lawyer to check that what you are doing is legally acceptable.
Employee rights
Your employees have certain rights that you need to fulfill as an employer. This includes things like paying the minimum wage, not discriminating against employees and fairly dismissing employees.
A solicitor or HR adviser that understands employment law can run over all of the legal requirements that you need to follow as an employer if you are unsure of anything. This is useful before you hire your first employees.
Taxes
Your company needs to pay the right amount of tax. Fail to pay your taxes - or underpay your taxes - and you could be heavily fined or even jailed.
Many companies hire an accountant to make sure that their taxes are accurately calculated and paid in good time. There is also accounting software that can automate much of the process. Make sure to use these resources if you have any concerns about overpaying taxes. This post on the IRS website explains more about tax compliance.