commercial and personal solicitors

·                     Waste Transfer Notes Most businesses produce “controlled waste”-and as a disposer you have a number of duties imposed on you. One of those duties is to ensure that you get (and keep for at least 2 years) a Waste Transfer Note which records the movement of the waste; it needs to properly completed, be signed by all parties and is your proof that the waste has been properly disposed of. It needs to state accurately what the waste is, and contain details of the contractor’s disposal licence, the date and place of collection, and should include both your signature (or the person responsible for it in your business) and the driver of the collection vehicle. A breach of the relevant legislation can attract an unlimited fine at the Crown Court. Fortunately, if you have just one regular contractor you only need one note at the start as long as it states the first and last collection date (up to a maximum of 12 months apart).

·                     Drinking at work A recent survey by Norwich Union revealed that up to a third of employees have come into work with a hangover, and 15% had been actually drunk at work. Leaving aside the probable effects on their performance, this has potentially serious safety implications particularly if they operate machinery or drive. If you suspect you have a problem, implement a formal alcohol and drug policy through your employment contracts so that you can take action if necessary.

·                     Suspension trauma This is a little-known but potentially fatal consequence of being suspended while upright with the legs motionless beneath the body. This situation most commonly arises when someone falls but is restrained by a harness for example, and they are unable to move their legs. After 5 minutes they are highly likely to be unconscious, and they may be dead in 15. For an employer this means that, if your employees use fall arrest equipment, you must also have a rescue plan and training to recover people who have fallen. The HSE has useful guidance on its website. For the rest of us, the potential consequences of an apparently trivial event are so serious, and could arise in so many different ways (particularly with children), I think its well worth knowing more -there’s a detailed article about it at http://www.suspensiontrauma.info/

·                     Springboard injunctions Employees often carry around a lot of confidential information about your business in their heads-so what can you do to stop them using it to start their own competing business? All employees owe a duty of fidelity, and senior employees may also owe a fiduciary duty (a much higher obligation). But a properly drafted employment contract containing restrictive covenants that prevent this kind of abuse is a much easier place to start-the Courts are increasingly willing to grant injunctions to enforce them, preventing an employee using your information as a springboard to start a competing business. Without them, your options are limited. You should also check that an employee that is leaving hasn’t been using or even copying your computerised data for their own purposes. You can also cover this kind of abuse by appropriate restrictions in your employment contracts.