Welcome to JK Total Business Solutions. I thought I would start off with a few FAQs that many small businesses have when it comes to Compliance.
What is ‘Compliance’?
Seems like it would be an obvious one, but many small businesses don’t think of ‘compliance’ as affecting them; they think it is only for larger businesses or those in specific sectors, such as banking and finance, etc. But all businesses will have some form of regulation and legislation they have to comply with.
All of a business’s policies and procedures are designed to ensure that it complies with the regulations and legislation that affects it. Knowing what those regulations are is important for a business to understand what risks it may face, as well as ensuring that it is offering the highest quality services to its customers.
I’m a Sole Trader – Why Would this Apply to My Business?
Regulations can affect all businesses – regardless of whether they are a sole trader or a large, multi-national corporation. It will depend entirely on what you do. If you are a childminder, for instance, you will be collecting personal information of the children you look after, and their parents or guardians and so will need to be registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office in order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations UK.
If you are a small company and you have a website, you will need to have a privacy and cookie policy under the same Regulations.
If you are a builder, you have to abide by the requirements of the CITB and, if working on larger building sites, have a CSCS card. You will also have a number of Health & Safety rules you will need to be aware of and abide by. If you are a HGV driver, you will have to know and abide by the regulations around the hours you are allowed to drive – not just the UK rules, but the EU rules if you drive in the EU. Though you probably won’t need to have any policies in place for these as you can rely on the companies that employ you on a contractor or freelance basis, you still need to understand how the regulations affect you.
If you owned a small shop, however, you have a higher level of responsibility because you will be inviting members of the public into your shop to buy your goods. That means you will have various health and safety requirements you need to adhere to and will need to have policies in place showing you have done your risk assessments, etc. You will also need to ensure you have the right insurance cover in place in case anyone trips or falls whilst inside your shop – or even whilst leaving your shop if the fall occurs on your threshold.
Why use JK Total Business Solutions?
JKTBS has a wealth of experience in sorting out the regulatory and compliance needs. We have worked for businesses small and large and ensured that there is the right type of policies and procedures in place that are appropriate to the size and complexity of the business. We have template policies that can be easily and cheaply customisable for the smaller business and can also draft bespoke policies for those businesses that need something a bit more complex.
We like to get to know our clients and their businesses to ensure that we are giving the best service and advice possible. An initial discussion of your business’s needs is free, so drop us a line or give us a call.