Monday 19 September 2011

Legal advice – helping you make sense of it all

One of the most important aspects of any business is to make sure that their business documents are not only easy to understand, but also legally binding, both at home and abroad. At Net Lawman, we have the legal document and expertise to help you do just that – and all in easy to understand, no-nonsense English.

The universal language of business

No matter where you are in the world, English is still regarded as the universal language for businesses trading with overseas customers. Our Indian clients do a great deal of trade with the UK, and to make sure your business documents are relevant not just in India but in the UK as well, you need to make sure that they are written in clear, concise language that transcends international borders. The development of the Internet has made the global marketplace possible. So if your business has links across the ocean and across continents, you need to make sure that your business documents are right first time, every time.

By talking to Net Lawman, you can get Legal Agreements that is applicable to you and your business. Whether you’re drawing up trade agreements or want to open an office overseas, our experts can give you these legal advices you need to make it happen.

Relevant and easy to understand

Our experts have a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of legal protocol, both in India and the UK. We give you clear, concise legal advice that can help your business move forward, without getting bogged down in red tape and jargon-stuffed documentation that can do more to hinder your business plans, rather than help them. By standardising your business documents and taking on board our legal advice, you can make your business grow across the world.

So if you would like to know how Net Lawman can help you create easy to understand and legally binding business documents or need legal advice and information, contact us direct and speak to one of our expert advisors. Alternatively, browse our website to find out more about our range of services and document templates.

Purpose of Employee Handbook

Employee handbook is an important tool to bind employees according to company’s policies, and to increase the efficiency of company.

Employee Handbooks are also often called Employee Manual. The Handbook/Manual is a statement of the policies of the business and how the business is to be conducted. The company employee handbook is one of the most important communication tools between your company and your employees. Not only does it set forth your expectations for your employees, but it also describes what they can expect from the company. It is essential that your company has one and that it be clear and as unambiguous as possible. Misunderstandings or misstatements can create legal liabilities for your business. In legal disputes courts have considered an employee handbook to be a contractual obligation, so word it carefully.

Purpose of Employee Handbook

It can help to welcome new staff, provides employees and managers with a handy source of reference and, by providing clear guidelines and policies in one document, you spend less time answering questions and explaining your rules and procedures.

Handbook must be clear and concise

The handbook should be written in a clear, simple, and easy to read style. Avoid ambiguity; draft the policies carefully in order that they will be interpreted the way you mean them to be. Avoid words like, will, must employee rights and other words or phrases that commit an employer to act in a certain way in all instances. Instead, use words such as, may, can, and, generally

The tone of the handbook should be positive throughout. Address the message to the majority of employees that desire to understand and abide by the organization's standards and procedures; do not adopt a “punitive” tone. If possible, explain the reasoning behind certain policies, especially those that are likely to be seen as controversial.

What to include in Handbook

Your employee handbook should clearly state your company's policies. Among the areas it should cover:

general working hours
company rules and regulations (dress code; how people interact with customers; safety regulations; etc.)
how vacation time is earned
paid holidays and personal days
sick leave
salary and performance reviews
overtime/comp time policy
health and medical benefits
pension plan and other fringe benefits
maternity policy
any other rules or regulations

Handbook must Comply with State Laws

When developing an employee handbook, some simple rules should be observed.
It is illegal to violate or misstate laws in your handbook, so make sure you have done the research.

Consider Translations
If you have workers with varying native languages, consider having different translations made so that all of your employees can have a thorough understanding of your policies and procedures.

Legal Protection for Employers

The employee handbook is a source of legal protection for employers. Should an employee fail to adhere to policies outlined in the handbook, the employer can legally take action against the employee with the handbook as a guide.

Net Lawman’s Employee Handbook

Our employee handbook sets out in full the policies that employers should typically have in place. It has been drafted in such a way to allow additional information to be included to suit your organisation where required. Our employee handbook is written in plain English with explanatory notes whereby you can customize it according to your requirements. Our employee handbook is drafted by expert team of Solicitors and Barristers who are expert in employment law, and regularly update them to make it congruent with state laws.

Partnership Agreement

Written agreement between two or more individuals who join as partners to form and carry on a for-profit business. Among other things, it states the

(1) nature of the business,

(2) capital contributed by each partner, and

(3) their rights and responsibilities.

Indian Partnership Act, 1932

A partnership is the relationship between persons who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting or all. In India it is governed by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, which extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It came into force on 1st October 1932.

A partnership firm is not a legal entity apart from the partners constituting it. It has limited identity for the purpose of tax law as per section 4 of the Partnership Act of 1932.

Types of Partnerships

There are 4 general types of partnership arrangements:

General Partnerships assume that profits, liability, and management duties are divided equally among partners. If you opt for an unequal distribution, the percentages assigned to each partner must be documented in the partnership agreement.
Limited Partnerships (also known as a partnership with limited liability) are more complex than general partnerships. Limited partnerships allow partners to have limited liability as well as limited input with management decisions. These limits depend on the extent of each partner’s investment percentage. Limited partnerships are seen as attractive to investors of short-term projects.
Joint Ventures act as general partnership, but for only a limited period of time or for a single project. Partners in a joint venture can be recognized as an ongoing partnership if they continue the venture, but they must file as such.
Silent partner is one who still shares in the profits and losses of the business, but who is uninvolved in its management, and/or whose association with the business is not publicly known; these partners usually provide capital.

As you can see it is folly to operate a business under any partnership basis without an agreement in place. Net Lawman provides you expertly drafted partnership agreements.

India introduces new Limited Liability Partnership Law

The Indian Parliament has passed the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Bill, 2008. LLP, as a corporate entity is similar in concept to the Limited Liability Company (LLC), available in the United States. The LLP format provides the benefits of limited liability of a corporation but allows its members the flexibility of organizing their internal management on the basis of a mutually arrived agreement, as in a partnership firm.

Pros of a Partnership

The workload can be shared between partners
Each partner may specialize in their own area of the business
More finance can be raised then, say sole-traders, due to more owners investing in the business
Due to the business being generally larger than a sole-trader, it has a better chance at generating other sources of finance e.g. bank loans, etc
There are no legal formalities to complete prior to starting the business
Partners can cover each other during times of absence, e.g. holidays or illnes

Cons of a Partnership

Profits are shared between partners
Decisions may take time to reach due to other partners disagreeing
Partners are equally responsible for liability
Any actions and decisions based on the business are legally binding to ALL partners
A partnership is terminated when a partner dies and therefore the process of forming a new partnership has to be taken

Introduction of new Partners

At some point you may decide to introduce another partner into your business. In such case, you should specify the terms and conditions of doing so which may initially be the agreement of all partners to acknowledge that a new partner is welcome. You may then suggest the amount of capital that the new partner needs to invest into the business and the rights and benefits that they will receive from doing so.

Retirement of a Partner

In the event of a partner retiring, you should agree to a retirement package and how the business will continue to be run. You may decide that the share of the business from the retiring partner will be distributed evenly between the remaining partners. Net Lawman has got an up-dated deed of retirement from partnership business.

Dissolution of Partnership

If your partnership ceases to trade, then you need to determine how the business will be split between all partners. This will be a split of the money after all remaining stock, assets and equipment have been sold. You can download a very good template of partnership dissolution agreement from Net Lawman site.

Unfair competition

Should a partner decide to leave the partnership, you should agree terms that determine what type of employment the partner can go into. This may state that the leaving partner cannot go into employment that is in direct competition with the partnership

The Dismissal or Death of a Partner

Should the unfortunate event of the death of a partner occur, it is important that you agree what will happen with the business.

Disputes

If disputes arise between partners in a partnership you need resolution swiftly to avoid matters turning acrimonious and leading to difficulties in the continued running of the partnership business and reputation.

Some Provisions of Partnership Agreement in a nut-shell

A business partnership agreement includes provisions relating to the following:

Nature and purpose of the partnership
Capital contributions of each partner
Profit and loss allocation
Authority of each partner
How to admit new partners
A course of action in case a partner dies
How to buy out a partner's share
Signature authority on partnership bank accounts. You may allow each partner to sign on behalf of the whole partnership, or you may require all partners to sign all checks
Conflict resolution

Net Lawman’s Partnership Agreement Templates for India

Whether you are making a new partnership or admitting a new partner in an already existing partnership or want to refer a partnership dispute to arbitration, Net Lawman has a largest selection of partnership agreements suitable to your requirement.

Our templates have been drafted by a team of Solicitor and Barristers who are expert in Partnership Law of India. All our partnership agreement forms are up-to-date according to Indian legislation, and are drafted in plain English with explanatory notes.