So we’ve launched a new collection of contracts templates to download online, designed for use by businesses in India.

Our new collection of contracts governed by Indian law is designed for use both by Indian nationals and by foreign companies wanting to invest in or export to the country.

India adopted its legal system from the English and English is the principal language of business. There are, nonetheless, legal and cultural differences and local legal advice is always recommended.

Whilst it is true that India adopted its legal system from the English and the principles and rules of common law as known in England prevail to a large extent in India, several adaptations in the law and an idiosyncratic business culture unique to India make it imperative that care is taken when entering into a contract for sale to ensure adequate protection exists in case of breach.

For a company seeking to export goods to India, any contract for sale and export would be governed by The Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (“Goods Act”) and the general principles of The Indian Contract Act, 1872 (“Contract Act”).  These Acts are predominantly based on principles of English Law but there are differences which you can read more about in the free briefing paper available from our website.

The contracts in the collection are:

• Agent Appointment
• Employee Confidentiality Agreement
• Non-Disclosure Agreement
• Partnership Agreement – 2 partners
• Partnership Agreement – 3 partners
• Power of Attorney for General Manager
• Settlement of Dispute & Release Agreement

Plus:

• FREE Briefing Paper by Dr. Linda Spedding: Doing Business in India – Legal Aspects

If you’d like any info on these or any other contract templates for your business, do get in touch.

The last 12 months have seen some significant changes in Employment Law. For example, from 6 April 2012, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will be increased from one to two years.

Certain other notable changes are as follows:

On 1 February 2012 new award limits come into force. The maximum unfair dismissal compensatory award rises from £68,400 to £72,300 and the maximum amount of a week’s pay for the purpose of calculating a statutory redundancy payment and the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal increases from £400 to £430.

On 6 April 2012 changes to tribunal procedure come into force. The changes were announced in the Government’s response to the consultation on workplace disputes (on the BIS website).

Fees for tribunal claims are to be introduced by no later than December 2013. Employees who wish to bring an employment tribunal claim against their employer are required to pay a fee. The fee will be repaid to the employee only if he or she is successful with his or her claim.

Some key issues for businesses in contract negotiations
A recent Court of Appeal decision illustrates the dangers for businesses of relying on conversations and unsigned draft agreements. The case highlights the importance of making sure that key contractual provisions are always documented, especially those as fundamental as a termination right.

Assured shorthold tenancy converted into assured tenancy in error
A Court of Appeal decision provides a warning to landlords who have multiple residential properties on their books. The Court held that a letter sent in error by a landlord’s employee constituted a notice, the effect of which was to convert the tenant’s assured shorthold tenancy (AST) into an assured tenancy. Landlords should ensure that they have effective procedures in place to enable them to communicate with their tenants and avoid similar errors.

Selecting the right reason when dismissing an employee
A case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) highlights the importance for employers of carefully considering whether an employee’s failure at work is misconduct or a lack of capability matter before taking any formal action against them that could lead to their dismissal. The EAT held that an employment tribunal was entitled to find that an employer had fairly dismissed for conduct despite the fact that it had pleaded capability as the reason for dismissal in the ET3 at the hearing.

In this case, the change in the reason for dismissal caused no prejudice to the employee and the tribunal was therefore entitled to find that the dismissal was fair. The employer, however, was fortunate in this case. If the tribunal had found that the reason for the dismissal was capability and the employer had relied on misconduct, it is likely that the tribunal would have found the dismissal to be unfair, as no capability procedure had been followed.

The new domains will cover a wide range including regions and cities (.africa, .london and .tokyo), commerce (.news and .hotel), not-for-profit (.eco and .green) etc.

Many large companies have objected to the plans since it is seen as a potential risk to their trademarks and could cost a substantial amount – up to US$2 million – in new domain registrations to protect them.

Anyone wanting to set up one of the new domains is also going to have to pay a lot, starting with a basic US$185,000 fee to be paid to ICANN, and some of the names could result in bidding wars between rival interest groups.

The total number of registered domain names now exceeds 220 million.

[Source - Financial Times]

The ContractStore team wish you a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

We’ve made a calendar-ruler-mousemat for 2012 and you can download and print your own here.

It was also reported today in the Financial Times the Bernie Ecclestone is under investigation by the SFO in relation to payments of several million pounds to a banker who is being prosecuted in Germany.

If you run a business and have not yet got an anti-bribery Code of Conduct in place, your company could be prosecuted if one of your employees commits an offence of bribery.  Buy the GovRisk-ContractStore Code of Conduct here now, and save yourself a lot of trouble!

 A small claims process is to be introduced in the Patents County Court which will allow damages awards of up to £5000 and limits on the fixed costs.

Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox said: “This is great news for small and medium sized businesses as it will give them the confidence to stand up and protect their intellectual property rights. A small claims process means businesses will not have to fight through lengthy court battles instead of concentrating on growing their business.”

For more information on the Patents County Court at the Intellectual Property Office website click here

The OFT has been keeping a close eye on sports clubs over the years and they have even issued a long report entitled ‘Guidance on unfair terms in health and fitness club agreements’, with warnings against using various clauses including those that try to exclude any liability of the club for death or personal injury.

This case is a recent example of the OFT flexing their muscles with a sports  organisation that they felt had overstepped the mark.

ContractStore is about to publish a Club Membership Agreement and we will, as always, be careful to ensure our terms are both user-friendly and fair to both parties.

For the full judgment click here

Take the Plunge - Starting a Business E-Book - Just £7.00

We’ve just added a great new e-book to our catalogue. When we saw it we thought it was great, so we arranged with author Michael Carter, accountant and entrepreneur, to make it available at ContractStore.

Michael qualified as a Chartered Accountant, eons ago. Not content with helping companies do their accounts after the end of the year, he stopped sweeping up and started to get involved, helping them in their respective businesses.

‘Take the Plunge‘ is a business start-up book covering all the basics – explaining in short, easy-to-read chapters everything from business plans and raising finance to employing people, sales skills to VAT, finding premises to exhibiting. It is designed for the first-time, would-be entrepreneur and provides many answers as well as good questions.

It is light and easy to read, practical and without unwanted jargon or technicalities.  There are many colourful illustrations helping divide up the 101 different topics in a 128 page PDF download.

At just £7.00 you will get more than your money’s worth. Take a look and order your copy here.

Sample pages: click to see larger images.

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is the largest and most widely respected professional body for those who work in the securities and investment industry in the UK and in a growing number of major financial centres round the world.

The new course was devised by Professor Nikos Passas and Richard Stockdale of QCo in collaboration with CISI to provide a qualification for professionals working within the financial services industry including Compliance officers, Money Laundering Reporting officers, those involved in regulation, law enforcement, trade and commerce and individuals from bi-lateral development institutions and civil society organisations.

Speakers at the event included the Sheriff of the City of London and Adrian Leppard, Commissioner of Police in the City of London, who said that financial fraud is estimated to cost some £37 billion in the UK.

GovRisk, ContractStore’s partner  in the preparation of our Anti-Bribery Code of Conduct , is  a fully accredited CISI Training Provider (ATP) involved in the Combating Financial Crime training course as well as in a mutual commercial co-operation with QCo.

Among the changes are:

• Increased price transparency. Online shoppers will not have to pay charges or other costs if they were not properly informed before they place an order.
• Banning pre-ticked boxes on websites. Some companies, including airlines, offer extra services to shoppers such as travel insurance or car rental through so-called ‘pre-ticked’ boxes which you have to untick if you do not want them. This practice is to be banned.
• 14 day cancellation period. Shoppers now have 14 days instead of 7 to change their mind on a purchase. This is extended to a year if the right to withdraw is not explained. The time starts when the shopper receives the goods, rather than the time of the contract, which is currently the case. The rules will apply to internet, phone and mail order sales, as well as to sales outside shops, for example on the consumer’s doorstep, in the street, at a Tupperware party or during an excursion organised by the trader. There will also be a standard withdrawal form in use throughout the EU. Clearer information on who pays for returning goods is also required. The withdrawal right does not apply to digital content unless the buyer cancels before downloading the product.
• Better refund rights. Traders must refund consumers for the product within 14 days of the withdrawal including the costs of delivery.
• Ban on surcharges for use of credit cards. Traders will not be able to charge consumers more for paying by credit card than it actually costs the trader. Those who operate telephone hotlines allowing the consumer to contact them in relation to the contract will not be able charge more than the basic telephone rate for the calls.
• Information on digital content has to be clearer including its compatibility with hardware and software and the application of any technical protection measures, for example limiting the right for the consumers to make copies of the content.
• Protection against cost traps. These occur when fraudsters try to trick people into paying for ‘free’ services, such as horoscopes or recipes. From now on, consumers must explicitly confirm that they understand that they have to pay a price.
• Standard rules for distance sales throughout the EU will apply for sales by phone, post or internet and off-premises contracts.

EU Governments have 2 years in which to implement the Directive. The full text of the Directive can be found here.

ContractStore’s online terms of sale comply with the existing law. A new version is in production so stay in touch to hear when the update is released.