Owning a business of any size requires the business owner to direct their efforts across multiple areas simultaneously. In most cases, it’s simply impossible for business owners to keep up with everything their business throws at them. This is especially true when complex legal issues arise, such as employee disputes, building code violations and other complications within the business itself.
Business lawyers in Melbourne aim to alleviate some of this stress by helping business owners navigate complex business affairs. This article will detail four ways a business lawyer could help you in your business.
H2: Product/Consumer Disputes
No matter how much care is taken at every stage of delivering the product your business sells, sometimes things just go wrong and a consumer may launch a dispute against your business as a result. In a cafe or restaurant business, this could range from a customer experiencing an allergic reaction to an illness as a result of consuming your food products. If you sell other products with moving parts, this could be a manufacturing fault that causes bodily harm to the consumer.
When such disputes are raised, business lawyers in Melbourne can advise on the best way for you to respond as well as help you go through the processes of detecting where the fault in your product occurred and rectifying it immediately to prevent future legal issues. Having a business lawyer on hand to answer any questions you have as well as mitigate the damage a customer complaint could do to your business will go a long way to reducing your stress and getting your business up and running again sooner.
H2: Employment Disputes
One of the most common types of disputes business lawyers in Melbourne deal with are employment disputes. These disputes can be raised by either an employee of a business or the employer themselves. Although business law and employment law are separate fields, there is a lot of overlap between them, therefore most business lawyers are well versed in employment law and can help business owners respond to these types of disputes competently and appropriately. Business lawyers are often the first point of legal contact when a dispute is raised in relation to unfair business practices or if an employee has committed a violation of their contract.
Small and medium-sized businesses often juggle a mix of contracts, such as permanent, casual and fixed-term contracts. Business lawyers in Melbourne can help you verify that all obligations stated in these contracts are being met by both the employer and employee and ensure that if a dispute is raised against you by an employee, it can be dealt with promptly and fairly.
H2: Purchase or Sale of a Business
Business lawyers in Melbourne can help you initiate either the process of selling your business or the process of purchasing someone else’s business. It’s usually recommended to hire a lawyer or business solicitor as soon as you’re ready to sell or buy a business, as this will guarantee a smooth process for all involved in the transaction.
