An update to the Companies Act 1985 requires all companies to include specified information about themselves in electronic communications, including websites and emails.
 
The required information includes:

• The name, postal address, and email address of the company
• If the sender is a registered company, the registration number should be provided as well as the place of registration
• If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, details of these should be provided including membership numbers
• If the business has a VAT number, it should be listed even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions

Companies and company officers who fail to comply with these regulations are liable to a fine.

This rule currently only applies to companies. It’s not applicable to sole traders or partnerships, but in our view it’s good practice to provide such information as your name, address and registration details on websites and emails. After all you have nothing to hide, do you?

For more information on this and other rules relating to electronic trading call Woolley & Co on 01789 267377 or visit trading on and offline on the Woolley & Co website.

Q. I run a small business and have been working on a large job carrying out repairs at a local plant. As they required me to start work immediately, I didn’t get a written contract.

I have been on site for a month now and have paid for all the materials myself. I put in an invoice at the end of the month but they are saying that they won’t pay until the whole job has been completed and they are satisfied with the quality of my work.

I pride myself on my work and can tell you it’s 1st class – and they know it – so why won’t they pay me? The project is due to go on for another 2 months but I’m running out of money and can’t afford to keep going unless they pay me. In fact, I think I’ll have to walk off site next week as I can’t afford to carry on.

Is there anything I can do to get paid quickly?

A.   Unfortunately, because you failed to get a written contract drafted there is very little you can do.

Unless you agreed with them (preferably in writing, although contracts can be oral too) that you would be paid at regular intervals (e.g. monthly), or after certain stages had been reached, the courts will take the view that you are not entitled to be paid until the entire job has been satisfactorily completed.

If you had agreed a written contract, it could have contained clauses such that you would be reimbursed for materials as the job went along and paid on a monthly basis for the work completed that month, or at least a large proportion of it, with the remainder to be paid at the end of the job.

The further bad news is that if you walk off site now, you could find yourself in breach of contract and may have to pay them damages. How much will depend on the losses they incur by your walking off site and how quickly and cheaply they can get someone else to complete the work.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do now legally to ensure a quick payment before the entire job has been completed. You could try to negotiate some payment terms with the other party or otherwise weigh up the pros and cons of walking off the job and paying damages or borrowing some money from other sources to enable you to stay on and complete the job.

Next time make sure there is a contract in place.  You might even consider having a standard contract prepared for such circumstances. That way, no matter how urgent the work, you can send a copy of your standard terms before any work is started.

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