When the law is set against you
Are you a law-abiding citizen? Of course you are. You wouldn't dream of breaking the law, would you? Wrong! I bet you unwittingly break the law many times a week in the course of running your business.
And, although you may not know it, you may well have broken the law in such a way as to be designated a criminal if you were caught.
Before you took on your first employee, did you read and understand the 24in high stack of legislation affecting you as an employer? Have you studied the 500-plus clauses in the 1995 Finance Bill that affect you directly in your day-to-day affairs? Are you up-to-date with legal matters pertaining to the environment, health and safety, performing rights and the other thousands of statutory requirements to which you must adhere if you are to stay legal?
I argue that there is no practical way a self-employed, small business manager can hope to avoid falling foul of the law. As if the sheer volume of legislation were not enough, have you ever considered how unfairly the law is weighted against you?
If you are offended against by any official body or statutory authority, there are usually very strict - and very short - time limits in which to act. My favourite is the 21 days in which to appeal in cases of VAT legislation, fire safety, tribunals, valuations and so on. You, being self employed, have little or no resources for a fight, and so you cave in.
If you make a mistake, through ignorance, pressure, uncertainty or poor advice, the authority will come down on you like a ton of bricks. If they make a mistake they call it "an administrative error" and get away with it, as you have neither the time nor resources to pursue the matter and seek redress. The offending parties have no such time limits for their responses - they have years and limitless resources (for which we have paid).
Let me tell you a true story. In 1989, we built an extension. Plans were approved by the usual authorities, including the fire service. During building, our work was inspected by the fire officer, who requested some changes, which we carried out. In 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993, our annual fire inspections came and went without a hitch. We believed we were safe, legal, and fully fire-certificated.
During the 1990 visit, the inspecting fire officer asked to borrow our set of drawings (those attached to the certificate), so that they could "bring theirs up to date". Without asking for a receipt (very silly) we allowed him to take them away.
In 1994, however, a new fire officer appeared and demanded a new survey as the 1989 alterations had not been made to the fire certificate. We thought this was just a formality. We'd had four satisfactory inspections, plus the one during building.
Wrong! He came back with a list of alterations at an estimated cost of £9,000, which if carried out at the time of building would have been negligible.
We were also threatened with action because our fire certificate was not in order, the drawings which should have been attached had been removed. Our plea that his colleague had taken them was of no help. We were told we were required by law to have them in our possession.
Under the 1979 Fire Safety Act we appealed against the order requiring the alterations. Since 1979, no-one in the West Yorkshire area had ever taken this action. Had everyone caved in at the first threat from authority?
"Should this appeal ever come to court," I asked the officer, "will the magistrates not be curious as to why you allowed an unsafe building to continue in use for four years, before you required anything to be done?"
The fire officer and I then met. We agreed to alterations costing just £190, quite a difference from the original £9,000.
If you think there is a fair balance between the power of authority and the rights of the individual, then consider this. I had just 21 days to lodge the appeal, while the fire authority still hasn't issued the new certificate after nine months and there is apparently no deadline for them to do so. "Pressure of work", they say.
You try that one when they've told you to jump. See where it gets you!
