Top ten legal tips

Some useful tips if you are based in the South and considering doing business in the North?

  •  Ensure that you define in your Terms and Conditions of Sale / Service the jurisdiction of your Contract.
  •  Ascertain whether you require new or extended Insurance Cover to cover your proposed business activity in Northern Ireland; for instance, will your Salesman be covered for business insurance in the driving of their vehicles in Northern Ireland?

  • Ensure that you comply with specific jurisdictional licence or regulatory requirements; eg, do your Products comply with the requirements of consumer legislation in the Northern Ireland?  - see www.consumerline.org

  • Are you aware that Employer`s Liability in Northern Ireland is compulsory – unless your business is specifically exempted under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.

  •  Are you familiar with the different Employment Law obligations which apply in the Northern Ireland? For further information go to website www.morganmcmanus.com / Cross-Border Law / Cross-Border Business / “Comparative Analysis of Employment Law North and South”. In particular, are you familiar with the statutory Disciplinary & Grievance Regulations, where an employer can be liable to pay a “top-up” of up to 50% on an Award of compensation against him for failure to abide by statutory procedures?

  • Rather than set up base in Northern Ireland , have you considered the possibility of progressing your business in Northern Ireland by using either a Distributor or an Agent? Consider InterTradeIreland's Acumen support.

  • If you are in the professional services industry you will more than likely require separate Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover for your services in; Northern Ireland

  • Ensure that your Employer`s Liability Insurance Cover is valid for those employees who will be working in Northern Ireland. More importantly, are you aware that the procedures the PIAB Act 2003 do not apply in Northern Ireland and that, despite the fact that the period within which a Claim for Personal Injury in the Republic of Ireland must be made was reduced to 2 years under the Civil Liability & Courts Act 2004, the relevant period in Northern Ireland still remains at 3 years?

  • Where you propose to lease or purchase a business premises are you aware of the different Landlord and Tenant obligations which apply?

  • Ensure that you put the necessary measures in place from the start to recover trade debts in Northern Ireland and consider seriously in which jurisdiction you should sue, should it be necessary to issue Proceedings against a bad debtor in  Northern Ireland.

 

These tips have been kindly provided by Morgan McManus. For further information go to www.morganmcmanus.com .

For more useful advice on cross-border trading download a copy of  A Simple Guide to Cross Border Business (445 KB)