April 2003

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 » In Brief
 » Selling online  » Challenging the status-quo
 

Selling online

If you have a website, whether you use it just to advertise your business or to sell through, the new e-commerce regulations will apply to you.

Even if your website is very basic, you must at least tell your customers who you are by stating the full name of your business and how to contact you by giving both geographical postal and email addresses. If you are registered with a trade organisation or a professional body the website should show how you can be identified as a member, by giving your membership number or your professional title.

When your site allows customers to place orders, you come within the distance selling regulations. These require you to provide a description of your goods or services, details of any after sales services, guarantees offered, and how the customer can cancel his order. Do be careful how you refer to prices on your website. Any price information you give must be clear and set out any associated taxes such as VAT and delivery costs. If you don’t want to give away sensitive price information to your competitors, it might be best to ask customers to email you for a specific quote.

If your website does not comply with the regulations, and the failure harms the collective interest of consumers, a Trading Standards Officer can apply for a Stop Now Order against your business. Ignoring such an order can land you with a fine or even imprisonment.

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Challenging the status-quo

In April 1997 many businesses were given a ‘last chance’ to decide whether or not to put their workers on the payroll.

Since that cut-off date the Revenue has come down hard on companies that pay individuals as self-employed sub-contractors when they are actually disguised employees.

Unfortunately there is no clear-cut definition of a self-employed individual. To decide if a particular worker is truly self-employed, you have to look at how that person works and his relationship with the company that supplies the work.
It is useful to know what questions the Inspector is likely to ask and have the facts ready. For instance does the worker provide their own materials, tools, equipment or protective clothing? Are they obliged to correct faulty work at extra charge? You may also have to find out if they work for other companies or have arrangements to supply a substitute in the case of their absence.

The more detail you have to support the position of each individual worker, the less evidence the Inspector will have to argue the worker should be treated as an employee..

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 Lead Articles

Tax Issues

Business Matters

Law Lines

 » In Brief

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