Keeping a business operating and prospering can be a difficult thing – and if you run into legal trouble, it’s even more so.
How can illegal activity damage your business?
If you’re the victim of fraud, then you might find yourself vulnerable to prosecution. Businesses have a legal responsibility to safeguard data entrusted to them by the public. If you’re shown to have failed to meet this responsibility, then you are in danger. This can be counteracted with the help of a competent lawyer specialising in white-collar defence.
But it’s also worth considering the reputational harm that you’ll suffer, quite outside of the legal trouble. If the public perceives you as a business that can’t be trusted, they’ll cease to reward you with their custom.
Five illegal activities to avoid
Let’s look at five common illegal activities, common in the workplace to some extent or other.
Employee theft
Many employees will think nothing of stealing from a workplace. If it’s below a certain threshold, then this might even be seen as an unspoken fringe benefit. If an employee takes a stapler home from work, then you might look the other way; if they take a laptop home, then you might intervene. By setting clear boundaries, and prosecuting those who abuse them, you’ll reduce theft in your business.
Fraud
Fraud is a form of theft that’s a little more difficult to pinpoint. According to the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, around one in five small businesses have been defrauded by an employee. An employee might submit a falsified expenses claim, misuse a credit card, or manipulate an invoice. Be aware of the possibilities and anticipate them.
Cybercrime
If an outside party can gain access to your systems, the result can be disastrous. Among the more successful kinds of cyberattacks involve manipulating the weakest link in your IT system – the human beings who interact with that system. In some cases, an intruder can be knowingly let into your system by a complicit member of staff.
Health and safety noncompliance
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment for members of staff. Fail to provide that environment, and you could be held legally responsible. This goes especially if a member of staff has been injured, or made ill, as a result of your oversight.
Discrimination
Discrimination is a necessary part of doing business. We might discriminate between a quality product or service and an inferior one, or a competent member of staff and an incompetent one. It’s only when the discrimination is based on protected characteristics that it becomes legally troublesome. If you’re treating people differently because of their race, religion, sex, or disability, then you’re asking for trouble.
