The Credit Crunch and why Business Owners should be Cautious

Article about watching for the enemies within, and protecting yourself in a litigious environment.

If the saying goes, when the going gets tough  the tough get going  does that mean there is an exact opposite to match? How about when the going gets tough  the weak get falling or perhaps when the going gets tough  the greedy get suing?. Pretty miserable thought isnt it? To be fair to the vast majority of people, the thought of suing someone for the kind of petty nonsense that is mentioned in so many No Win No Fee type ambulance chasing lawyer adverts  is frankly repugnant.

For those people that are misfortunate enough to walk under the ladder of destiny, and perhaps have an accident, or injury  their first thought is how do I get better. The second thought may be what just happened  was it my fault?. Most decent people think through this process, so that they can avoid making the same mistake again. There are some folks however that their first thought is can I make some money out of this? Who can I blame?. Its even been known that people think of remembering the number for Claims direct before even calling the ambulance. And its these kind of people that are the dangerous kind.

You see, these type of thoughts arent just coming from nowhere. No  when someone is feeling the economic pinch, creative minds start to think about filling their fiscal gap. They may had previously considered other easy revenue producing methods such as borrowing off their granny, or winning the lottery.

There are even the types that are keeping their eyes open for an opportunity to find fault, so they can sue for damages, negligence and more. You may think that you wouldnt know anyone that would do such a thing, but in reality  you may! A disgruntled employee could have a chance slip in the office, or a tumble off a chair  and thats where the problems could start. If the staff member is unhappy, or feel unappreciated (for any reason) then that twisted knee, or back injury could be their meal ticket. If they push the right buttons, they could even get some compensation off you  and then when you are unhappy paying them out, and you get rid of them  they start again to get another payment for unfair dismissal.

So What can I do about that? I hear you say. Well, the truth is you cant help it if people have an accident most of the time. Youve just got to make sure that you are keeping a lookout for the basics, and making sure everything is documented.

When people look around their office environments and look at the normal things like office furniture, office chairs, PC monitors and cable management  they are often warned that things are in breach of Health and safety or The fire officer wouldnt like that!. Many directors respond with Ive been in business for 23 years and have never had a visit yet! As if to say  Im not going to get caught out, because whos going to tell on me? And that probably used to be true. However, nowadays even when a labour government employs a veritable army of elf and safety inspectors and they have more powers than ever  that may not be the problem.

The problem may be that in an increasingly litigious environment, a greedy staff member may use any breach as grounds to force their personal injury case to court to get some more of your hard earned cash. Dont think this doesnt happen  or its just unquantifiable scaremongering  because in the last few years there have been literally dozens of cases going to court and winning substantial sums form their employers. In 2000 alone, there were 194 successful cases, where employees won an average of ?6,500 for just having inappropriate chairs in their workplace.

The message? Get your house (or more importantly office) in order. It doesnt mean go over the top with regulations, but just make certain that your procedures are in place, and they are being followed and documented. Most of it comes down to common sense, and just making sure that your staff are using theirs. It doesnt have to be a pig of a job  but rather that than someone raids your piggy bank.

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