MEDIATION – Court is not the only way to resolve a dispute
Mediation can be a much more user-friendly way of resolving a dispute than going to court, and it has a proven success rate. Mediation is informal and, if successful, provides a cheaper and quicker means of settling differences. Statistics show that more than 90 per cent of cases are settled before they reach court. Mediation […]
Illusory Savings – Misleading two-price comparisons under attack
The ACCC has been vigorously pursuing companies that quote misleading higher prices in comparison to so-called sale prices. Two-price advertising, often called comparative price advertising, contrasts the sale price with a higher price for the same or a similar product. It usually takes one of four forms: recommended retail price, 'was/now' advertising, strike-through and competitor […]
GREEN RETROFITS – New environmental upgrade agreements
Market barriers that have previously prevented owners from improving their buildings' green credentials have been removed with new laws allowing for environmental upgrade agreements. If you are a building owner, the opportunity may be there for you to improve the energy efficiency of your building through the newly introduced environmental upgrade agreements (EUAs). The agreements […]
Sham Contracting – Two parts to employee test involves intuition
Whether someone providing services to a business is classed as an employee or independent contractor can be difficult to assess, but the distinction is important, and failing to establish it correctly can prove costly. In a recent case, an interpreting and translating business which classified its interpreters as independent contractors found itself facing penalties. The […]
FACEBOOK- Liability for publication
Businesses using social media need to closely monitor what goes up on such sites, particularly when they have the ability to delete content posted by customers. A business has recently been held liable for misleading testimonials posted by customers on its Facebook fan page. The court found it was not necessary for there to be […]
SOCIAL NETWORKING – Can you control it?
Social media is a double edged sword. Businesses are increasingly starting to use it for marketing purposes but also face the risks of their employees abusing it, either at work or through comments they or their friends post online. Facebook has more than 500 million active users; 200 million of whom access it via their […]
CLOUD COMPUTING – Legal issues for service contracts
Before you decide to sign up for cloud computing, there are issues relating to location of data, security and reliability, and data exit that you should be aware of. 'The cloud' relates to providing computing services such as computer power, data storage and applications over the internet. Businesses can usually buy these services from companies […]