Top 10 Tips For Protecting Your Business From Its Employees

Many businesses rely heavily on intangible assets such as client and customer relationships, market reputation, confidential plans, accumulated knowledge, genuine secrets and intellectual property. When employees join and leave, the bonds between employer and employee can be at their weakest and, as a result, these assets can become vulnerable. Here are 10 tips for protecting your business.

1. Investigate new recruits Due diligence on new recruits is important and can include verifying the information on their CV and vetting their social media or internet profile. Such pre-employment checks are permitted, but are subject to the Information Commissioner's Code on the application of the Data Protection Act 1998.

2. Take care with the offer letter and employment contract Employment documents need to be precise about the terms and conditions offered. They must distinguish between what is an entitlement and what is discretionary or contingent. It is important to set out all the conditions of an offer (e.g. satisfactory background checks, immigration status) and to make clear what will happen if any of them are not met. The best offer letter is one that is superseded by a comprehensive contract of employment that the employee signs when they join.

3. Address visa and immigration issues Employees must have the right to work in the UK. It is the employer's responsibility to check this and to retain copies of the documents that evidence the right e.g. passport.

4. Don't let the recruit bring information from their old employer A new employee who uses confidential information or trade secrets that belong to their old employer without permission, whether out of malice or naivety, is a dangerous one. Don't turn a blind eye if you find that they are doing this as you may bring liability on your business.

5. Don't blur the IP rights Intellectual property rights are complex things. Your business needs to be absolutely clear as to what it owns and what employees can own (which is usually nothing). Where an employee does invent or create something that is used in your business, you need to understand and document who owns the intellectual property in it and how it may be used.

6. Don't give away any part of the business without having appropriate legal arrangements in place You may feel that you want to give employees a few shares in your company, but doing so without a proper share ownership scheme or shareholders' agreement may lead to serious problems - you...