Introduction
A question was recently posed on social media: Should all businesses have terms and conditions?
Some thoughts
In my view, there are very few businesses that will not benefit from the protection of having some terms and conditions in place. For example, the majority of businesses now have a website and including terms of use will help protect the business and its copyright. Such terms are likely to include protective provisions such as disclaimers of liability and certain dos/don’ts on how a user may use the website.
Most websites will have a contact form which means that the business will have obligations under The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and require a Privacy Policy/Notice. Furthermore, if the website uses cookies (and most do), a policy covering such use will be needed.
The terms and conditions referred to above do not cover the supply of the goods and services the website/business is selling. It would be prudent for all businesses (regardless of whether it has a website) where the sale and payment is not instantaneous (such as retail) to put in writing its terms of business.
At the very least, I would suggest that you put in writing which party is doing what, when, where (if relevant) and for how much.
Conclusion
Having your business’ agreements documented helps to minimise risk. I would suggest that, unless your business is in retail and does not have a website (and even then there may be a case for certain written terms), all businesses should have terms and conditions.
Contact Richard Jenkins on 07837 762705 or Richard@clariclegal.co.uk for further advice or assistance.
This should not be relied upon for legal advice.
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