Business Law Report: UK Legal System and Business Structures

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Business Law
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................. 3
Section 1..................................................................................................................... 4
Task 1......................................................................................................................... 4
Task 2....................................................................................................................... 12
Section 2................................................................................................................... 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 17
Reference List...........................................................................................................18
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Introduction
The study focuses to evaluate the prevailing legal system in the economy of United
Kingdom. The legal structure followed in the country comprises of two aspects
namely the Civil law and the Criminal law. The country follows three different legal
systems for each section of the society namely England and Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland. The country follows the unwritten legal format, which is decided by
the parliamentary system of the Government and is known as the Doctrine of
Supremacy.
The same could also be referred to as a the Sovereignty format of law which focuses
on the parliamentary take on the common law which is essentially a judge made law
system developed through different cases and court histories
(Uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com, 2019). The following study is going to highlight
the facts associated with legal structure and law making process of UK and apart
from that, different legislations and standards are going to be included as well. On
the other hand, different types of organisations are going to be considered and their
advantages and disadvantages will be detailed as well.
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Section 1
Task 1
Nature of legal system and legislation affecting business
Different sources of law
The legal structure of the United Kingdom compromises of two sources of legal
systems namely the Primary Sources and the Secondary Sources. The primary
source of the country focuses to reflect the different business laws and instances of
the past cases. However, the secondary sources incorporate the different sketches
and legal judgements of the past cases of the countries legal proceedings.
Common Law and equity
The common law and equity is a system of constraining the reluctant behaviour of
the citizens of the society and the country, which can be restricted by enforcing
sanctions by the state of the legal system or the judicial court. The law entails every
citizen of the land to obey the given directions for peace subject to sanctions or legal
consequences which can be in terms of punishments either financial or court
precedent jail term. The common law follows a principle-based solution that has
been faced in past consequences and circumstantial cases to evaluate and
determine the effective application of the law in a given situation.
Civil Law
The legal structure primarily focuses to cater to the private rights and remedies that
the social resident of the society including individuals and business may need. The
law incorporates different civil in nature and do not incorporate any criminality for
serious offences. The Civil law is completely distinct from the criminal or public law
practices of the United Kingdom. The major focus is on breach of contract property
dispute and family laws (TheFreeDictionary.com. 2019). There are certain sets of
rules and law binding the overall structure of the civil law to prevail in the society.
Parliamentary Conventions
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The country follows an unwritten format of the constitution represented in a single
document. In such scenario, the parliamentary convention plays a primary role of
collecting the different legal instruments to create a constitutional law. These laws
help in guiding the overall legal system of the society and maintain a harmonious
status in the society.
Common laws and statutes
The accumulation of past judgements and cases results in different situation help
build a concert structure for the future review and judgements. The past statures
help to make quick and effective decisions to resolve the overall scenario being
faced now. Therefore, the same are appropriately implied to different cases to derive
an effective judgement and help the jurist create a well-structured review format for
the current case.
Role of government in law making process about common and statutory law
The bill making process is a complicated one and it is seen that the stages included
in the process often makes the entire process prolonged. If there is a particular
concern then it is taken to the parliament, especially in House of Lords and House of
Commons. They are the main decision makers. The concern of the people is drafted
as a bill and then it is taken to any of the house of the parliament. There are different
stages and all of them have importance in decision making of the houses. The
session starts with first reading where the bill arrives in either house of the
parliament and initial reading is done. After the first reading, the second reading
takes place and a debate on the key features of the proposal is detailed. The
discussion leads to committee stage, where a decision associated with the changes
requirement are taken (UK Parliament, 2019). If required then votes associated with
the change requirement is considered.
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Figure 1: Law making process in UK
(Source: UK Parliament, 2019)
If the bill is required to be amended then it is done and after that, the bill is read
again in the report stage to find whether the bill is amended proficiently and if
needed then further changes are made to it (UK Parliament, 2019). To avoid issues
voting seldom considered. After making the amendment, proposed bill goes for third
reading. It is called the tidying up stage where the issues are resolved if there is any
and the bill is read properly for avoiding any discrepancy. After it is done then the bill
goes for Royal ascent. The both the houses have to follow the procedure mentioned
process and then with their consent the bill is sent for royal approval. The Queen
gives her approval and then the bill becomes a law.
Application of statutory and common law in the UK courts
The legal system of the United Kingdom incorporates several landmark judgements,
which paved the way for creation of the several judicial laws to help manage the
future course of actions. The court structure is made in accordance with the
implementation process of statutory and common law of UK. In this hierarchy, the
last place is of the tribunals and the magistrate’s court. The tribunal considers the
social issues, immigration, tax and many other things that are related with the
business development procedure (Nuweb.northumbria.ac.uk, 2019). The
magistrate’s court handles issues associated with family cases that are mostly under
common law. The magistrates’ court answers to the Crown court and the high court.
Both the courts handle issues associated with common and statutory law breaching.
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The high court has different divisions like Queen’s Bench, family, administrative,
chancery and divisional.
Figure 2: Court Structure of UK
(Source: Nuweb.northumbria.ac.uk, 2019)
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The high court answers to the call of the Court of Appeal, it is usually done in two
different segments, such as criminal division and civil division. The civil division
make sure that the unsolved cases of the lower division courts are solved in this
segment (Judiciary.uk, 2019). The issues associated with social crimes are solved in
the criminal divisions. The issues are first taken to the crown court and then if it is not
solved then the court of appeal is involved in the process. The highest authority is
House of Lords and they take the most important cases that are not solved in the
lower division courts. In all of the mentioned courts above, the common and statutory
law is applied to make alterations.
Impact of company, contract, and employment law on the business
The acts that are associated with business management are called business laws
and some of them are going to be analysed in the below section. The company law,
contract law and employment law are going to be considered in the subsequent
segment with proper examples.
Company Law- there are different types of company laws that have to be
considered in this process. The most of the cases it is seen that the company laws
are made to ensure that the concerns are arranged in a specific manner to amend
problems proficiently. The acts like Companies Act 2006 can be considered in this
phase. It is stated that the issues that are mainly faced by companies during
establishment are catered with the process. Company establishment to the
processes that are needed to be followed by an organisation for being a legitimate
organisation everything is detailed in this legal guideline (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019).
The registration policies of an organisation are detailed in this part for better
understanding. The Part 2, Company Formation, Registration, and its effects part
needs to be checked to have better idea related with the approach strategies for
company establishment. The company agreements have to be checked as well to
make sure that the management policies are sorted proficiently. The Part 3, Chapter
3 of Companies Act 2006, subsection (1) has to be considered as well for better
understanding of the Resolutions And Agreements Affecting A Company’s
Constitution (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019).
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Following these things can make a noteworthy impact on the business management
process to make suitable impact on company performance and policymaking. The
Companies Act 2006 helps in making a justified approach strategy that can help in
ensuring a proficient development in the situation management process.
Contract Law- The business administration process is associated with the
situational management and the contracts are one of the prior things before making
a deal or sorting any kind of inconvenience. The Contract Law 1990 can be taken
into consideration as well. The contract law has all the details that have to be
maintained by the parties. Total six schedules have to be considered in the process
in order to make the contract legitimate. The decisions that ken in the different
conventions have to be managed and considered in order to make a contract
legitimate and legally acceptable. According to the Contract Act 1990 Chapter 36, 1
(a) the management needs to certify that the issues lined with an agreement is being
covered proficiently (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). The Watford electronics ltd v
Sanderson CFL Ltd: ca 23 Feb. 2001 can be considered where the Contract Law
was breached.
Employment law
There are different norms associated with the business management process and
employment laws have to be managed in harmony with the business proposition
process. There are different types of Employment Laws to be considered and in this
segment, most of them are going to be analysed. It is seen that Employment act was
introduced in 1988, 1990, 2002, and 2008. In this context the Employment Act
2008, can be taken into contemplation. It is stated in Chapter 24, Dispute
resolution, statutory dispute resolution procedures, the issues associated with
behaviour and management of the situations in a professional manner is always
admired (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). In this context Isle of Wight Tourist Board v
Coombers [1976] IRLR 413, EAT can be considered as the best example as there
have been similar employment act breaching. This is going to help in making
momentous modification in the business management process and employee
retention. On the other hand, the other aspects of professional segment like financial
loss, procedural fairness and other factors have been minimised as well.
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In accordance with Employment Act 2002, Part 1, Statutory Leave and Pay,
Chapter 1, 80A Entitlement of paternity leave, the leaves associated with
professional segment is detailed (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). It is given that in a
professional life the person needs to be provided with proper kind of paternity leave,
statutory paternity leave, adoption pay and other things. Apart from that, Schedule 1
contains the information associated with penalties. Apart from that, the tribunal
jurisdictions are detailed in the Schedule 3, 4, and 5 of Employment Act 2002. With
the help of these; the issues associated with the penalty related matters, recruitment,
and other proceedings will be clear to the people and this will help in making a
proficient business proceeding.
Differentiating between legislation, regulations, and standards to have idea of
potential impact on business
Legislation Regulations Standards
The legislations are
managed with the
implementation of different
government bodies’
opinion (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 2019). Their
consent is a necessary
thing to make a concern
legitimate and legal.
The regulations are
instructions to be
considered in order to
make the rules legitimate.
The business will be
affected.
The standards are some
protocols that have to be
followed by the
professionals of a
particular business setting
to maintain the
organisation’s culture. This
has psychological effect
on employee and the
performance difference is
created with it.
Legislations are legal
guidance that has an
overall effect on the
segment in which it is
employed. The legislation
process assists in making
a direction for business of
the country.
Implementation of a
regulation is necessary
because they carry the
force of law and
implementing it makes the
entire process legitimate
and profound (Law.com
Legal Dictionary, 2019).
The standards are
important to mage the
safety, quality and
efficiency of service
settings. This affects the
overall quality of the
business and makes an
impact on the business
supervision process.
In order to establish a law
or act the consent has to
be taken from the higher
officials of the parliament.
In order to establish a
regulation the involvement
of the higher officials is not
always required.
The standards are
organisational protocols
and it requires higher
officials consent from that
particular organisation.
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Table 1: Difference among Legislation, Regulation, and Standards
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Task 2
Nature and formation of different types of business
There are different types of businesses that can be considered by a person. It is
observed that the concerns associated with the business development often gets
complex when the service providers do not get an idea related to business domain in
which they are legally performing. There are different types of businesses to be
considered and some of them are sole trader, partnership business, private
limited business, and public organisations. In the following segment, why Jane,
Penny and Marie should go for the limited organisation will be detailed.
The sole trader business is a process where the service provider takes initiatives on
his own to make business ventures (GOV.UK, 2019). The support from other people
by involving them in the business is strictly avoided. In this process, three people are
involved; therefore, sole trader is not an option. The partnership business needs to
have some people engaged for a same purpose. The nature of this business is
associated with cooperation process (GOV.UK, 2019). This is going to nullify a
proper kind of business settlement in a proper manner. The possibility of having
liabilities is high and hence it is not a good option for them. The private limited
organisations are those, which are operated by a board of directors. It is an extended
version of partnership business with some more legal liabilities to it. The nature of
business is cooperative and a certain amount of people is needed in the process.
The liability is less and possibility of having issues is nominal here. This is why
establishment of private limited organisation is most profitable.
The public limited organisations are majorly depending on the people and the
government and it is seen that they consider financial help of the people rather than
involvement of them in a productive manner.
Critical evaluation of differences between incorporated and unincorporated
business and how they are funded and managed
In this context, incorporated and unincorporated business is considered.
Incorporated businesses are those, which has limited amount of liability, and the
unincorporated business is just the opposite of it. The liability is higher in this
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