Legal Health Check For Family Business
Edward Evans, Partner at Beauchamps and a family business legal expert, advises that now is the time to review contracts underpinning the business
In line with our sponsorship of the DCU National Centre for Family Business, Beauchamps continues to look at what legal support Ireland's 160,000 family businesses may require as we all adapt to the Covid-19 economic landscape.
Be clear on your financial obligations All family businesses should fully understand their commitments to lenders and funders of their business, by reviewing and assessing the terms and conditions of any financial facilities. Can those facilities be called in when the business shrinks? What, if any, are the financial covenants that the business must meet to ensure it is not in default? The security for such facilities is also important. Are there charges over the business or personal assets, and are there personal guarantees?
When this picture is fully understood, strategic decisions on the future finance of the business can be taken. Lenders can be negotiated with and debts can be restructured to ensure they are serviceable based on the anticipated new business levels.
Conduct an audit of supplier and customer contractual obligations If your business depends on certain key suppliers, how contractually certain is that supply? Are prices and continuity of supply locked in for an adequate period, or can force majeure provide an opportunity for the supplier to get out of the obligation to supply? Similarly, if you have large customers, can you depend on them to continue to purchase from you at the agreed prices, and again it must be considered whether force majeure could apply?
The terms and conditions are key to establishing where you stand. If they are not perfect, then try to amend them to protect the value of the business.
Ensure your business and your workforce are adequately protected The two most important assets in any business are usually its people and its intellectual property (IP). These need to be carefully protected by clear and concise contracts. It’s advisable to ensure that key business information is something employees do not own, for example by having IP assignments as standard in employment contracts, having reasonable restrictions on departing employees and having the right incentives in place to retain the best people. Similarly, IP in the business and brand/trade names needs to be protected and registered.
Ensure you are abreast of the implications for your business of government initiatives and how to navigate red tape More than ever it is important to be aware of supports, incentives, grants, loans etc. that are available from State bodies and agencies. The terms and conditions of any investments or supports must be understood and factored into any decisions on expanding or new funding.
Adapt and be flexible to survive and grow If your business model is impacted by Covid-19, is there an alternative or complementary model you need to put in place? Is online the way to go? If so, your terms and conditions (at the very least) will need to be adapted to the new model. Your ways of working will also need to change and this will impact on a range of contracts, particularly employment contracts.
Conclusion Now is the time to look at the contracts – including financial, asset protection, terms and conditions of sale, supply contracts and employment contracts – that tie the business model together. There has never been a more important or better time to do this, leveraging the best legal advice from experienced family business lawyers, like us in Beauchamps!
‘Now is the time to look at the contracts that tie the business model together’
Edward Evans is Corporate and Commercial Partner with Beauchamps T: +353 1 418 0970 E: e.evans@beauchamps.ie www.beauchamps.ie
At DHL Express, we believe that our success is built on our foundation of Motivated People. This principle is the centrepiece of our business strategy, and we believe that we can only maintain a high-quality service, ensure customer loyalty and ultimately achieve profitability when our employees are motivated and inspired. To succeed in our mission of Connecting People and Improving Lives, we must first facilitate an honest and inspirational working environment.
The voice of the employee
In our annual Employee Opinion Survey, employee engagement is a key metric and an indicator to our success as an organisation. There is a proven correlation between engaged employees and business success, and we use a variety of tools to build high levels of engagement based on the results of our EOS survey. Motivating our employees and making them feel inspired and appreciated is a top priority.
How do we inspire our employees?
In order to be inspired, our employees need to know that their efforts are appreciated. Each year across the globe, DHL celebrates As One Appreciation Week — a chance for the senior team to say thank you. In Ireland, this has taken the form of barbecues and breakfasts served to our employees by their managers as a token of their appreciation.
With Covid-19 disrupting our usual plans, it was essential that As One Appreciation Week still be celebrated, as our employees deserved this recognition more than ever before. Therefore, we brought Appreciation Week to them with our ‘BBQ to You’ campaign. Over the course of the week, our Board of Directors and departmental managers handdelivered over 600 barbecue gift boxes to staff across the country as a gesture of their gratitude and appreciation.
Giving back
Now more than ever, employees want to work for a company that has a clear strategy of creating long-term value for business and society, in a sustainable manner. As the most international company in the world, DHL takes this responsibility very seriously. We believe that we can strive to achieve this goal by working together with our employees.
In light of this, we have an active charity committee with members from across the business who work together to promote and fundraise for our chosen charity partner. We are currently working with Pieta House and have held numerous events and fundraisers in recent years, including DHL Does Strictly, the DHL OsKaRs, quizzes, breakfasts and much more. All of these initiatives serve not only as vital fundraising efforts for charity but as employee engagement tools.
Not just a cog in a wheel
Engaged employees often comment on feeling part of something bigger — not just a cog in our Big Yellow DHL machine. That is why we work hard to ensure that our employees know they make a difference. Weekly Feel Good Friday updates remind employees of how the company gives back, while our Thinking Inside the Box initiative allows us to share stories of how our employees have supported our customers in shipping life-saving medicines, essential business documents and even saving the odd wedding day or two!
By understanding what each shipment contains and appreciating that no matter what its contents, it is number one priority for the shipper and receiver, then our engaged employees can continue to offer our next-level service quality.
The connection between engaged employees and business performance is clear. That is why creating Motivated People is at the core of our business strategy at DHL and will continue to be a strategic differentiator for our company.