Business law document services

Businesses sometimes find it necessary to appoint agents in order to expand while maintaining control over the expansion. The agent will negotiate and secure contracts for the principal business in return for a commission. This document creates an agreement regulating such a situation.

Use this document to create an agreement for selling goods to another trade party. This document cannot be used by anyone selling to consumers (i.e. persons not acting in the ordinary course of business). The agreement covers such issues as time for payment, consequences of non payment, rights of cancellation, etc. so that the terms and conditions of this agreement are clear.

If you need to terminate a contract you have made with a seller of goods because the seller has breached any term which is fundamental (or in Scotland 'material') to the contract, you can use this document to send notice to the seller that you are ending the contract. The breach must be so serious as to affect the very nature and performance of the contract itself. The document will allow you to seek compensation for your losses.

This is a letter intended for use by an individual or business with standard conditions of sale or purchase, seeking to incorporate such standard conditions into all future sales to, or purchases from, the recipient of this letter. Please note that this document can only be used in England & Wales.

If you own the UK copyright in something (e.g. a photo) and someone has infringed it, this letter can help stop any further infringement. It will also demand information to help you work out:

• the full extent of the infringement, and
• how much (if any) compensation you might want to seek.

You can use it if someone has copied all or a substantial part of your work without permission, or if someone is doing something with a copy made by someone else (e.g. selling, hiring, offering, distributing or exhibiting it).

For the purposes of this letter, the work must fall into either of these categories:

• Artistic works: e.g. photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures, structures, graphic designs, logos
• Literary works: i.e. anything (with some exceptions) that is written, spoken or sung. E.g. novels, short stories, poems, song lyrics, but also things like articles, design specs, reports, plans, computer programs, tables/compilations or (in some cases) databases.

You can't use this letter in relation to:

• Dramatic works (e.g. a play script or screenplay)
• Musical works (e.g. a musical score)
• Sound recordings, films or broadcasts
• Typographical arrangements of published editions.

You also can't use it if you have a licence (i.e. permission) to exploit the copyright in a work, but aren't the owner.

Use this document to create a distribution agreement where one business, typically a manufacturer, supplies goods to another for resale or onward supply. To use this document, the business supplying the goods must present the distributor with standard conditions of sale and a standard price list. The agreement will set out the obligations of the distributor and supplier and the terms under which they do business. This document is drafted in favour of the supplier and so may not be suitable if you are the distributor.

Some contracts will contain an express clause allowing a party to bring the contract to an end by giving written notice. Normally the contract will continue to run for a limited period after the notice is given, e.g. if the contract says 'terminable on 14 days' written notice', then a notice of termination given on 3 February will bring the contract to an end on 17 February. This document enables you to draft such a letter. Note: This document is inappropriate for use in employment contract situations.

Use this agreement when a band or individual performer is hired to perform at a party or other private or business function/event (e.g. weddings, birthdays, work events, etc).

It can be used by either the performer or the hirer, for single or multiple performances.

Areas covered include:

• Single or multiple performances
• Payment arrangements (including the performance fee, and options for a deposit, expenses, late payment interest and cancellation charges)
• Responsibility for performing rights licenses
• Whether video/audio recordings are allowed
• Rehearsal options
• Technical requirements and specifications
• Insurance and indemnity issues
• Whether facilities/refreshments must be provided

It's not suitable for a ticketed event where the performer requires a percentage of the ticket revenue.

This is a cancellation notice in basic form that provides for the cancellation of an order for the supply of goods or services, or both, either with immediate effect upon receipt of the notice or in accordance with any agreement under which the purchase order was made.

This document is a purchase order with standard terms and conditions for the supply of goods and/or services. It has been drafted to protect the interests of the buyer (as opposed to the seller). It is not suitable for consumer sales; it is intended for use where both the purchaser and seller are businesses.

This document creates an agreement between a seller of goods and/or services and an introducer who will introduce the seller to a buyer (or buyers). The seller will then reward the introducer by means of a commission. The commission is calculated as a percentage of the net sale price (i.e. the amount the seller will receive from the buyer after costs have been deducted) on orders which the seller has accepted. Please note that this document can only be used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This document is designed to be used on a website that has the facility to take payments (i.e. a basket). It creates standard terms and conditions for the sale of goods and/or services to consumers from a website in the United Kingdom.

This document is not suitable if your business sells:

• financial, leisure, accommodation and transport or catering services
• digital content, except where it is provided on a 'tangible medium' such as a disc or memory stick
• goods and/or services to other businesses

In addition to these terms, you should also use our 'Privacy and cookie notice for a website'. You may also need our 'Terms of use for a website', which govern use of your website generally.

This document contains a set of terms and conditions that are suitable for a business that sells goods to other businesses. A large volume of sales business is done using standard terms and conditions of sale. These are commonly found on the other side of a seller's order form. It is very important to take the time to read the form in its entirety to ensure that it is appropriate for use in your individual situation. This document is suitable for goods sold by a business trading in the UK. Please note that you cannot use this document if you are selling goods to consumers.

A beneficial owner of property is the person that holds the 'real' value of it. This 'real' value of the property is called the Beneficial interest.

This means that, for example, the beneficial owner of a home has the right to live in and use it, and receive any income that might come from it. A beneficial owner of a bank account is the person entitled to the money in the account, whether or not the account is in their name.

Use this document to give away or sell your beneficial ownership to another person, several people or a corporation. You can use it for any kind of property: e.g. a house or flat, money held in a bank account, shares in a company, a painting, or a car.

Some situations where you might use an assignment, rather than a legal transfer, include:

• when a home is mortgaged and you need give the right to enjoy the benefits of the home to new beneficiaries, while avoiding the need to settle the mortgage;
• when joint owners want to use an assignment to share the income from property to be more tax efficient; or
• when planning for inheritance-tax.

You can only use this document if the property is held on trust. However, check that your beneficial interest is not held under either a protective trust or a discretionary trust - a beneficial interest can't be assigned under either of these.

If you wish to assign the payment of a debt that is owed to you to another person (the assignee), you can use this document to do so. Once this debt has been assigned and the debtor has been notified of this assignment, the debtor will pay the debt to the assignee. This document will also create the required notice to the debtor, informing him/her that the debt has been assigned.

Use this document to assign the benefit (i.e. to transfer the benefit) of the rights you have under a contract. Most rights are capable of being assigned - for example, rights to benefits under insurance policies, rights to repayment of a loan, rights to purchase property and so on. However, it is important to note that you cannot assign any rights under a contract if the contract expressly prohibits that.

Use this document to create the notice required when a contract has been assigned. You must give notice to the other contracting party of the assignment. Without this notice, they are under no obligation to pay you (the person to whom the contract is assigned) and could continue to pay the person whom they first signed the contract with. You would not be able to claim any of the money.

In running your business, you probably receive and process other people's personal information. This could be as simple as taking customer contact details.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you need to tell people about the information you hold, including how you'll use it and for what purpose. You also need to tell them about their privacy rights and how the law protects them. You can use this privacy notice to do this (it's sometimes also known as a privacy policy or privacy statement).

This privacy notice is designed for situations where you take someone's personal information in-person - e.g. in a shop, or when visiting a customer's home. It also includes a separate, short-form privacy notice (we'll explain how and when you might want to use this).

If you need a privacy notice for sales conducted online via a website, or if your website uses cookies or collects information in any other way, use our Privacy and cookie notice for a website instead.

Also, don't use this notice in relation to personal information about your current or prospective staff - use our Privacy notice for employers instead. We also have a Privacy notice for landlords.

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Use this document to create a licence for a business premises. A licence might be suitable where giving occupation is merely an act of friendship or generosity; the occupier will be sharing the premises, for example, a stall or kiosk; or where the arrangement is short term or temporary. Please note that this document can only be used in England & Wales and Northern Ireland.

This lease is suitable for a self-contained property located in the UK that will be let for between 7 and 20 years (for properties in England or Wales) or between 5 and 20 years (for properties in Scotland or Northern Ireland).

It can be drafted for a maximum of 2 landlords and 2 tenants, who can be individuals (or sole traders), limited companies, business partnerships or limited liability partnerships.

The lease contains a rent review, an optional break clause and standard obligations from the tenant, such as paying the rent, bills and taxes associated with the property, not transferring the lease without your permission and indemnifying you from various costs.

For properties in England or Wales:

• The property must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a rating of E or better.
• There is an option to exclude the tenant's right to renew the lease; the required notice to send to the tenant is included.

Use this agreement if you own a commercial property in the UK and you're granting a short-term tenancy. This means no more than 7 years for properties in England and Wales, 20 years for properties in Scotland, or 21 years for properties in Northern Ireland.

The lease is only appropriate for a self-contained building and shouldn't be used where there are shared facilities or if you intend to increase the rent during the term. It can be drafted for a maximum of 2 landlords and 2 tenants, who can be individuals (or sole traders), limited companies, business partnerships or limited liability partnerships.

For properties in England or Wales:

• The property must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a rating of E or better.
• There is an option to exclude the tenant's right to renew the lease; the required notice to send to the tenant is included.

For properties in Northern Ireland, if the proposed term is for 5 years or more, we recommend that you use our Medium term lease of commercial premises with rent review.

When signed, this document will acknowledge the debt that is owed by one person to another, the reason why the debt arose and the amount owed. This serves two very important purposes:

1. It makes it easier to prove the existence of a debt if it is later disputed.
2. It can interrupt or suspend the effect of:

• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Limitation Act 1980 which causes a debt to become unenforceable after 6 years
• In Scotland, the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 which causes a debt to become unenforceable after 5 years in Scotland

In the latter case, this document can have the effect of restarting the clock and making the limitation period start afresh, although it will not have this effect if the acknowledgement is made after the limitation period has already expired or if the acknowledgement is not made to the person to whom the debt is owed (or his/her agent).

This product creates 3 debt collection letters demanding payment for an overdue invoice(s).

You can use it if you have sent invoices (one or more) to a consumer or business for goods supplied or services performed and those invoices remain overdue for payment.

These letters calculate the total outstanding debt as at the date of each letter, including, in some cases, any interest due on the overdue amounts.

The second and third letters can only be used if you've had no reaction from the debtor in response to the previous letter. The third letter is a final 'letter of claim' (also known as a 'letter before action'), which threatens court action if you don't get a response. This also includes the information sheet, reply form and financial statement form that you need to give to the debtor before you can go to court.

These letters are suitable for use where the goods were delivered or services were performed within the UK.

In England and Wales, you can't use them during any 'breathing space' period that the recipient may have been granted under the Debt Respite Scheme.

Use this document to make an application to county court to recover money owed to you through unpaid invoices. Before making this application, you must have already sent at least two letters to the customer demanding payment of the invoices and threatening to take the matter to court if the invoices are not paid. If you have not done this already, use our 'Debt collection letters for unpaid invoices' document. Please note that this document is only suitable for recovering sums from up to two defendants and can only be used in England & Wales. There is no limit, however, on the amount that can be claimed.

This document allows you to draw up a general power of attorney authorising one or more persons to collect debts on your behalf – it is strictly limited to this one purpose. You might want to use this if, for example, you are too busy to chase your debts and you therefore wish to appoint another person to do this on your behalf. This power of attorney is automatically cancelled on your death, mental incapacity or if you become bankrupt. You can also revoke this general power of attorney in writing at any time.

If you wish to guarantee an existing or future debt of another to a creditor, you can use this document to do so. This document is suitable whether the loan has already been given, whether the loan will be given at some time in the future or whether the loan will be given at the same time that this guarantee is being signed. The guarantee will also allow you to enter a limit to the amount of liability in the case of default.

This is not a general guarantee for the payment of a debt but is only to be used as a guarantee where the creditor has commenced legal proceedings against the debtor for payment of an outstanding debt and interest. With this guarantee, the creditor promises to cease proceedings with the understanding that if the debtor does not pay, the guarantor will pay the debt in a series of instalments as specified within the guarantee.

If you wish to guarantee the obligations of another under a contract, you can use this document to do so. This guarantee should be used after the contract has already been signed or at the same time that it is signed as you will need to refer to the contract in the guarantee. This document allows you to place a limit on the amount the guarantor will be liable for in the case of default.

This is a final 'letter of claim' (also known as a 'letter before action'), demanding payment for an overdue invoice(s). In this letter you threaten court action if you don't get a response.

The letter calculates the total outstanding debt, including, in some cases, any interest due on the overdue amounts. It also includes the information sheet, reply form and financial statement form that you need to provide before you can go to court.

Use this letter only if you have sent one or more invoices to a person or organisation for goods supplied or services performed in the UK. Ideally you will have sent at least one previous letter of demand.

It cannot be used if the recipient has disputed your claim for payment. In England and Wales, you also can't use it during any 'breathing space' period that they may have been granted under the Debt Respite Scheme.

Use this letter to make an offer to a creditor to pay a debt by instalments. With this letter, you will attach your first instalment by way of cheque. Although the creditor is not obliged to accept your offer, attaching a cheque should encourage them. It is suitable for use by an individual, as well as by a business.

Use this document to generate a promissory note, which is a written promise that you – the ‘maker’ - will pay a fixed sum of money to the payee either on demand or on the date specified in the note. The maker can be a limited company, partnership or individual, and the payee may be either a named person or the bearer of the note on the date it becomes payable. Note that no provision is made for interest on the loan.

Use this document to generate a promissory note, which is a written promise that you – the ‘maker’ - will pay a fixed sum of money by way of instalments on specified dates. The maker can be a limited company, partnership or individual, and the payee may be either a named person or the bearer of the note on the date it becomes payable. The note allows for interest to be paid on the loan.

This document creates a letter to an employee asking him or her to attend a formal disciplinary appeal meeting after the employee has appealed a decision taken at a disciplinary meeting to take disciplinary action against him or her. It is designed for general use. The employee is invited to attend the appeal meeting to reconsider or review the allegations made against the employee and/or the disciplinary action taken.

Use this document to create a letter to an employee asking them to attend a formal disciplinary meeting. The letter is designed for general use. At the meeting the employee will be able to explain his or her conduct. After the meeting you should formally notify the employee of the decision that was made.

Use this document to create a letter to notify your employee of the outcome of a disciplinary meeting. The decision can be that no disciplinary action be taken, or that an oral warning be given, or that a written warning or a final written warning be given. If the decision of the disciplinary meeting was to dismiss the employee following repeated disciplinary action, then you should use the Rapidocs document 'Employee dismissal letter following previous disciplinary action' rather than this document. If the decision is to summarily dismiss the employee on account of their gross misconduct, you should use the Rapidocs document 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct'.

Use this letter to dismiss an employee after he/she has appealed a decision to dismiss made at a disciplinary meeting, but the decision following the appeal hearing is still to dismiss. If the decision after the appeal hearing is not to dismiss, use our document ‘Employee formal appeal hearing letter’ instead of this one. If the decision following this meeting is to summarily dismiss on account of their gross misconduct, you will have to use our document 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct after an appeal hearing'. Please note that in order to use this letter, the employee must have been the subject of repeated disciplinary action due to their poor performance and/or professional misconduct and must have been dismissed using a valid disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

Use this document to create a dismissal letter to an employee following previous disciplinary action and a final disciplinary meeting. This letter is the final step in the disciplinary process where the employee has previously been given at least two written warnings and has had previous meetings to discuss the matter and to give excuses and reasons. If, on the other hand, you are summarily dismissing on account of gross misconduct, you should use the 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct' document instead of this one.

In cases where an employer needs to immediately dismiss an employee on account of gross misconduct, this letter should be used. Gross misconduct might include such actions as physical violence, extremely serious insubordination, or serious incapacity through an excess of alcohol or drugs. This letter must be used in accordance with a valid disciplinary and dismissal procedure.

This letter should be used when an employee has appealed a decision to dismiss on account of gross misconduct and the decision of the meeting is still to dismiss. At this appeal hearing the employee should have been given the opportunity to explain his/her conduct and why the disciplinary action taken should not have been implemented. Please note that if the employee has been successful in appealing against a dismissal, you should use our 'Employee formal appeal hearing letter' instead of this letter to formally notify the employee of the result of the appeal hearing. If the decision following this meeting is to dismiss but not on account of gross misconduct, you will have to use our document 'Employee dismissal letter after previous disciplinary action and an appeal hearing', rather than this one.

Use this document to send a letter to your employee following a formal appeal hearing. The letter will inform them of the outcome of the meeting, which can include that no disciplinary action be taken, that your employee receive an oral warning, a written warning or a final written warning. If the decision following this meeting is to dismiss, you will have to use the 'Employee dismissal letter after previous disciplinary action and an appeal hearing' document, rather than this one. If the decision following this meeting is to summarily dismiss on account of their gross misconduct, you will have to use the 'Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct after an appeal hearing' document.

Use this letter to formally suspend an employee while you conduct an investigation into allegations made against him or her. It is designed to temporarily remove an employee from his or her post when that employee's continued presence in the workplace may involve risk, danger or embarrassment or may be prejudicial to good discipline. Note that suspension is not a punishment and, as such, there should be no loss of normal pay or pension entitlement.

If an employer and employee are in dispute then they may formally settle that dispute by entering into a legally binding contract called a settlement agreement (previously known as a compromise agreement). A settlement agreement can be used to settle any disputes which would otherwise have to be settled by the employment tribunal or court. A settlement agreement will usually provide an employee with compensation. In return, the employee will agree not to pursue any legal claim that they have against the employer (as well as agreeing to any further conditions that the employer may impose). This document is suitable for use in the UK only.

Use this document to create an agreement whereby one website (the 'host') places a link on their website to an organisation which offers products for sale. The host site will be paid commission at the rate you specify in this agreement for each sale brought about through the link.

A domain name is property and capable of ownership - it may be bought and sold - and this agreement records the sale of a domain name from one person or business to another. Currently in the UK there are no formal requirements for domain name sales or transfers to be evidenced in writing. Nevertheless, it is sensible to have a written agreement so that appropriate warranties and assurances are given.

If your business has a website, you'll probably use to it collect and store information from people who visit it, either by asking for it directly or by putting a cookie on their web browser.

Under UK data protection law, you need to tell people about the information you hold, including how you'll use it and for what purpose. You also need to tell them about their privacy rights and how the law protects them. You can use this privacy notice to do this (it's sometimes also known as a privacy policy or privacy statement).

If your website doesn't have anywhere for users to enter information and doesn't use cookies, then you don't need this document.

You should also use our 'Terms of use for a website', which govern use of your website generally. If you make sales (i.e. take payments) via your website, you may also need our 'Terms and conditions for selling consumer goods or services on a website'.

Use this document to create the terms and conditions for the use of your website. It covers issues such as access, intellectual property and liability, with optional clauses regarding registration and posting reviews. It does not cover the sale of any goods or services via the website (i.e. through taking payments online).

This document is not suitable if access to the website is on a subscription basis, or if the website allows the uploading of content (other than reviews).

You should also use our 'Privacy and cookie notice for a website'. If you make sales (i.e. take payments) via your website, you may also need our 'Terms and conditions for selling consumer goods or services on a website'.

Use this agreement when a consultant is hired by a client to provide consultancy services (in the UK only).

It can be used by the client or the consultant - it'll be drafted according to which party you are.

It offers clauses covering a wide range of issues, including remuneration, obligations, termination notice periods and intellectual property.

It's not a contract of employment, but if either party fails to honour the terms of the agreement, they could face claims of breach of contract or negligence.

This agreement is not suitable if the consultant works in the public sector or the health care industry or may have contact with children or vulnerable adults.

Use this agreement to create an employment contract for a new employee. It includes options for part-time and shift working, probation, working hours, breaks, overtime, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, training, data protection, termination (including post-termination restrictions), and more.

It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

By law, all employers must give certain information to new staff. This document doesn't offer all of the provisions that you might expect in a full contract. Instead, it just provides the essential elements to ensure you comply with the law.

If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information contained in this document to all of your workers and employees by the time they start working for you. If you're an employer in Northern Ireland, you must give the information contained in this document to your employees within 2 months after they start working for you.

You don't need to use this document if you plan to use our Employment agreement, Fixed-term employment agreement or Zero-hours worker agreement, as these documents also contain the necessary information.

Use this statement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures around grievances, disciplinary and dismissal, and paid leave.

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

Use this agreement to create a contract for an executive director joining a UK company's board of directors, giving them the same rights as an employee. It includes options for working hours, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, share options, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, training, data protection, restrictions, and more.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of paid hours they work varies all or most of the time).

Use this agreement to create a fixed-term employment contract for a new employee. You can set the employment to end on a particular date, when a particular event occurs or when a particular task is complete.

It includes options for part-time and shift working, probation, working hours, breaks, overtime, workplace locations (including working abroad), salary, bonuses, benefits, annual leave, sick leave, pensions, data protection, termination (including post-termination restrictions), and more.

It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new employees. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not currently suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times) or employees who work irregular hours (i.e. the number of hours they work varies all or most of the time).

This document will create a written statement confirming the changes made to an employment contract or statement of particulars. There are certain changes which, by law, must be confirmed in writing and others where it is not required; however, it is considered to be best practice to do so to protect the interests of both the employer and employee. The employee is required to sign this statement, confirming their consent to the change to help protect the employer against a potential lawsuit.

This document is suitable for individuals above the mandatory school leaving age of 16 who want to gain unpaid work experience or become an unpaid intern. Due to additional regulatory requirements, this document is not suitable for students who are still at school or who are under the mandatory school leaving age (16). It is also not suitable to be used for internships that are placements forming part of a course between an educational institute and an employer.

Work experience will usually involve shadowing an employee for 1-2 weeks. An internship typically lasts for more than 3 weeks and is for someone who is working to gain relevant experience before embarking on their chosen career.

This document is suitable for placements in the UK only.

Use this agreement to create a contract for new staff working on an 'as required' or 'zero-hours' basis. It's designed for businesses who have a fluctuating need for staff or want to give staff a flexible means of working. A zero-hours worker is not guaranteed work by their employer and in this agreement the worker does not have to accept offers of work.

It deals with the job description and matters such as working time, breaks, holiday entitlement, salary, sickness and data protection. It also includes detailed disciplinary and grievance procedures as optional attachments.

All employers must give certain information in a written statement to new workers. This agreement contains that information. If you're an employer in England, Wales or Scotland, you must give the information by the time the employee starts working for you. In Northern Ireland, you can give it up to 2 months after they start.

Use this agreement in combination with our employee handbook (or your own) in order to refer to details of your policies and procedures (e.g. about different types of paid leave).

This document is not drafted to be suitable for those who work regular hours or are guaranteed work (use either our Employment agreement, Fixed-term employment agreement or Employment statement instead) or who only work during term times in education settings.

Employers should use this document to draft an agreement for their employees to formally opt out of the 48-hour working week under the Working Time Regulations. This document cannot be used for workers who can choose freely how long they work (e.g. managing executives of a company), domestic servants in private households, workers in the armed forces, police and emergency services, trainee doctors and mobile workers in the transport industry (road, rail, air or sea).

Employees have a right to up to a week off work in any 12-month period to provide or arrange for care for a qualifying dependant who needs long-term care. This is known as carer's leave.

You can use this policy to make everyone aware of the rules around carer's leave. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Who qualifies for carer's leave
• How an employee's entitlement (i.e. a 'week') is calculated
• How employees can request carer's leave
• How you may sometimes have to defer the start date of carer's leave
• Your employees' contractual rights and benefits when on carer's leave (including rights when returning to work)
• The consequences of breaching the policy (e.g. claiming carer's leave dishonestly).

This policy enables you to communicate to your staff important information and procedures for COVID-related absences. In particular, it set outs procedures for the following situations:

• Testing positive for COVID-19 or having symptoms
• Living with someone who has symptoms or tests positive, or coming into close contact with someone who tests positive
• Having contact with another staff member who has symptoms
• Becoming aware that another staff member has tested positive or is showing symptoms
• Isolating due to surgery or another hospital procedure
• Travelling abroad.

• How staff should inform you
• Sick leave, sick pay and other related details
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

When dealing with disciplinary issues, it's critical that you have - and follow - a fair and reasonable procedure, so your staff know what to do and expect. It can also help prevent tribunal claims against you.

This policy helps you to achieve this and complies with the Acas code of practice (in England, Wales and Scotland) and the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures and Labour Relations Agency code of practice (in Northern Ireland).

This policy sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Rules about maintaining confidentiality and dealing with requests for anonymity
• How and when employees may be formally or informally suspended from work
• Information and rules on attending disciplinary or appeal meetings and how you'll conduct disciplinary investigations
• How and when you'll carry out informal disciplinary discussions
• The steps of the formal disciplinary procedure
• The possible outcomes of a disciplinary meeting
• The appeals procedure
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised during the disciplinary procedure
• Examples of serious and gross misconduct
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

Use this 'Employee handbook' to set out all the non-contractual issues relating to employment, including key administrative procedures. By doing so, and by complying with the policies and procedures set out within it, you will minimise the risk of potential employee lawsuits, such as discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal and reduce the risk of having to appear before an Employment Tribunal, which can cost thousands of pounds. In addition to all the subjects which must be included in the handbook, such as maternity leave and grievance procedure, etc., there are also optional clauses which you may choose to include. These include clauses relating to company cars, dress code, alcohol and drug testing, bonus schemes and stress at work, amongst others. We recommend that this document should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it complies with future amendments to employment legislation.

Use this letter to create a standard reference about a former employee for a potential new employer.

It is not a legal requirement to provide a reference, unless you have a contractual obligation (e.g. it says so in their employment contract or in a settlement agreement). However, failure to provide a reference could leave an employer open to allegations of discrimination. You should therefore seriously consider providing an employee with a reference when asked. It is therefore important that your reference is free from language that could be discriminatory and the format of this reference should help you in this process.

For data protection reasons, it's likely that you'll need the employee's written consent to provide the information contained in this reference, before sending it.

By law you must provide your staff with a policy containing your grievance procedures.

This policy contains a fair and reasonable procedure that complies with the Acas code of practice (for England, Wales and Scotland) and the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures and Labour Relations Agency code of practice (for Northern Ireland). It's designed to ensure your staff know what to do and expect when raising a grievance, and to help managers dealing with it.

The policy sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• Rules about maintaining confidentiality, dealing with requests for anonymity and attending grievance or appeal meetings
• How to informally raise a grievance
• The steps of the formal grievance procedure
• The appeals procedure
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised after leaving employment
• How you'll deal with any grievance raised during the disciplinary procedure
• The consequences of breaching the policy.

Use this policy to set out your rules and procedures about working from home. It covers areas such as the circumstances in which you're likely or unlikely to allow homeworking, the procedure for requesting it, health and safety, use of equipment and networks, data protection and more.

It's suitable for businesses operating in the UK and applies to employees or workers.

Use this document to create a job description. This document can be used when recruiting staff, to assist you when conducting a staff appraisal, to attach to an employment contract or statement of terms/written particulars of terms or in order to update a previously drafted job description. This document creates three separate lists containing the duties and/or responsibilities of the role, the skills and knowledge required to perform it and required experience. There is also the option to insert an estimate of the percentage of time taken up by each responsibility or duty. Please note that this document is only for use in the United Kingdom.

This is a licence for an employee to occupy a property in England or Northern Ireland that's owned by their employer.

The occupancy must be on the basis that it's necessary for the employee to live in the property for the better performance of their duties. If this basis can't be established, the employee will have a tenancy and not a licence.

If an employer has a lease for the property (usually associated with ownership of flats) or is renting the property from a third party, they should check if permission is needed from their landlord before granting this licence.

If the property is in England and the employee will have other adults living with them (such as their family), employers must check whether those individuals have a legal right to live in the UK (known as 'the right to rent').

This policy is designed to support staff in a UK business who are experiencing the menopause or perimenopause.

It contains a policy statement and sets out information about both conditions and how they can affect staff.

It will also tell affected staff how they can discuss and raise any issues with you, along with what kind of support and adjustments you may be able to offer. There is also guidance for managers.

Surveys suggest more than half of women experiencing menopause symptoms are negatively affected by them at work and that many have left work as a result, often when at the peak of their careers.

Businesses that fail to find ways of supporting women in this situation therefore risk a sudden loss of knowledge, talent and experience - and becoming subject to increasing numbers of related Employment Tribunal claims.

Qualifying employees with children born on or after 6 April 2025 who receive at least a full week of neonatal care within the first 28 days have a right to up to 12 weeks' time off work (and statutory pay).

You can use this policy to make your workforce aware of your rules and procedures for taking neonatal care leave and receiving statutory neonatal care pay. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• How employees qualify for leave and pay
• What the entitlement is
• What information employees need to give you
• How employees can take or cancel the leave, and when they need to tell you
• What happens in special circumstances (e.g. if the child dies)
• Your employees' contractual rights and benefits when leave (including rights when returning to work)
• The consequences of breaching the policy (e.g. claiming leave dishonestly).

As an employer, you'll inevitably collect, use and store personal information about your current and prospective staff. Under UK data protection law, you need to tell them what information you hold, how you'll use it and for what purpose. You also need to tell them about their privacy rights and how the law protects them. You can use this privacy notice to do this. It's suitable to give to both job applicants and current staff (whether they be employees, workers or contractors).

This is a licence for an employee to occupy property owned by their employer on the basis that it is necessary for the employee to live in the property for the better performance of their duties. If this basis cannot be established then the employee will have a tenancy agreement and not a licence. If an employer has a lease for the property (usually associated with ownership of flats) or is renting the property from a third party, then it should check whether it requires permission from the landlord before granting this licence. Please note that this document is only for use in Scotland.

Use this document to create a set of forms to be used when conducting staff appraisals. This document will allow you to appraise your staff against previously set objectives and/or by rating (scoring) their performance against the specific skills and/or behavioural characteristics that are required for the role. The document also allows you to create a self-appraisal questionnaire to assist in the appraisal process and (if required) forms to record future set objectives and/or training and development needs. We recommend using the appraisal forms with an up-to-date job description. Please note that this document is only for use in the United Kingdom only.

All employers in the UK must protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace. In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must proactively take reasonable steps to prevent it. Although this proactive element doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, employers can still be held liable in the event of sexual harassment if they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Employers in the UK can also be held liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties, e.g. customers.

This policy helps you fulfil both obligations. It's drafted in line with the recommendations and guidance of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), applies to all paid staff in your business. It sets out:

• Information about the policy, including who it's for, its purpose and scope, and how it'll be communicated and implemented
• A policy statement from senior staff
• What sexual harassment (and victimisation) is
• Information about the training staff will receive
• Staff and manager obligations
• How to report breaches (including both informal and formal procedures for resolving complaints)
• The kind of support you may be able to offer
• How you'll monitor sexual harassment and victimisation in the workplace
• The consequences of breaching the policy

We've also included a separate section with practical advice about how to use the policy and meet your obligations.

Use this document to complete the second and final stage of a fire risk assessment after using our document 'Fire risk review checklist'. On this document, you will record the sources of any significant risks of a fire occurring within your workplace and the risks to people within your workplace in the event of a fire. You will evaluate the severity of such risks and you will identify steps that might be taken to remove or reduce these risks. Finally, you will record what action is proposed to be taken and applicable timescales.

Use this document to complete the first stage of a fire risk assessment as is required under fire safety legislation. It will assist you to undertake a thorough inspection of the workplace and review of existing procedures. The purpose of this document is to gather information concerning potential fire risks, the risks to people within the workplace and the effectiveness of existing systems and procedures. After completing this first stage of the process, you should use our document "Fire risk assessment - Recording of significant findings".

This product enables you to prepare and document the compliance of your business with all relevant health and safety legislation. It does this by walking you through all the issues that you need to address - registration, insurance, risk analysis, risk minimisation, training, etc. The document then prepares a statement of development to be kept on file and shown to all interested parties and officials to prove that you have followed the appropriate procedures in developing a health and safety policy for your business. It also produces a list of actions with timelimits so that you address all relevant issues. Finally, it produces a tailored health and safety policy at the end of the document. Hence, this product produces three documents - a record of the development of your health and safety policy, a list of actions with timelimits and the health and safety policy itself.

It is recommended that you review this policy every 18 months, or sooner if there are substantial changes to your staffing or premises.

An employer's health and safety obligations aren't restricted to the workplace. Employers continue to have a duty to minimise any risks to staff even when those staff are working from home. Use this risk assessment to help you identify risks and decide on suitable actions.

Suitable for homeworkers in desk-bound, office-related roles, it covers topics such as workstations, display-screen equipment, mental health and fire safety, among others.

If necessary, the assessment can be carried out by the homeworker themselves.

A risk assessment is a systematic method of looking at work activities, considering what could go wrong and deciding on suitable control measures to prevent loss, damage or injury in the workplace. Before a business takes on a young person under the age of 18 for work experience, the law requires them to undertake a health and safety risk assessment covering specific points. This easy-to-use form is designed for any business wishing to ensure that they meet their legal obligations in this regard and can be tailored to meet the needs of any industry or sector.

All employers in the UK must protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace. In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must proactively take reasonable steps to prevent it. Although this proactive element doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, employers can still be held liable in the event of sexual harassment if they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Employers in the UK can also be held liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties, e.g. customers.

Use this climate survey to identify any patterns of behaviour that your staff experience while they work for you and gather insights on situations and practices that increase the risk of sexual harassment.

A key part of fulfilling this obligation is to assess the potential risk of staff being exposed to sexual harassment - carrying out a survey will help you to do that more thoroughly. For this reason, use this document before completing our Sexual harassment risk assessment checklist.

All employers in the UK must protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace. In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must proactively take reasonable steps to prevent it. Although this proactive element doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, employers can still be held liable in the event of sexual harassment if they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Employers in the UK can also be held liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties, e.g. customers.

A key part of fulfilling your obligations is to assess the potential risk of staff being exposed to sexual harassment. This checklist will ask you about various aspects of your business and help you to assess the levels of risk involved.

It'll also help you to outline what actions you're taking, their shortcomings, and any further action that might be needed to minimise or eliminate the risks.

Before completing this document, it's strongly recommended that you ask your staff to complete an anonymous survey about their experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace, and gather the results. You can use our Sexual harassment climate survey to do this.

When recruiting, employers may use this document to produce a form for all applicants invited to interview to complete. The form asks the applicant to declare whether they have a current criminal conviction, and if so, to give details of the offence(s) and sentence(s). Additionally, there are clear instructions in how employers should use this information to ensure that they comply fully with the requirements of the Rehabilitation of Offenders and Data Protection Acts.

Use this to create a reference letter from an employer to a referee. It will contain a number of useful standard questions seeking information that an employer may find useful. You should include a stamped, addressed envelope with this letter to facilitate a quick response from the referee. The applicant will need to give their consent for their old employer to provide a reference to you. To avoid delays, the applicant should give that consent to them directly or to you, so you can send it with this letter.

Employers should use this document to prepare a letter to send to unsuccessful job applicants, whether or not they attended an interview. The letter advises them that they have been unsuccessful on this occasion and includes the option to keep their details for future vacancies, should they agree to this.

Employers should use this form when interviewing job applicants. The form includes a comprehensive checklist of topics to be covered during interview, with suggestions for specific questions and the opportunity to allocate marks and give comments for each. The completed checklist can provide evidence that you have taken a consistent and fair approach to all candidates. If properly applied, this can assist in providing protection against complaints of discrimination. You should keep all completed checklists for unsuccessful applicants for at least six months for this reason.

This document creates a standard job application form to be used when hiring new staff. It should assist you in forming an objective view of the applicant's suitability as part of your selection process. The document also takes into account discrimination legislation to help protect your business against accusations of discrimination at an employment tribunal. You may wish to use this application form in combination with a criminal convictions declaration form, although you should send these two forms separately to the applicant.

Use this to create a job offer letter for a prospective employee following an interview. It contains basic information of your offer, such as salary, hours, holiday, benefits and notice periods.

You can also include details of any probation period or hybrid working arrangements, and choose to make the employment conditional on various criteria such as references, qualifications or other checks.

You will need to send a more detailed employment contract or statement of written particulars (either with this letter or separately, later). You can use our Employment statement or Employment agreement to do this.

This document is not suitable for part-year employees (such as employees who work only during education term times).

Use this document to create an induction checklist when taking on a new member of staff. As the checklist has not been catered to a particular business or industry, it might be the case that there are certain items that will not be applicable. However, the checklist should provide the necessary structure as part of a wider induction programme.

This document should be used by landlords of a residential property to create a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy agreement. Specific clauses are included to cover gas, electrical and fire safety and building maintenance. It is suitable for both regular lettings and Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO). The document deals with a landlord's requirement to use a Government-authorised Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme. Please note that the total rent payable should be less than £100,000 per year.

On 1 December 2022, assured shorthold tenancies were abolished in Wales due to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act. They have been replaced by standard occupation contracts.

Use this document to create either a fixed-term or a periodic standard occupation contract (also known as a written statement). It contains all the required terms and necessary explanatory information.

It's broadly based on the Welsh Assembly's model written statement, but with extra clauses and options, including:

• Break clauses
• How the contract-holder (i.e. tenant) should use, maintain and secure the property
• Access rights during the last 2 months of the contract (e.g. for viewings)
• What the contract-holder must do when the contract ends, including what happens to any property left behind
• What happens if the property is destroyed or becomes uninhabitable
• An inventory
• A guarantee

This document can be used by a landlord operating as a business entity, or by up to 4 joint landlords (who are individuals).

Note that this document can't be used for:

• A fixed-term lasting 7 years or more
• Lettings where the landlord is a registered charity, registered social landlord, local authority or other form of community landlord
• Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
• Other types of standard contracts (e.g. supported, introductory or prohibited standard contracts)
• Agricultural land
• Holiday or short-term lets
• Lets where the landlord is sharing the property
• Social housing, care institutions, asylum seekers, homeless people, employees (where the landlord is the employer) or students (where the landlord is a university or college)

Use this to create an inventory and record of condition for residential properties let in the UK. It should help prevent disputes when the agreement ends.

You'll have the option to either create a blank inventory (tailored to the configuration and contents of your property) to fill in later, or to complete it in full. You've also got the option to upload photos.

The document includes helpful examples, plus instructions about what to do afterwards, including any legal requirements and set timeframes that may apply in your part of the UK.

This document is suitable for use by a landlord of residential property to request the payment of rent due from the tenant under the terms of the tenancy. It should not be used as a demand for service charges.

You must not send this letter to a tenant if you're told that they've been granted formal 'breathing space' from rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme.

Many tenants, particularly those from overseas, require a letter from their landlord confirming that they have a tenancy. This can be important in opening a bank account, gaining employment, and even joining a local library. This document creates a letter from a landlord confirming the status of a tenant.

Use this letter to request a reference from a referee whose details have been supplied by a prospective tenant. The references should be obtained from a previous landlord, a previous secured lender, an employer, a bank or a building society.

Use this document to meet your legal requirements after taking a deposit from a tenant (now known as contract holders in Wales). It tells tenants which deposit protection scheme is used and, together with the scheme documents that must be provided with this notice, gives them the 'prescribed information' required by law.

Protect the deposit and give this notice and the scheme documents to the tenant within 30 days of the tenant paying the deposit. At the same time, you should also send it (together with the scheme documents) to anyone who paid the deposit for the tenant and, in order to avoid any dispute, the tenant's guarantors (if any).

As a landlord (or licensor), you'll inevitably collect, use and store personal information about your tenants or licensees. Under UK data protection law, you need to tell them what information you hold, how you'll use it and for what purpose. You also need to tell them about their privacy rights and how the law protects them. You can use this privacy notice to do this. It's suitable for landlords of residential or commercial property.

When letting property to tenants in Northern Ireland, use this document to create a rent book in accordance with the Private Tenancies Order 2006. You must provide your tenants with this rent book within 28 days of the start of the tenancy. Failure to provide a tenant with a rent book in accordance with these regulations can lead to a district council taking legal action. Please note that this document is only for use in Northern Ireland.

Landlords of a residential property in Northern Ireland can use this document to create a tenancy agreement for a fixed term, suitable for either 1 or 2 tenants. Specific clauses are included to cover gas, electrical and fire safety and building maintenance. It is not suitable for houses in multiple occupancy (HMO), which is a house tenanted by three or more unrelated people sharing kitchen and toilet facilities.

If you let a residential property to tenants in Northern Ireland, you need to give them this notice within 28 days after granting the tenancy.

This notice is also known as a Landlord's notice relating to the granting of a private tenancy. We've previously referred to it as a Statement of tenancy terms.

It's suitable in situations where there are 1 or 2 landlords and 1 or 2 tenants.

This limited liability partnership agreement (LLP) is suitable in terms of the applicable legislation in each UK jurisdiction (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). It provides a contractual framework under which the members should conduct themselves at all times. The agreement includes provisions in relation to the key elements that define an LLP such as management, finances and member regulation. In addition, the agreement offers many optional clauses such as those in relation to insurance, maternity, paternity and adoption leave. This document is suitable for small to medium sized limited liability partnerships of no more than 20 members. Please note that this can only be used for LLPs consisting of individual members, and not companies or other LLPs.

This document records an agreement between a photographer and a model in relation to a session where the photographer will take photos of the model.

The agreement gives details of when and where the photo session will take place. It ensures that any photographs taken will be the photographer's property.

There are options for allowing the photographer to use the photos in whatever lawful way they choose, or to limit their use for specific purposes.

The model agrees not to make any complaint or claim about how the photos are used (as long as they're used in line with this agreement).

Intellectual property (IP) rights refer to rights granted to people and organisations over "creations of the mind". They include trade marks, designs and copyright.

You can use this document to assign (i.e. transfer):

• all IP rights in specific materials (documents or physical items) that have already been created (e.g. copyright in literary works or photographs, or unregistered design rights); and/or
• all future IP rights in materials that may be created during work done on a particular project (e.g. wedding photography or videography, or a commission to paint a portrait); and/or
• specific IP rights (e.g. particular registered trade marks or designs, or pending applications for trade mark or design registration).

You can use it if you're the person transferring the rights (assignor) or the person receiving them (assignee).

You can potentially use it to transfer non-UK rights. However, local laws may affect the transfer in non-UK countries and there may be extra requirements or formalities. You should get local legal advice.

This document replaces and expands the functionality of the document Transfer of copyright in photographs.

If 2 or more people perform music together with the intention of making a profit, this usually creates a general partnership. This band members agreement is a type of partnership agreement. You can use it to regulate the partnership and the relationship between the band members.

Areas covered include:

• What's expected of each band member
• How band leading tasks will be managed
• How administrative tasks will be managed
• How decisions are made and who makes them
• Whether and when the band members will be expected to contribute cash
• The band members' rights to a share of the cash, profits and royalties and how that's calculated
• How new band members can join
• What happens if a band member leaves
• The circumstances in which a band member can be expelled from the band
• Accounting and banking procedures.

Use this document to bring a partnership to an end where either the partnership agreement specifies that it can be dissolved by serving notice, or doesn't say that it can't and doesn't say how long it must last. Once a notice of dissolution has been served, it can't be withdrawn unless all of the partners agree.

This partnership agreement is in accordance with the Partnership Act 1890 and provides a contractual framework under which the partners should conduct themselves at all times. The agreement includes provisions in relation to the key elements that define a partnership such as management, finances and partner regulation. In addition the agreement offers many optional clauses such as those in relation to insurance, maternity, paternity and adoption leave. This document is suitable for small to medium sized partnerships of no more than twenty partners. Please note that this document is not suitable for those intending to form a limited liability partnership.

Use this covering letter to a county court to enclose the forms and documents needed to issue a claim for possession on the ground of rent arrears, for a property in England let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy.

You'll need to have already completed claim forms N5 and N119 (particulars of claim) and a schedule of rent arrears. You can use our documents Form N5 - Claim for possession of property (rent arrears only), Form N119 - Particulars of claim (rent arrears only) and Schedule of rent arrears for form N119 to do this.

Note: If you've been told that your tenants have been granted breathing space under the debt respite scheme, you can't send this letter or issue a claim for possession without first getting a court's permission.

Use this covering letter to a county court to enclose the form and supporting documents needed to issue a claim for possession using the accelerated possession procedure for a property let under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement.

You will need to have already completed claim form N5B. You can use our document Form N5B - Claim for possession of property (accelerated procedure) to do this.

This document creates a covering letter to the court for a landlord issuing an application for a warrant of possession which is used to evict a tenant by a bailiff appointed by the court. It can only be used for possession proceedings in England or Wales.

To use this document, you will need to have obtained an order for possession of the property and the time for the tenant to vacate must have expired or the tenant must have breached the terms of a suspended possession order. You must have also completed Form N325 - Request for warrant of possession of land.

Use this as a covering letter when serving a notice seeking possession under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 on your tenants.

Use this as a covering letter when serving a notice seeking possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 against a tenant with an assured or assured shorthold tenancy agreement solely on the grounds that there are current rent arrears.

If you're a residential landlord and have a date for a possession court hearing in England or Wales due to rent arrears, you'll need to send the court and the tenant(s) an updated rent arrears schedule and witness statement. They must receive them at least 2 days before the hearing.

You can use this to create 2 covering letters to accompany the documents when you send them to the court and the tenant(s). You can also use the covering letters to state whether or not you'll be seeking an order for the tenant(s) to pay for your costs.

If you haven't already, use our document Updated rent arrears schedule and witness statement for possession hearing first.

If you're looking to regain possession of a residential property let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy, you can use this form to apply for a court order for possession solely on the grounds of rent arrears.

It must be given after you've sent the tenants a valid 'section 8' notice (seeking possession due to rent arrears) and the tenants haven't left or paid the arrears by the deadline given in that notice.

This form must be completed together with Form N5 and a schedule of rent arrears. You can use our documents Form N5 - Claim for possession of property (rent arrears only) and Schedule of rent arrears for form N119 to do this. Once all these documents are completed, you can start your possession claim by sending them to the relevant court. You will have to pay a court fee.

If you've been told that your tenants have been granted breathing space under the debt respite scheme, you can't send either form during this period without first getting a court's permission.

This document must not be used for claims using the accelerated possession procedure - use our document Form N5B - Claim for possession of property (accelerated procedure) instead.

The N215 certificate of service should generally be completed after having sent any court documents, such as claim forms or applications to the court, or other important documents to an opponent after (or sometimes before) court proceedings have begun. The form provides evidence that the documents have been served on an opponent. It is only suitable for claims within England & Wales.

Form N325 should be used to apply to the court to instruct court bailiffs to evict any tenants who have failed to vacate a property in England or Wales within the time given to them by the court under the terms of a possession order, or if the tenant has failed to comply with the terms of a suspended possession order.

It can also be used to instruct the court bailiff to recover any money owed by tenants. Once completed, this form must be sent to the relevant court together with the appropriate court fee to be issued.

If you're looking to regain possession of a residential property let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy, you can use this form to apply for a court order for possession solely on the grounds of rent arrears.

It must be given after you've sent the tenants a valid 'section 8' notice (seeking possession due to rent arrears) and the tenants haven't left or paid the arrears by the deadline given in that notice.

This form must be completed together with Form N119 and a schedule of rent arrears. You can use our documents Form N119 - Particulars of claim (rent arrears only) and Schedule of rent arrears for form N119 to do this. Once all these documents are completed, you can start your possession claim by sending them to the relevant court. You will have to pay a court fee.

If you've been told that your tenants have been granted breathing space under the debt respite scheme, you can't send either form during this period without first getting a court's permission.

This document must not be used for claims using the accelerated possession procedure - use our document Form N5B - Claim for possession of property (accelerated procedure) instead.

Use this court form to apply for a county court possession order for a property let under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement (AST) in England. It will create cover sheets for you to attach supporting documents to, if your circumstances require it.

To use this form, all of the following must be true:

• You're claiming possession of a property rented under a AST that began on or after 28 February 1997.
• All the fixed-term or contractual periodic AST agreements with the tenants are written.
• All of the tenants are individuals (i.e. not companies or organisations).
• At least one of the tenants occupies the property as their only home.
• None of the tenants are employed as an agricultural worker.
• If there is more than one landlord, none of them operate as a business.
• A section 21 notice has been served on the all the tenants at the same time and in the same way.
• Your claim is only for possession of your property and doesn't include any other claim (e.g. rent arrears).
• If you've received a deposit, you've paid it into a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme.
• If the first or latest tenancy agreement is dated on or before 1st December 2003, you've paid any owed stamp duty.

Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, if you let a property under a standard occupation contract (fixed-term or periodic) and you want to evict your contract-holders (i.e. tenants) due to serious rent arrears, this is the formal notice you must give them.

It tells them that you intend to make a court claim to evict them, which you can do from 14 days after serving the notice. It replaces the section 8 notice under the old rules.

Serious rent arrears means at least:

• 8 weeks' rent is in arrears (if the rent is paid weekly, fortnightly or every 4 weeks)
• 2 months' rent is in arrears (if rent is paid monthly)
• One quarter's rent is more than 3 months in arrears (if rent is paid quarterly)
• 25% of the rent is more than 3 months in arrears (if rent is paid each year)

If you've been told that the contract-holder has been granted breathing space under the debt respite scheme, you can't send this notice during this period without first getting a court's permission.

If you had a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy in Wales that was still in the fixed-term period before 1 December 2022, it automatically converted to a fixed-term standard occupation contract on 1 December due to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act.

If you want to end the resulting converted fixed-term contract, this is the formal notice you must give to your contract-holders (i.e. tenants). It replaces the section 21 notice under the old rules.

You must give the notice to contract-holders before the end of the fixed term. It tells them when they need to move out. You must give them at least 2 months' notice. These are special rules that apply only to converted fixed-term occupation contracts.

However, you can only use this form if you've created and given a written converted fixed-term standard occupation contract to your contract-holders. You're not entitled to use the special rules for converted fixed-term contracts until you do this.

There are other qualifying conditions - our document questionnaire will guide you through these and warn if you need to take any action.

You can't use this notice if:

• the fixed-term has ended;
• you want to end the fixed-term early using a break clause; or
• you've already given a valid section 21 notice before 1 December 2022.

This document creates an initial letter from a private landlord to a tenant who is in rent arrears. It should be used for residential properties rented under an assured or an assured shorthold tenancy agreement in England, or a standard occupation contract in Wales.

You must not send this letter to a tenant if you're told that they've been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme.

Use this covering letter to a county court to enclose the form needed to apply for a judgment for possession against your tenant where they've failed to send the court their defence within the timeframe set by the court. This is known as a judgment in default.

To use this document, you should have issued a claim using claim form N5B (claim form for possession of property let under an assured shorthold tenancy agreement) for possession under the accelerated possession procedure for a property in England. You should also have completed the application form for judgment in default (which is provided by the court).

Note: The tenant(s) have 14 days from the date of service of form N5B to send their defence to the court. If the court receives their defence after the 14 days expired, but before you apply for a judgment in default, their defence will be accepted by the court - so don't delay sending this document.

Use this document to create a covering letter for a completed bailiff's questionnaire after you have obtained an order for a warrant of possession using Form N235 to evict a tenant.

The questionnaire will confirm the bailiffs' appointment to attend the property to evict the tenant.

Note: if using this document in relation to a property in Wales, you must have started your possession claim before 1 December 2022.

This is the formal notice that you must serve on (i.e. give to) a tenant to tell them that you're seeking possession of your property under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

It can only be used for properties in England let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy agreement.

You must not send this notice:

• Before the tenancy starts
• Unless the tenant has lived in the property for at least 4 months
• Before the end of the fixed-term of a tenancy (unless there is a break clause in the tenancy agreement allowing you to do so)
• If you've failed to comply with several other conditions (which are set out in the guidance notes of this document).

Otherwise, you can use our document Covering letter for section 21 notice to send it.

This is the formal notice that you must serve on (i.e. give to) a tenant to tell them that you're seeking possession of your property on the grounds that there are current rent arrears. It also includes a schedule of rent arrears to accompany the notice.

It can only be used for properties in England let under an assured or assured shorthold tenancy agreement.

You must not send this notice if you're told that the tenant has been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme, without first getting a court's permission. Otherwise, you can use our document Covering letter for section 8 notice to send it.

This document is not suitable for seeking possession on any grounds other than rent arrears.

This document creates a schedule of costs to be used in general court proceedings by a litigant acting in person when applying to recover their costs of time spent and expenses incurred in conducting a claim.

Use this schedule of rent arrears as required when applying to the court for a possession order on the grounds of rent arrears. You must send it with court form N119.

You must not send this document (or court form N119) if you're told that the tenant has been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme.

Use this to create a witness statement and updated schedule of rent arrears, which you will need if you're a residential landlord and have a date for a possession court hearing in England or Wales due to rent arrears.

You must send both documents to the court and the tenant(s) at least 2 days before the court hearing. We therefore recommend that you complete them a week before the court hearing so that you can send them in time. You can use our document Covering letter for witness statement & rent arrears schedule to do this.

Important: If you receive a notice that your tenant has been granted formal 'breathing space' from the rent arrears debt under the Debt respite scheme, you must inform the court of this in writing as soon as you receive it.

Intellectual property (IP) rights refer to rights which are the result of intellectual effort. They include trade marks, designs and copyright.

This document can be used to grant a licence for the use of IP rights in connection with the supply of specified products or services (licensed products). The IP rights may be:

• all IP rights that exist in relation to specific copyright works that have already been created (e.g. copyright in literary works or photographs); and/or
• specific IP rights (e.g. particular registered or unregistered trade marks or designs, or pending applications for trade mark or design registration).

You can use it if you're the person licensing the rights (the licensor) or the person being given the use of them (the licensee).

You can use it to license non-UK rights. However, local laws may affect the licence in non-UK countries and there may be extra requirements or formalities. You should get local legal advice.

This document replaces and expands the functionality of the documents Trademark licence agreement and the Photographer's agreement as to the use of his or her work.

This document produces a mutual non-disclosure agreement (mutual NDA) which allows two parties to protect confidential information when they are negotiating a joint venture. If negotiations fail, the agreement will help to protect information from being made public. Care must be taken to ensure that the information which it is intended to keep confidential is marked as being confidential. Please note that in order for this agreement to be enforceable in the UK courts, at least one of the parties needs to be resident in the UK.

This document produces an agreement which allows one party (the discloser) to reveal to the other (the recipient) information which the discloser considers to be confidential. It is mainly designed for situations where the recipient is considering investing in the discloser and therefore needs to evaluate confidential information. In situations where there is a joint venture, where both parties need to protect their confidentiality, our "Mutual non-disclosure agreement" should be used instead. Please note that in order for this agreement to be enforceable in the UK, the discloser must be resident in the UK.

This is a letter of appointment for a non-executive director recording the terms under which the non-executive director is to be appointed. Non-executive directors are not involved in the day-to-day running of the business, but should help the company by offering an independent view on areas such as performance, standards and strategy. It also contains provisions to promote the success of the company in accordance with the latest requirements of company law.

Where two or more people wish to carry on a business through a limited company, a shareholders' agreement should be used. The agreement sets out the duties and responsibilities of the shareholders to the company and regulates their relationship with each other. The shareholders may be either all individuals or all companies/LLPs or a combination of both.

This shareholders' agreement is for use in relation to a UK-based private limited company, whose shareholders are also all UK-based.

It's not appropriate for listed companies, or companies with more than one class of shares within its issued share capital (which means it's not appropriate if there are shareholders without voting rights).

This document produces a form which is suitable for use in recording any employee's request for absence from work. The form is self-explanatory. Within reason an employer can establish its own procedures for notifying absences and in verifying whether the reasons given are genuine.

This letter asks an employee, worker or potential new recruit for their consent for you to get a medical report about them. You have a choice of requesting the report from their GP (or other medical adviser), or from a medical adviser of your choice (e.g an occupational health adviser).

When asking for a medical report, there are various issues around consent and data protection. This letter will help you to meet your obligations.

You can use it in a number of situations, such as:

• If the staff member is absent due to a long-term problem;
• If they are persistently absent for short periods;
• If you're considering the need for reasonable adjustments under equality law, or;
• To help make a final recruitment decision.
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This document creates a sickness self-certification form. Many employers now use their own self-certification system for short term sickness absences. As doctors no longer issue certificates (unless paid for) for absences shorter than 8 days, a company self-certification system can be an effective method of controlling sickness absence. It also assists in the maintenance of accurate sickness records which all employers are required to keep for Statutory Sick Pay purposes.

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