> though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director > personaly... > > and, win... > > I'm not a lawyer, but, I think, in case of 'one person company' some of > the argument to justify it is, well, that it is 'one person company' > > did I say I'm not a lawyer ?
I work a bit in the mining industry, where you do from time to time get a fatality, and desperate insurance firms/lawyers look for anyone to blame and sue, so I've talked to the directors of the company and picked up a bit of their strategies. If you think you're exposed to claims, the first step is to start a P/L. This separates your personal liability from that of your company (ie, what you do for work). Director's liability, from what I can work out, is pretty well limited to their function as a director, not a worker. A director is liable for OH&S stuff, ensuring the company isn't trading insolvent, etc. Just because you deleted a client's database that wasn't backed up, doesn't mean that they can sue you through directors liability. The other key arse covering exercise is getting Public Indemnity insurance. While different companies will require you to have different amounts, $5Mil is probably the smallest amount you should get. Personally, I don't have PI cover. I am included on the policy of companies I do relatively 'high risk' work for, and all my other work is programming for clients whom I have a good, ongoing relationship. So a P/L company structure gives me enough protection. You've got to be able to sleep at night, do as much as you feel you should, and get some professional advice as to your potential exposure. -Andrew -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
