On Sat, 2006-09-23 at 09:06 +1000, SkoZombie wrote: > > though, these days, lawyers claim against both company *and* director > > personaly... > > > > and, win...
I'm presently faced with exactly this situation. I've asked four lawyers and a barister and so far got 5 opinions, all heavily qualified - eg "I think xyz, but then again, and in case maybe but maybe not". Wouldn't you love to see the kind of program a lawyer would write? I'm not sure I would rely on Pty Ltd to save your bacon. IANAL etc etc (then again, why would I want to be?) > > > > 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
