Disclosure requirements and legal requirement on company stationary and websites.
Most companies will be aware of this, but since the 1st January 2007 it has been a legal requirement that certain information is made available or displayed on a companies web site and emails.
It is now required that Limited Companies are to include on web sites and all emails:
1. The Company Name in full
2. The Registered Office address
3. The Company number and disclosure of the country of registration, usually in the format “Registered in England; No. 123456789”.
This information is also required on Company websites. The new legislation brings emails and websites in line with the requirements for Company letter headings and other company stationery that might be sent out to customers or suppliers.
This is taken from the DTI web site:
LANGUAGES & TRADING DISCLOSURES REGULATIONS 2006
2.1 Do we have to put our registration details on emails?
If the email relates to the company’s business, then yes.
2.2 My organisation is made up of a number of subsidiary organisations. Do we have to put details of all subsidiaries on all websites?
It’s up to you. We know some groups are having a single page which links between all the parts of the group giving their registration details.
2.3 What are the consequences of non compliance?
If you do not comply you could be subject to a fine. The current fine is one fifth of the statutory maximum of £5000.
2.4 Do I have to put my VAT numbers and details on documents?
This is not required by the Companies Act. You may want to check the point with HM Revenue & Customs.
2.5 Do I have to put the details on every page of my website?
No, though it should be somewhere it can be easily found and read.
2.6 Does all this information have to go on my business card?
Not unless you want it to.
We have noticed that a lot of companies on the web are not currently complying with this requirement. ( And also need a web redesign )
With emails it is easy enough to add a signature to your mail client like Outlook or Outlook Express and would be automatically added each time you send an email.
If you have a website you need your web designer or us to up date your web site to make it compliant for a one-off fee. Just give us a call or email and we’ll sort it out for you.
Please do note: this is not legal advice, and anyone who is unsure about what you should do please seek independent legal advice.
For those who are interested, this is how an e-mail signature should look:
Your Company Name
E-mail: name@yourwebaddress.com
Tel: 01223 498765
Fax: 01223 498764
Website: www.company-url.com
Registered Office: Man House, old Lane, South Field, East Fromshire, FR15 2HU.
Registered as a company in England and Wales, number 3331234
VAT Registration Number: 666 0000 55
The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and intended for the sole use of the addressee(s). Access, copying, disclosure or re-use, in any way, of the information contained in this email and attachments by anyone other than the addressee(s) is unauthorised. If you have received this email in error, please return it to the sender and highlight the error. We accept no legal liability for the content of the message. Any opinions or views presented are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Your Company Name Ltd. We cannot guarantee that this message has not been modified in transit, and this message should not be viewed as contractually binding. Although we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that this email and attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free.
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