Top tips on cutting the cost of compliance

Despite government efforts to reduce the amount of time and money spent on keeping up to speed on regulation changes, there’s no escaping the fact that the cost of compliance is on the up. Jo Eccles, business adviser at the Forum of Private Business, provides some practical advice how to cut your annual compliance bill. 1.    Be prepared (and prepare early) When it comes to getting ready for law changes, particularly the big ones like auto enrolment, it pays to prepare well in advance. While you cannot escape the inevitable costs that will be involved you can keep these down and reduce the impact on your business if you do your homework and budget carefully. Getting the right software in place is just one area where you could make real savings, as many major payroll package providers will include updates for big changes such as RTI and auto enrolment as standard. 2.    Keep up to date If staying up to date with the latest changes is the main issue for you, it pays to identify one or two trusted sources of information that will ensure that you are aware of all the law changes and key dates well before they happen. 3.    Take advice then act! With the average employment tribunal costs in the region of £9,000 and health and safety penalty £16,730 it pays to seek advice to ensure to stay on the right side of the law. You should also ensure that whatever source you decide to go with is insured to protect you should the worst happen. 4.    It pays to shop around! Outsourced compliance services are just like any other service you decide to buy in – you can always look for a better deal. Quite often you may find that you can find combined packages that provide employment law, health and safety and contract advice with the extra piece of mind of insurance cover. These could be a lot more cost effective than looking to pay a combination of lawyers and individual consultants. 5.    Delegate If you are running your own business and managing all your legal compliance, then the time may have come to share some of that responsibility with others in your organisation. You may want to appoint a health and safety officer or someone in charge of HR. Delegating doesn’t mean you are no longer responsible, but it could free up some of your valuable time for you to concentrate on what you do business – growing your business.