Email and diary software company Softalk warns that small and medium size companies are particularly at risk of fines as most do not currently include all of the essential information in their email signatures. Every company needs to list its company registration number, place of registration and registered office address on its website and in emails.
Such information is already required on ‘business letters’ but the new regulations extend it to websites, order forms and electronic documents including email. Softalk joint CEO Simon Bates said: “Small and medium size businesses have to cope with more and more draconian regulations. Owners and directors now face fines if their employees forget to include this information in email signatures. It is vital that they install and update software that enables them to append legal disclaimers to every email.”
The new law is as a result of the UK government implementing a European law, the First Company Law Amendment, into UK law. The Companies (Registrar, Languages and Trading Disclosure) Regulations 2006 came into force on January 1.