Ensuring your company can function in uncertain times
With the impact of Covid-19 on businesses in Australia increasing with each day, ensuring your business has all the legal documents in place to operate if you become unwell or are in isolation is a vital need.
At law school, we are taught that a company is like its own individual person — a separate legal entity. However, that legal entity does not have arms or legs, so humans need to step into the “shoes” of the company to sign documents on its behalf.
Legal documents for a company must be signed a certain way to be valid. For companies with multiple directors, documents need to be signed by two directors of the company or by one director and the person named as the secretary of the company. It is easy to see how at the moment there could be a vital document to be signed (like an application for government assistance) that needs to be signed when a director is unavailable due to illness or isolation.
In a manner similar to a personal power of attorney, a company power of attorney acts to validly appoint another person to sign legal documents on behalf of the company. In appointing such a person you may choose an employee or a trusted friend or family member – someone you trust highly to do the right thing by you and the company. The power of attorney can be limited to certain documents so that it is limited to only the things that would make a difference in the current circumstances.
For companies that have only one director/secretary, a power of attorney is even more paramount to ensure someone you trust has authority to run the business if you are unwell.
A company power of attorney is one of the key ways that your company can keep operating if directors are sick or in a period of isolation or there is a public shut down of businesses.
O’Farrell Robertson McMahon’s business lawyers Lachlan Edwards and Siobhan Liston can swiftly prepare a company power of attorney for your company. Please call Lachlan 5445 1031 on or Siobhan on 5445 1067 to discuss further.