It is when times get tough that problems which might have been easy to gloss over in better times start to make themselves visible. When serious problems that have remained undiscovered for a substantial period come to light, a company’s auditors may...

In principle, the notion of self-defence is straightforward. A person is entitled to use reasonable force to defend themselves against attack and in certain other circumstances. Self-defence is a valid defence against prosecution when the circumstances...

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 make direct and indirect age discrimination illegal in an employment context, unless the treatment can be objectively justified. The legislation applies to discrimination against young as well as older...

With the recession beginning to bite, many occupiers of rented property are looking to move to less expensive premises or reduce the space they currently occupy. If you are thinking along these lines, here are some tips which may help...

According to a recent report in the Sunday Times, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are to breach the centuries-old principle of anonymity of Swiss bank accounts by ‘piggy-backing’ on a deal between the German and Swiss authorities which allows the...

If an employer seeks, unilaterally, to make changes to the terms and conditions of an employee’s contract of employment and the employee is not in agreement with them, it is generally a breach of contract. In serious cases, the employee can have the...

Under the Points Based System (PBS) for immigration, most people applying to come to or remain in the UK to work or study who are not nationals of the European Economic Area or Swiss nationals will, in addition to having to meet the criteria set by the PBS...

In contracts for construction works it is common for there to be indemnities against loss, given to the employer by the contractor, and also for there to be agreement as to what sort of insurance cover must be put in place. This is normally done by taking...

Following a recent decision of the Law Lords that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) does not apply to care homes which are run privately, the Government has announced it is to change the law. The case involved an elderly woman who was...

The law relating to covenants, easements and ‘profits à prendre’ over land is a relatively complex area given that such rights are common – the Land Registry has suggested that nearly two thirds of properties have some sort of...

On 18 August, two new driving offences came into force. These are causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while unlicensed, uninsured or disqualified. The effect of the changes is to increase the likely penalty...

Don't let the post-holiday rush distract you from meeting the deadline for claiming relief from business rates. Small Business Rate Relief applies where the Rateable Value (RV) of business premises is less than...

The Government's quest for better information on the energy efficiency of buildings has led to the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for commercial as well as residential property (where they constitute part of the Home...

Employees, or their dependants, are entitled to claim damages for injury caused by a workplace accident if:   there was a duty of care owed to the injured person; that duty was not performed; and ...

A judgment by the Court of Appeal illustrates that when someone dies without making it clear who should inherit their estate, this can result in a prolonged court battle and an outcome that may be very different from what the deceased person intended and...

The new national minimum wage rates which will apply from October 2008 are as follows: The adult national minimum wage will rise from £5.52 to £5.73 an hour. The minimum rate for 18- to 21-year-olds...

When one member of a cohabiting couple dies, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to the bereaved partner to discover that not all of their late partner’s estate will pass to them in the absence of a will. It is only when this happens that many people...

With car fuel having leapt in price in recent months, the amount of VAT which can be recovered on fuel used for business purposes is also rising. There are three ways in which car fuel can be dealt with for VAT purposes: ...

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has handed down its ruling ( Coleman v Attridge Law ) on whether the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) properly implements the EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive . Sharon Coleman, who...

A recent case found the court considering whether a hot-air balloon, which carried passengers on pleasure trips, was an aircraft under the law. The case involved a man who was injured in 2003 when the balloon he was travelling in landed heavily. ...

A case in which a tenant won a recent case against its landlord using the unfair contract terms legislation, seems to have given tenants whose leases contain unfair exclusion clauses, improved weaponry in such disputes. In the case in point, the tenant was...

Following one of the largest ever investigations under the Competition Act 1998 , the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued a Statement of Objections (SO) against 112 firms in the construction sector in England that it alleges have engaged in bid...

The new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is due to commence operations in October 2009 and will be responsible for vetting the millions of people seeking to work with children or vulnerable adults. The ISA was established in January 2008 by the...

Under Section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 , all employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off work to deal with emergencies involving a dependant, and not to be dismissed or victimised for doing so. The emergency must...

Tax law in the UK permits a person (or a couple who are married or civil partners) to have only one home designated as their ‘Principal Private Residence’ (PPR). The importance of this is that any gain on a PPR is exempt from Capital Gains Tax...

Under the Points Based System (PBS) for immigration most people applying to come to or remain in the UK to work or study who are not nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss nationals will, in addition to having to meet the criteria set by the...

Construction contracts usually provide for payments to be made in stages, with the amount payable being based on the amount of work certified as complete at the appropriate time. Where project milestones are not met, the contract will normally provide that...

Divorce can be highly confrontational and can involve a great deal of negotiation conducted by correspondence on the part of solicitors and their clients. This necessarily takes a great deal of time and can make, what is already a stressful process, even...

Following persistent criticisms of Home Information Packs (HIPs), Housing Minister Caroline Flint has announced new proposals 'to improve the quality and flow of information consumers receive through the HIP'. A ...

The Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court’s ruling that a boy who suffered brain damage after he was kicked in the head while playing on a bouncy castle should be awarded compensation that could have amounted to £1 million. ...

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been given the power to impose substantial fines on organisations that deliberately or recklessly commit serious breaches of the Data Protection Act (DPA). The new power is granted under the...

Companies can now execute documents under deed without having to have the document signed by two officers (directors or the company secretary) or affixing the company’s seal. Now, provided it is allowed under the company’s...

Much has been made of the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) changes, regarding the taxation of business assets, due to the abolition from 6 April 2008 of ‘taper relief’. However, the CGT position regarding non-business assets has also changed significantly...

A marriage carried out under foreign law will not be recognised as valid in England and Wales if it could not have been validly contracted under English law. This was the conclusion of the court after a Bangladeshi couple sought an order...

Currently, restaurants operate a wide variety of practices when it comes to dealing with tips and the Government does not regulate as to how they should be managed. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR)...

Rogue debt collectors face tough new rules in a Government bid to improve consumer protection in this contentious area. This is because of changes to the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (CCA) which have recently come into effect. Chief...

The danger of cohabiting without making an express agreement as to how the title to property is to be held has again been underlined by a recent case. It concerned a woman who had lived with a man for several years in a house which was...

A tax clearance is a procedure by which a taxpayer considering making a transaction, obtains the agreement of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that the tax effects of the transaction are what the taxpayer believes them to be. A clearance allows certainty...

Blackburn-based brewery Thwaites, which owns 400 pubs, has won a victory which will bring cheer to licensees, after the Court ruled that a decision by magistrates to cut the opening hours of its Saughall Hotel in Saughall Massie on Merseyside was not based...

The changes recently made in the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime are more far-reaching than has generally been understood. In this article, we look at the impact of the changes and work out who are the winners and losers. Losers ...

A recent ruling of the House of Lords will come as a big blow to criminal conspirators hoping to protect their assets from confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and related legislation. The judgment means that, where co-defendants have jointly...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a warning to homeowners who are seeking to make extra income by renting rooms out for short periods to those seeking accommodation whilst attending events such as Glastonbury and Wimbledon. Such income is...

The Government has announced that it is extending the temporary provisions for first day marketing whereby a property can be put on the market without a Home Information Pack (HIP), provided one has been commissioned and paid for and is expected to be in...

Clients in the building trade should be reminded that the person responsible for the management of a building site is required, if the construction phase involves more than 30 calendar days or 500 person-days of work, to appoint a Construction Design and...

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have merged to form a single national regulatory body. Originally, the two were established as separate, non-departmental bodies with working practices...

With the holiday season in full swing, we thought it might be a good idea to remind our clients that UK credit card companies can be held liable under the Consumer Credit Act for breaches of contract or misrepresentations arising out of foreign credit card...

In recent years there have been several failed attempts by the European Union Council of Ministers to agree on proposals to improve the employment rights of agency workers. In December 2007, the Agency Workers Directive (AWD), giving temporary workers...

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has launched a consultation exercise on a proposed new law, whereby employees will have the right to request time off work to complete relevant training. It is planned that the new entitlement will...

There have been a number of cases in which a refusal to mediate on the part of one party in a dispute has led to that party carrying the costs (at least in part) of the other party, even though the party which refused to mediate won the case. Recently,...

A SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) is one of several types of pension provision in which a person can invest – but it is crucially different from most other forms of pension in that it is the purchaser of the pension who controls the investments...