Many employment law rights are only available to those who are employees. For someone to have employee status, they must work under a contract of employment. Protection from unfair dismissal, under the Employment Rights Act 1996, is only afforded to someone...

When the financial arrangements are being made on divorce, the court must ask itself whether these are fair and do not discriminate against one party bearing in mind all the circumstances. Recently, a woman appealed to the Court of...

The provision of assistance by a company for the purchase of its shares was prohibited until the 1981 Companies Act came into force, when a ‘whitewash’ procedure was introduced which allowed private companies to give financial assistance for...

It is by no means uncommon for people to have money in accounts which they or their relatives have forgotten about and the scale of the problem is illustrated by the fact that the National Savings and Investment Bank (NSIB) says it has £435 million in...

New rules relating to the registration of company names came into force  today which will allow companies to object more easily to the registration of a company name which could be confused with theirs. See the new rules  at the UK...

Employers are reminded that from today the adult National Minimum Wage   will rise from £5.52 to £5.73 an hour. The minimum rate for 18- to 21-year-olds will increase from £4.60 to £4.77 an hour and for 16- to 17-year-olds the...

One of the commonly disputed issues in equal pay claims is who is an appropriate comparator for the purposes of deciding if an employer’s pay policy has been applied in a discriminatory fashion. Recently, a claimant sought to use...

Two recent cases involving breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 have highlighted the need for those with health and safety responsibilities to be vigilant in ensuring that day-to-day tasks are carried out in a way that does not put workers...

An executor who ‘went too far’ recently found himself liable for the costs of beneficiaries which sued him for failing to administer the estate. The circumstances were that the estate of a lady who died in 2006 came to be...

In a decision that will have far reaching implications, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled (Coleman v Attridge Law) that a woman with a disabled child is entitled to protection from discrimination at work on the grounds of her child’s...

We have previously reported that Heyday, an organisation for people in or nearing retirement, has challenged the Government over the inclusion in the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 of a mandatory retirement age of 65 or over, on the grounds...

We have previously reported that Heyday, an organisation for people in or nearing retirement, has challenged the Government over the inclusion in the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 of a mandatory retirement age of 65 or over, on the grounds...

A recent decision by the Court of Appeal could be bad news for council tenants pursuing their right to buy. When single mother Dawn Benjamin tried to exercise her right to buy the home she grew up in, having acquired the tenancy from her mother, she lost out...

Letters of intent are widely used in the building trade, because it is normal for both developer and contractor to wish to make progress on a building project without having to wait until the formal contractual arrangements have been fully agreed. However,...

5 October 2008 marks the end of the period in which transitional serial interests (TSIs) can be created other than on death. After this date, TSIs can no longer be created. The important issue is that succeeding life interests created during the life of a...

In Kuzel v Roche Products Ltd. the Court of Appeal considered where the burden of proof lies when an employee brings a claim for unfair dismissal but where different reasons for the dismissal are put forward by each side. In this...

In an effort to establish a definitive set of rules for deciding if and when a director who owns all the shares in a company can be treated as an employee for the purposes of Section 182 of the Employment Rights 1996, the Court of Appeal is considering a...

In cases where there is family wealth to protect, the joy of the prospect of one of your children ‘tying the knot’ may be tempered by just a touch of trepidation, particularly if a large settlement of assets will be made on the happy couple. ...

Following changes introduced in the Companies Act 2006 removing the prohibition on auditors limiting their liability in relation to audit work, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today [this week] issued guidance on limited liability contracts. ...

In the current economic climate, many businesses will be seeking to cut costs and this could involve making organisational changes or making staff redundant. In Martland v Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd ., the Employment Appeal...

 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have professional partnerships in their sights as the rules relating to the valuation of work in progress for such firms begin to be fully implemented. Following changes, introduced in June 2005, to...

A recent case, which was brought by a family suffering as a result of exposure to excessive noise, has reached a decision which might be regarded as missing the point. The Watson family had the misfortune to live near a motor racing...

All homes offered for sale or rent will require, from 1 October, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The requirement includes homes offered for sale before Home Information Packs (HIPs) were introduced, which were previously exempt. EPCs are an...

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. It...

A Scottish court has spelled out a warning for non-executive directors (NEDs) who are of the view that they are in some way different from ‘normal’ directors in the eyes of the law. In the case in point, a NED was held to be...