News

Mediation Failure Leads to Court Date
22 May 2013
When work carried out by a building contractor during a redevelopment project caused damage to the facade of the building being redeveloped, the owner sued the building contractor for the cost of the... - Read

PAYE Changes for Domestics
21 May 2013
If you employ a nanny, gardener or other household staff, from April 2013 you are required to join the ‘real time information’ (RTI) scheme set up by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At the same time, the... - Read

Shop Worker Had Continuity of Employment
21 May 2013
A shop worker whose employment was terminated due to the closure of the store in Sheffield where he worked, but who was redeployed shortly afterwards to another branch of the same chain, did have the... - Read

Unclear Drafting Leads to Court Appearance to Allocate Repair Bills
20 May 2013
When a landlord granted a lease over a maisonette to a tenant then subsequently alleged that the lease was drafted incorrectly, it took the intervention of the court to decide who was to pay how much for repairs... - Read

Increase in the Entitlement to Parental Leave
20 May 2013
Employers are reminded that the right to unpaid parental leave has been extended in order to comply with EU Directive 2010/18. The Parental Leave (EU Directive) Regulations 2013 implement changes to the... - Read

Statutory Wills
20 May 2013
It is a source of concern to lawyers and families alike that the majority of people never make a will. Often, the intention to do so is there, but somehow the person never seems to ‘get around to it’ and dies or... - Read

Occasional Use Sufficient to Preserve Access Right
20 May 2013
When a road or pathway is regularly used by people and the owner takes no active steps to prevent this or assert control over the land concerned, an ‘easement by prescription’ can be created under which the... - Read

Equal Pension Rights for Civil Partners
17 May 2013
As the law currently stands, employers and pension funds are permitted to exclude civil partners from spousal benefits under a pension scheme the rights to which accrued prior to 5 December 2005, which is... - Read

Lease Break Error Proves Costly for Tenant
16 May 2013
When a tenant’s lease has a break clause, normally all rent due must be paid in full before the break clause can be activated – even if the rent paid runs beyond the break date. If a tenant decides to pay... - Read

Lack of Causation Stymies Claim for Loss Due to Negligence
16 May 2013
It is a fundamental principle that for a claim for damages for professional negligence to succeed, it is essential for the claimant to show that they would have acted otherwise had they been properly advised... - Read

Patent Infringement Claim Denied on Multiple Grounds
15 May 2013
A patent can only be granted when there is novelty in the thing for which the patent is sought. This is why it is critical that one’s novel designs do not become public knowledge: once they do, a patent... - Read

Court Approves ‘Religious Divorce’
15 May 2013
A Jewish couple who married in a Jewish ceremony in 2006 and subsequently separated have obtained the approval of the family court to have the marriage dissolved under an agreement mediated by a Rabbi... - Read

Start of Year Tax Planning
14 May 2013
The early months of the tax year are a good time for savers to think about tax planning for the current year. In particular, now is a good time to think about investments that produce regular income – if you can... - Read

Equal Pay Test Case Splits Court of Appeal
13 May 2013
In an important test case (Haq & Ors v The Audit Commission), the Court of Appeal has ruled by a majority that so called ‘grandfather clauses’ – which are commonly used by employers to protect the status and... - Read

Formal Ownership Agreement Defeats Claim of Trust
13 May 2013
A trust exists where a person who has legal ownership of something (‘the object of the trust’) is obliged to act with respect to the object of the trust for the benefit of some other person or persons (‘the... - Read

The Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board
10 May 2013
In 2010, the Coalition Government announced its intention to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board, as part of its shake-up of public bodies. The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 abolishes the Agricultural Wages Board from 25 June 2013... - Read

Guarantor Liable for Insolvent Tenant’s Lease, Rules Court
10 May 2013
A firm that guaranteed the lease of its tenant has been left to count the cost, following a recent decision by the High Court. The tenant became insolvent and went into liquidation. The liquidator disclaimed the... - Read

Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings
10 May 2013
The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) came in to force on the 1 April 2013 and will see companies owning residential properties (‘dwellings’) worth over £2 million incurring an annual tax liability of £15,000 rising to £140,000 for the most valuable properties... - Read

Owner Not the Same as Member, Rules Court
09 May 2013
Who can challenge a company’s decision that has been improperly made? This question was the subject of a court hearing recently, when the owners of the ‘ultimate economic interest’ in shares in a company... - Read

Shared Parental Leave Reforms
09 May 2013
Reforms to the way parents can share maternity leave form part of the recently published Children and Families Bill 2013. The Government intends to introduce more flexible, more equal arrangements aimed at... - Read

Professionally Drafted Will Thrown Out by Court of Appeal
08 May 2013
A legal battle which led to a six-day trial resulted in the Court of Appeal declaring that a will was invalid, even though it had been drafted by an experienced solicitor. The case concerned a will that was written in... - Read

EHRC Publishes Guidance on Managing Religion or Belief in the Workplace
07 May 2013
Following the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Eweida and Others v United Kingdom, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published guidance for employers and... - Read

Vendors Not Liable for Dangerous House
07 May 2013
An entrepreneur who claimed that he bought a ‘luxury’ £1.1 million home that turned out to be in such a defective condition that it had to be demolished has failed to convince the High Court that he was a victim... - Read

Eviction Disproportionate When Current Behaviour Acceptable
06 May 2013
When a council tenant is a significant nuisance to their neighbours, it is common for the council to seek possession of the tenant’s property. Where the tenant’s behaviour is sufficiently objectionable, a possession... - Read

Natural Meaning of Contract Term Prevails
03 May 2013
In the context of an agreement for the sale of an estate agency business, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a contractual clause should be interpreted in line with its ‘natural meaning’. Notwithstanding the... - Read