Willans supports Dementia Awareness Week
Willans is helping to promote Dementia Awareness Week running from 15 May – 21 May. This national campaign week is supported by the Alzheimer’s Society which report that: there are…
Help combat property fraud
Many people have become disillusioned with traditional pension plans based on stock market investment returns, and have focused on ‘buy-to-let’ properties instead. The recent turmoil in financial markets has also…
Significant changes to business immigration rules
Following the publication of the Migration Advisory Committee’s proposals for Tier 2 earlier this year, the Home Office has recently confirmed that the following changes will be implemented over the…
National Living Wage
All businesses will be required to pay the National Living Wage (NLW) as of April 2016. It is expected to affect around six million workers in the UK. The NLW…
34% rise in divorce court fees in England and Wales
Unexpectedly from today the Ministry of Justice has increased the court fee to file a divorce application (known as a divorce petition) from £410 to £550 – a rise of…
Opening the floodgates on water pumping claims
In the case of Robert Lindley Ltd v East Riding of Yorkshire Council (reported in January this year), a farmer won a compensation claim in the Lands Tribunal for crop…
M&A due diligence – is it necessary?
Historically, many companies have viewed the due diligence process as a tick box exercise undertaken by junior lawyers producing a long report often not viewed by senior personnel or integration…
Stressed in the City
Mental health and wellbeing has become a hot topic in the media with various television and other campaigns encouraging people to talk about it to destigmatise the subject. Stress in…
Budget 2016 introduces new stamp duty rates for commercial property
Yesterday’s budget changed the stamp duty land tax rates for sales and leases of commercial property with effect from today. For sales, the new structure adopts the fairer ‘slice’ system…
Are you ready for the PSC register? New rules from 6 April
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEE) materially reforms UK company law with key changes being implemented in different stages. One of the changes is the introduction of…
Trustee oversight
One of the key issues highlighted in the PACAC report was that there was ‘negligent’ trustee oversight of senior management, particularly with regard to the charity’s financial health. Trustees have…
Courting trouble?
In its 2015 review and accounts, HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) made clear its aims. These included providing the infrastructure for a fair, efficient and accessible courts and tribunals…
New rate of stamp duty land tax for second homes
From 1 April 2016, a supplementary rate of SDLT will apply to purchases of additional residential properties. This will cover second homes and buy-to-let properties and potentially other transactions. The…
A burning issue - vaping in the workplace
In the last few years, ‘vaping’, (or smoking e-cigarettes) has become a commonplace feature of our society. Whether you’re walking down the high street, sitting in traffic, or having a…
Holiday pay should include commission
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that commission payments should be taken into consideration when calculating holiday pay. In the case of Lock v British Gas Trading Limited the…
Three top tips for charity trustees this spring
Charlotte Brunsdon in our charities & not-for-profit legal team outlines three tips for charity trustees to consider this spring. Updated finance guidance The Charity Commission has updated key finance guidance…
The routes through court for intellectual property rights
Intellectual Property (IP) is a creation of the mind, such as your brand name, product design, invention, or work of fiction. Rights such as copyright, patents, designs and trademarks, as…
12 tips of Christmas
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. It is the season of perpetual hope and goodwill to all men and women, when spirits are high, and calorie consumption…
An unwanted gift?
Everyone has heard of the perils of inheritance and probate disputes. A disgruntled family member, perhaps someone you have not had any contact with for several years, makes a claim…
Beware of indemnities
In the recent case of Wood v Sureterm Direct Ltd & Capita Insurance Services Ltd, the Court of Appeal considered the importance of carefully drafted indemnities in a share purchase…
The national living wage is on the horizon
In the 2015 budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, outlined plans for the implementation of the national living wage from April 2016. At the time of writing, the…
Data subject access requests
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 individuals have the right to make a subject access request (SAR) to obtain personal information held about them by a data controller. When the…
Is your business ready for the Consumer Rights Act 2015?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015. There are some key changes such as enhanced consumer remedies which may mean businesses have to adjust their…
Should you be following in Google’s footsteps?
Google recently announced that it is to undertake a major re-organisation of its business with the creation of a new holding company, Alphabet Inc. This new company will manage its…
Scheme document published for Flood Re regulations
New draft regulations to establish Flood Re were laid before Parliament on 1 July 2015, along with a new edition of the scheme document. If approved, Flood Re will start…
Green Deal in trouble
The Green Deal was a scheme developed under the Energy Act 2011 to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in Great Britain. However, take up has not been as dramatic…
Recovering debt?
Effective debt collection procedures are an essential part of any business; not only does debt impact on cash flow but also one’s ability to trade. If you find yourself in…
Lease drafting – a cautionary tale
The importance of ensuring that lease provisions are correctly drafted was recently highlighted by the Supreme Court decision in Arnold v Britton, discusses commercial property partner Nigel Whittaker. This case…
New powers against illegal grazing
Those dealing with horses illegally abandoned on their land can now take swift action to remove them following the introduction in May of The Control of Horses Act 2015 (Act).…
Agricultural occupancy conditions – your options
An agricultural occupancy condition is often imposed on new rural properties. They limit the use and occupation of the property to those employed in agriculture and were originally aimed at…
Open air festivals
Landowners who organise festivals on their land, or have an agreement with a company to run one, may inadvertently find themselves liable to pay business rates. These events fall under…
How well do you know your constitution?
A trustee of a charity is responsible for the activities the charity undertakes and can be held legally accountable for their decisions. It is crucial that a trustee understand his…
Family feud over farm fortune
A farmer has won a legal battle against his brothers for sole ownership of a farm, even though his father’s will stated that it should be shared equally between them.…
New rights for working grandparents
This year saw the introduction of new legislation giving working parents the right to share out the leave which is granted to them following the birth, or adoption, of a…
Roll on auto-enrolment – are you prepared?
Auto-enrolment requires employers to automatically enrol staff into a qualifying workplace pension scheme in the coming years. Each business will have a staging date for auto-enrolment depending on their size…
Is it the end of large-scale wind farm subsidies?
The government announced, shortly after being elected, that it would stop subsidy payments for on-shore wind farms. The energy minister declared that subsidies under the renewables obligation scheme would go…