Updates on employee rights
Flexible working From April 2011 all employees with children under the age of 18 years will have the right to request flexible working. Currently the right applies only to carers…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Disciplinary hearings: representation
As most employers will know, a worker’s right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing extends only to a work colleague or trade union representative. There is nothing in either…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Agree terms before starting work
Commercial pressures often mean work starts on a project before the terms of the contract have been formally agreed. The terms of trading are then uncertain and in the event…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Retirement and the DRA
Few will have been able to avoid the news that the default retirement age (DRA) is to be scrapped. Currently the plans are only proposals and subject to consultation but…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Enforcing judgment debts
When a judgment has been obtained against a debtor and you wish to enforce it, the first task is to choose the most appropriate method. This will largely depend on…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
For richer, for poorer (unless you’ve got a pre-nup)
In a long-awaited decision, the UK Supreme Court ruled today that a pre-nuptial agreement (also known as a ante-nuptial agreement) is binding in the case of a German paper company…
Sharon Giles LLB (Hons)
Partner
Baby blues for company bosses
Families expecting a baby from next spring onwards can expect an ‘extra’ along with their bundle of joy in the form of a new set of statutory rights for fathers.…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Who is a whistleblower?
Not every employee who makes any sort of complaint can claim they are a whistleblower. In fact, a worker has to comply with fairly strict requirements in order for his…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
The balancing act and rent claims in administrations
Two recent cases throw light on what landlords might expect if a tenant company goes into administration, reports partner Nick Cox. In Innovate Logistics Limited (in administration) v Sunberry Properties…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Know your limitations
Williams v Lishman is the latest in a line of cases where the courts have looked at the date investors suffered loss. The claim involved negligent advice in relation to…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Reduction of share capital
It is a fundamental principle of law that a company should, except in limited circumstances, maintain its share capital. This stems from the need to protect third parties dealing with…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
What is a ‘reasonable’ adjustment?
The Disability Discrimination Act is a difficult piece of legislation for employers. It imposes a duty on them to make ‘reasonable’ adjustments to premises or working practices so as to…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Constructive dismissal special
The recent case of Hunter v Timber Components (UK) Limited confirmed that an employee can establish a claim for constructive dismissal based on his employer’s treatment of fellow workers, even…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Disciplinary procedure
Even though the statutory dismissal and grievance procedures were scrapped last year, the case of Sarkar v West London Mental Health NHS Trust is a reminder of the need to…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
News from the sharp end
The number of people seeking to resolve a workplace dispute by going to tribunal has shot up since the start of the recession, with around 90,000 cases heard last year…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
The latest statutory limits
This is a reminder of the latest statutory limits (at July 2010). No change this year to the limit on a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating redundancy payments.…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Health warning for occupiers
A recent High Court decision has confirmed that owners or occupiers of land adjoining a development site cannot enforce the provisions of a section 106 agreement between a local authority…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Insolvency streamlined
Insolvency amending rules came into force in April this year, modernising insolvency practices and procedures. A Willans solicitor reports on some of the more notable changes. The new rules have made…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Impact of Emergency Budget on matters affecting private client tax
The Emergency Budget presented by the Chancellor on 22 June was less dramatic than many commentators had expected in terms of matters affecting private client tax. A Willans Partner comments…
Simon Cook LLB (Hons), TEP
Partner
Software - avoiding the bugs
As well as being expensive in terms of time and money, developing customised software can be a legal minefield, particular in relation to copyright and ownership. How can you make…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
A matter of jurisdiction
Litigating in a foreign jurisdiction can be inconvenient, uncertain and generally unattractive. Paul Gordon gives a run-down on the regulations, known as Rome I and Rome II, recently introduced with…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Think dispute, think ADR
ADR is alternative dispute resolution – a range of options for resolving disputes without going to court. Methods of ADR include mediation, adjudication, arbitration, conciliation and ombudsman schemes. In recent…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Downturn creativity for landlords
In the present economic climate, its no surprise that more tenants are defaulting or using break rights to terminate their leases. Firms in difficulty will try to restructure in order…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Closing the stable door
Selling to a developer can be a good way of getting money from land that is not required by its owner. But both parties should know exactly what they are…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
VAT changes hit charities
Recent changes to the VAT regime could have a big impact on charities wishing to acquire or construct buildings. If a charity acquires or constructs a new building to be…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Buying bust businesses
Based on previous post-recession trends, business failures are likely to go on rising for some time to come with an increasing number of insolvent businesses up for sale at knock-down…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
"Fit" for work?
Willans have been following the progress of the imminent new ‘fit notes’ scheme. Significantly, the main priority appears to be the interests of employees who are off sick. Scant account…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Holidays at short notice
Under the Working Time Regulations, the statutory holiday must be taken in the holiday year it is due. Contracts often require staff to give reasonable notice before taking a holiday.…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Why apply for a job you don’t want?
A recent case may prompt employers to be on the alert for the so-called ‘serial litigant’, reports a Willans Partner. In the employment context, these are often people protected by…
Willans
Solicitors
Whistleblowing’ changes
Changes affecting whistleblowing claims come into effect in April. Employment tribunals will have new powers to pass on information about public interest disclosures to relevant industry regulators where the claimant…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Ding dong merrily ..
If you’re planning to grub up your apple and pear orchards in the New Year, go fishing in the Lower Esk without permission or sell a game bird killed on…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Pre-packs under fire
The increasing use of pre-pack administrations is attracting much attention and raising a number of concerns. Earlier this year, a report by the BERR Committee (Department for Business, Enterprise &…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
The less said the better
In Inclusive Technology v Williamson, the landlord had to compensate the tenant for failing to inform him that he had decided not to go ahead the redevelopment work that had…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Carbon reduction scheme
On 1 April 2010 a mandatory emissions trading scheme known as Carbon Reduction Commitment comes into force. The CRC is designed to encourage businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. It…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
The cost of contamination
A significant land contamination case was concluded recently, when the former owner and the developer of a site in Hertfordshire lost their appeal against an environmental remediation notice. The Secretary…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Working with children
There have been enough howls of protest and ridicule about the new Independent Safeguarding Authority and its sweeping remit, without the need for more of the same from us. The…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
