Fire alarm
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) came into effect in October 2006. It applies to all non-domestic premises in England and Wales, including common parts of blocks of…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Will I get my money back?
If you have gone down the route of issuing a winding-up petition against a company or suddenly found that you are a creditor of a company in liquidation whether voluntary…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Security for costs
Generally, the question of who pays for the costs of a claim is not determined until the claim is finally settled, by trial or other means. This is because usually,…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Waiving goodbye to a right to forfeit?
In a tough economic climate, landlords have a difficult balance to strike between keeping properties occupied but making sure that rent is received from them. It pays to know what…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Personal guarantees... a risky business
In times of economic uncertainty, company directors should be aware of the dangers of giving personal guarantees. If a director acts as a guarantor for any type of commercial loan…
Willans
Solicitors
Landlords and tenants: finding the perfect lease arrangement
Every landlord wants a reputable tenant who will be able to pay the rent and comply with lease obligations, including repairing covenants. It can be a temptation to ask for…
Emma Thompson LLB (Hons)
Senior associate, solicitor
Potential development pitfalls - rights of light
Development plans can easily be thwarted by the existence of rights to light. It is not unusual for developers to strike agreements with neighbouring landowners whereby in return for some…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Potential development pitfalls – drainage issues
If planning conditions that require improvements to drainage infrastructure are too stringent, developers may struggle to fund the work, which could lead to more disputes. Ultimately, it will be in…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Lay-off and short-time working
Announcements of redundancies, lay-offs or reduced working hours are becoming depressingly familiar. The news media is often inclined to use the terms ‘redundancy’ and ‘lay-off’ interchangeably though legally they are…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
New code on discipline, dismissal and grievance
The statutory disciplinary & dismissal and grievance procedures, introduced in October 2004, are shortly to be replaced. These statutory procedures, brought in five years ago, were intended to reduce the…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Sick leave and holiday rights
In January this year, the European Court of Justice handed down a ruling on holiday entitlement during long-term sick leave. It comes as a real blow, particularly to smaller employers…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
House of Lords overturns decision in Yeomans v Cobbe
In November 2006, we reported on a Court of Appeal decision that seemed to widen the scope for claimants to secure a substantial interest in property, even without a written…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Obscure legal terminology: Surrender
The word ‘surrender’ is not so much an obscure term, just one that is much misunderstood, in legal terms at least. Nothing to do with Napoleon and Waterloo (although it…
Willans
Solicitors
Retention of title clauses - one to include in your terms of business
Retention of title clauses are a good thing to have in your terms of business – particularly in a harsh climate. They allow you to retain ownership of the goods…
Willans
Solicitors
Resolving disputes in the current economic climate
In a climate where purse strings are being tightened, businesses are more inclined to challenge their liabilities in the hope of securing a better deal. This can lead to cash…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Laying off staff
With an uncertain spell in prospect, a number of clients have asked for advice on laying off staff. One, for example, runs a seasonal business and needs to reduce overheads…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Relaxation in rules on nil-rate band
Various changes in the trusts and tax world seem to have led to a mistaken belief that the nil rate band has doubled since last October. This is not so.…
Simon Cook LLB (Hons), TEP
Partner
Comparative advertising; don't get caught up in civil and criminal liability
In an increasingly competitive world, businesses are turning to more aggressive advertising strategies. One example of these is ‘comparative advertising’ or CA. The term describes any advertising in which a…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Commercial property leases; pitfalls for landlords to consider
The past decade or so has been as changeable a time as any for commercial property professionals, says Nick Cox. We have revised our views on aspects of commercial leases,…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Competition law; failing to comply can have serious consequences
Failing to comply with competition law can have serious consequences. An errant business may face fines of up to 10 per cent of turnover as well as finding that its…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Legal ‘discretion’ may help defaulting buyers reclaim deposit
In a difficult market it is inevitable that more land sales will fall through, some even after contracts have been exchanged and deposits paid. It is a standard requirement in…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Overage payments
Overage is the legal device by which a seller can benefit from an uplift in the value of land after he has sold it. It is becoming increasingly popular as…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Planning permissions do not extinguish private rights
If you want to change the use of land or develop on it, you need planning permission – but that’s not the whole story. As a recent case shows, having…
Emma Thompson LLB (Hons)
Senior associate, solicitor
Newts v wet feet - potential impact of the Wildlife and Countryside Act
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can have an impact on building work close to or adjoining any waterways. Under the Act, it is an offence to intentionally kill or…
Willans
Solicitors
Benefits of becoming an LLP
Limited liability partnerships have now been around for some seven years. Many partnerships have converted, as we ourselves have just done, and new start-ups are increasingly opting for the flexibility…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Long-term absentees and sick pay
We are often consulted about long-term absentees and whether they are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). One particular concern is whether employers should continue to pay full sick…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Rewriting the employment contract
Clients often want to know whether they can alter clauses in employees’ contracts, eg changing their place of work or working hours. Many contracts have a clause reserving the employer’s…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Flooding and drainage – proposals for planning
Since last summer’s floods, various reports have indicated that flooding is likely to increase as a result of climate change. Sir Michael Pitt was appointed to review the flood related…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Planning and Energy Bill
This Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords in June. One of its aims is to reduce the amount of energy a building needs and ensure that…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Divorce, court orders and bankruptcy
A heady mix indeed, and the recent case of Haines v Hill involved all three. The decision was an important one and divorce lawyers were hugely relieved at the outcome.…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Illegal workers – a growing risk for employers
In the past couple of months there has been a sharp increase in the number of employers being prosecuted for hiring illegal immigrants. Since February, when there was a change…
Helen Howes LLM
Senior associate, solicitor
Mental capacity and all that
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has now swept in a new regime – replacing old-style enduring powers of attorney with new-style lasting powers of attorney. There are benefits and greater…
Willans
Solicitors
Schedules of condition
A schedule of condition is intended to be an accurate and fair record of the state and condition of a property at a particular time. We look at some of…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Bouncing all the way to the bank
With gloomy predictions of a credit crunch and economic downturn, inevitably more and more customers will be unable to pay for goods or services they have been supplied with. This…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
When business partnerships go wrong (and how to avoid it)
Our dispute resolution team deals with many partnership disputes and in the vast majority, no partnership agreement has ever been set up, says Paul Gordon. When business partnerships go wrong,…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
