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Buying a business can be a risky undertaking. Even if the normal due diligence work is done with great care, sometimes there can be skeletons in the cupboard, which can emerge to your detriment. It is a particularly risky business when the vendors are less...
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Pleural plaques are small, localised areas of pleural thickening on the membrane covering the lungs, caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. Pleural plaques are in themselves benign but their presence is associated with an increased risk of developing...
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Divorce can be a messy business at the best of times but following a recent ruling looks set to become yet even more complex.
A couple from Gloucestershire divorced after 11 years of marriage. They had no children. The ex-wife...
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The Government has recently raised the guarantee on deposits to £50,000 (from £35,000), but what does this mean for a business with substantial cash balances?
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is designed to...
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The Health and Safety Executive has updated its website on managing occupational health risks in the construction industry, providing new information for Construction Design and Management coordinators (CDMs). The website gives information for CDMs,...
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A study by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward has found that business fraud is up by over 70 per cent compared with last year and they estimate the cost of business fraud is now more than £700 million a year.
Management fraud accounts...
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Nowadays, it is becoming less and less common for business to be transacted ‘on a handshake’ and a recent case highlights the dangers of failing to get formal documentation in place to confirm the terms of an agreement.
The...
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Since the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, the enforced retirement of an employee who is below the age of 65 has generally been unlawful, unless it can be objectively justified. The Regulations provide for a default...
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In divorce proceedings, it is usual to make a full disclosure of assets and future financial prospects when agreeing the financial settlement. Failing to do so can cause a legal battle, as a recent case illustrates.
It involved a couple...
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Under EU law, agents have a degree of protection which mere resellers do not. For example, when an agency is lost, the agent is normally entitled to compensation from the principal. This does not apply where the relationship is one of a supplier and...
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Landlords will breathe a sigh of relief following the recent reversal of the much-reported Scottish and Newcastle v Raguz case. It dealt with the requirement
for landlords to serve notices on former tenants on each outstanding payment date...
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According to a recent report, company receiverships (where a bank appoints a receiver to run a company in order to protect the banks position) are up by more than 150 per cent this quarter compared with the same quarter last year.
The result...
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The Court of Appeal has issued a ruling which will be unwelcome to social landlords that allow tenants in arrears to become ‘tolerated trespassers’, when a possession order is suspended because the tenant is paying off the arrears of rent which...
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The Government has announced its intention to amend the law so that tips can no longer count towards payment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
All workers are entitled to receive the minimum hourly wage. However, bars and restaurants...
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The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 16 October 2008 and will come into force in January 2009. It amends Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and will increase penalties for breaches of health and safety...
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Yet another case shows the importance of reading and complying with the terms of your insurance policies.
It involved the owner of a trawler valued at over £120,000 who claimed on his insurance policy when the vessel...
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A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal has resulted in a fortunate property owner being awarded £1.6 million in compensation for the compulsory purchase of land with an agreed market valuation of only £15,000.
Rejecting an...
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The latest round of changes resulting from the Companies Act 2006 came into effect on 1 October 2008. The most important of these are as follows:
Every company must have at least one director who is a...
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On divorce, the valuation of a family business is often a highly emotional and contentious issue, so it was unsurprising when the divorce of a couple after 15 years of marriage led to an acrimonious dispute over the value of their successful restaurant...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
