Under the Points Based System (PBS) for immigration, most people applying to come to or remain in the UK to work or study who are not nationals of the European Economic Area or Swiss nationals will, in addition to having to meet the criteria set by the PBS...

A woman who developed asthma as a result of inhaling chemicals used at the chicken factory where she worked has won nearly £25,000 in damages in a Scottish court. Joyce Robson, 58, had worked for Grampian Country Chickens...

In contracts for construction works it is common for there to be indemnities against loss, given to the employer by the contractor, and also for there to be agreement as to what sort of insurance cover must be put in place. This is normally done by taking...

Following a recent decision of the Law Lords that the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) does not apply to care homes which are run privately, the Government has announced it is to change the law. The case involved an elderly woman who was...

The law relating to covenants, easements and ‘profits à prendre’ over land is a relatively complex area given that such rights are common – the Land Registry has suggested that nearly two thirds of properties have some sort of...

A paramedic has won over £60,000 in compensation after a van crashed into his ambulance. David Fenwick, 55, was in the passenger seat of the ambulance when a van driver sped through a red light and crashed into the vehicle. ...

Don't let the post-holiday rush distract you from meeting the deadline for claiming relief from business rates. Small Business Rate Relief applies where the Rateable Value (RV) of business premises is less than...

A boy who was left disabled after he was deprived of oxygen at birth has been awarded damages of £8 million. Owen Wilson suffers from choreoathetoid cerebral palsy because he was deprived of oxygen for 17 minutes during his birth...

On 18 August, two new driving offences came into force. These are causing death by careless driving and causing death by driving while unlicensed, uninsured or disqualified. The effect of the changes is to increase the likely penalty...

The Government's quest for better information on the energy efficiency of buildings has led to the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for commercial as well as residential property (where they constitute part of the Home...

Employees, or their dependants, are entitled to claim damages for injury caused by a workplace accident if:   there was a duty of care owed to the injured person; that duty was not performed; and ...

The new national minimum wage rates which will apply from October 2008 are as follows: The adult national minimum wage will rise from £5.52 to £5.73 an hour. The minimum rate for 18- to 21-year-olds...

A judgment by the Court of Appeal illustrates that when someone dies without making it clear who should inherit their estate, this can result in a prolonged court battle and an outcome that may be very different from what the deceased person intended and...

When one member of a cohabiting couple dies, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to the bereaved partner to discover that not all of their late partner’s estate will pass to them in the absence of a will. It is only when this happens that many people...

A freelance screen engineer who suffered serious leg injuries after being hit by a crane has been awarded £35,000 in compensation. Paul Bowling, 35, was working at Chester race course dismantling a large video screen. Each section...

With car fuel having leapt in price in recent months, the amount of VAT which can be recovered on fuel used for business purposes is also rising. There are three ways in which car fuel can be dealt with for VAT purposes: ...

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has handed down its ruling ( Coleman v Attridge Law ) on whether the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) properly implements the EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive . Sharon Coleman, who...

A case in which a tenant won a recent case against its landlord using the unfair contract terms legislation, seems to have given tenants whose leases contain unfair exclusion clauses, improved weaponry in such disputes. In the case in point, the tenant was...

A recent case found the court considering whether a hot-air balloon, which carried passengers on pleasure trips, was an aircraft under the law. The case involved a man who was injured in 2003 when the balloon he was travelling in landed heavily. ...

A student who broke her ankle after one of her high heels snapped has been awarded £7,200 in compensation from the shoe chain Dolcis. Sophie King, 20, was wearing the £35 pair of shoes for the first time when the accident...

Following one of the largest ever investigations under the Competition Act 1998 , the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued a Statement of Objections (SO) against 112 firms in the construction sector in England that it alleges have engaged in bid...

A woman who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos fibres when handling her husband’s clothes has been awarded £130,000 in compensation. Jacky Merritt’s husband, Don, worked as a lagger for a large...

The new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) is due to commence operations in October 2009 and will be responsible for vetting the millions of people seeking to work with children or vulnerable adults. The ISA was established in January 2008 by the...

Under Section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 , all employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off work to deal with emergencies involving a dependant, and not to be dismissed or victimised for doing so. The emergency must...

Tax law in the UK permits a person (or a couple who are married or civil partners) to have only one home designated as their ‘Principal Private Residence’ (PPR). The importance of this is that any gain on a PPR is exempt from Capital Gains Tax...

Parents who were misinformed by doctors that their unborn child did not have a genetic disorder have been awarded £1.8 million in compensation. The couple already had two children when the wife became pregnant with her third child....

Construction contracts usually provide for payments to be made in stages, with the amount payable being based on the amount of work certified as complete at the appropriate time. Where project milestones are not met, the contract will normally provide that...

Under the Points Based System (PBS) for immigration most people applying to come to or remain in the UK to work or study who are not nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss nationals will, in addition to having to meet the criteria set by the...

Divorce can be highly confrontational and can involve a great deal of negotiation conducted by correspondence on the part of solicitors and their clients. This necessarily takes a great deal of time and can make, what is already a stressful process, even...

Following persistent criticisms of Home Information Packs (HIPs), Housing Minister Caroline Flint has announced new proposals 'to improve the quality and flow of information consumers receive through the HIP'. A ...

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a rugby club must pay damages for an injury caused when one of its players deliberately punched an opponent during a match. The incident occurred during a National League Division 2 rugby union match...

The Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court’s ruling that a boy who suffered brain damage after he was kicked in the head while playing on a bouncy castle should be awarded compensation that could have amounted to £1 million. ...

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been given the power to impose substantial fines on organisations that deliberately or recklessly commit serious breaches of the Data Protection Act (DPA). The new power is granted under the...

Companies can now execute documents under deed without having to have the document signed by two officers (directors or the company secretary) or affixing the company’s seal. Now, provided it is allowed under the company’s...

Much has been made of the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) changes, regarding the taxation of business assets, due to the abolition from 6 April 2008 of ‘taper relief’. However, the CGT position regarding non-business assets has also changed significantly...

Currently, restaurants operate a wide variety of practices when it comes to dealing with tips and the Government does not regulate as to how they should be managed. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR)...

A 14-year-old girl who was paralysed when a neighbour’s porch collapsed on top of her has been awarded damages of £300,000. Zoe Talbot was 10 years old when the accident happened in 2004. She was playing with her friend next...

A marriage carried out under foreign law will not be recognised as valid in England and Wales if it could not have been validly contracted under English law. This was the conclusion of the court after a Bangladeshi couple sought an order...

A man who was knocked off his bicycle by a 40-tonne road sweeper has been awarded more than £200,000 in compensation for his injuries. Dr Glyn Powell, 58, was cycling home from work when the accident happened. The road...

Rogue debt collectors face tough new rules in a Government bid to improve consumer protection in this contentious area. This is because of changes to the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (CCA) which have recently come into effect. Chief...

The danger of cohabiting without making an express agreement as to how the title to property is to be held has again been underlined by a recent case. It concerned a woman who had lived with a man for several years in a house which was...

A tax clearance is a procedure by which a taxpayer considering making a transaction, obtains the agreement of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that the tax effects of the transaction are what the taxpayer believes them to be. A clearance allows certainty...

With the current obsession in the media with knife crime, a sense of perspective may be restored by a new study which reports that injuries and fatalities at work may be significantly under-reported in official statistics and suggests that workers are...

Blackburn-based brewery Thwaites, which owns 400 pubs, has won a victory which will bring cheer to licensees, after the Court ruled that a decision by magistrates to cut the opening hours of its Saughall Hotel in Saughall Massie on Merseyside was not based...

A recent ruling of the House of Lords will come as a big blow to criminal conspirators hoping to protect their assets from confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and related legislation. The judgment means that, where co-defendants have jointly...

The changes recently made in the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime are more far-reaching than has generally been understood. In this article, we look at the impact of the changes and work out who are the winners and losers. Losers ...

Clients in the building trade should be reminded that the person responsible for the management of a building site is required, if the construction phase involves more than 30 calendar days or 500 person-days of work, to appoint a Construction Design and...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a warning to homeowners who are seeking to make extra income by renting rooms out for short periods to those seeking accommodation whilst attending events such as Glastonbury and Wimbledon. Such income is...

The Government has announced that it is extending the temporary provisions for first day marketing whereby a property can be put on the market without a Home Information Pack (HIP), provided one has been commissioned and paid for and is expected to be in...

Government ministers have pledged their support for UK victims of a painkilling drug, manufactured in the USA, which was found to have dangerous side effects. Members of Parliament have agreed to put pressure on the US drug company,...

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have merged to form a single national regulatory body. Originally, the two were established as separate, non-departmental bodies with working practices...

With the holiday season in full swing, we thought it might be a good idea to remind our clients that UK credit card companies can be held liable under the Consumer Credit Act for breaches of contract or misrepresentations arising out of foreign credit card...

In recent years there have been several failed attempts by the European Union Council of Ministers to agree on proposals to improve the employment rights of agency workers. In December 2007, the Agency Workers Directive (AWD), giving temporary workers...

The family of a man killed by a bus that mounted the pavement has been awarded compensation at the High Court. The accident occurred in 2004. Bent Hjerting, 61, was walking with his two sons, Harald and Gustavus, when two buses collided...

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has launched a consultation exercise on a proposed new law, whereby employees will have the right to request time off work to complete relevant training. It is planned that the new entitlement will...

There have been a number of cases in which a refusal to mediate on the part of one party in a dispute has led to that party carrying the costs (at least in part) of the other party, even though the party which refused to mediate won the case. Recently,...

A SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) is one of several types of pension provision in which a person can invest – but it is crucially different from most other forms of pension in that it is the purchaser of the pension who controls the investments...

Two workers who developed an occupational lung disease after being exposed to a dangerous dust at work have won substantial sums in compensation. The two men both worked at furnaces in the melting department of a Southwick factory from...

Cases involving damage to a property caused by trees located on a neighbour’s land, especially those dealing with subsidence or heave due to roots, are fairly common. One complication that arises is where the tree in question is subject to a...

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled (First West Yorkshire Limited t/a First Leeds v Haigh) that where an employee is on long-term sick leave and his pension scheme contains provisions entitling him to an ill health pension on grounds of permanent...

Misunderstandings are at the base of many legal disputes and nowhere is this more evident than in disputes involving insurance claims. Recently, a company which used scrap metal found that it had inadvertently received scrap contaminated with small amounts...

The UK Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 , which came into force on 1 October 2006, make all retirement ages under 65 illegal unless objectively justified. Heyday, an organisation backed by Age Concern to support people...

The parents of a child who died after their doctor failed to diagnose meningitis have been awarded a five-figure settlement. Liam Eaves was just nine months old when he fell ill in the summer of 2004. His skin was grey and he was...

Tenant’s Rights Survive Transfer of Title A corporate landlord who tried to prevent its tenant from exercising the option to purchase the property after the title to the property had been transferred to a subsidiary company (for...

A recent case, in which a company was convicted of tipping waste illegally, prompted a comment from Lord Justice Keene which...

The earning capacity of a couple is a factor taken into account when decisions are being made about the financial arrangements following a divorce. A problem that can arise in such cases is what to do when the earning capacity of...

A machine operator whose right thumb was badly injured at work has won £11,000 in damages. Gerald O’Reilly, 58, was working on a seaming machine – used in the manufacture of cans – when the accident happened. Mr...

In these days of Home Information Packs, you might think that the details you get about a property for sale will be accurate in every particular. It may not be so, however, and if so, is the estate agent liable? A recent case clarifies the issue......

From 31 March 2008, there has been an increased  incentive to make sure Corporation Tax returns are lodged with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on time. From that date, returns lodged by the normal due date will only be...

The family of a baby who sustained horrific injuries in a car crash has been awarded £800,000 in compensation. Cerys Edwards, who was just 11 months old, was injured in a crash caused by Antonio Singh Boparan. Mr Boparan was...

Whether you are employed or self-employed makes a critical difference to how you are taxed and the tax liabilities of an employed person can be very different indeed when compared with a self-employed person with similar levels of gross income. The National...

When promises are made but not kept, the law often provides no redress for the disappointed person, as a recent case involving a couple who looked after a friend demonstrates. The couple looked after their friend when he became unable...

A group of British holidaymakers has won more than £2.5 million in compensation for illness they suffered while staying at a hotel in Spain. Many holidaymakers contracted the ‘norovirus’ infection while staying at the...

The Companies Act 2006, most of which is now in force, imposes tough new criteria governing the behaviour of directors. In...

With one year to go to 2009, long-term commercial property owners may want to get their thinking caps on. The reason? The...

Mesothelioma, which is caused by asbestos exposure, is a particularly lethal form of cancer that attacks the cells lining the body's internal organs, but it is most often found in the lungs. Overall, the prognosis for sufferers is poor. By the time someone...

The Government has announced increases in the national minimum wage rates in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay...

Recently amended provisions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 could further restrict the rights of...

The owner of a flower shop has failed in her bid to hold a commuter partly responsible for a fall that occurred on the pavement outside her London shop. In July last year Brian Piccolo, 50, won the right to damages for injuries he...

A few years ago, enquiries and arguments over technical tax points raised by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tended to be fairly relaxed affairs, with goodwill and a spirit of compromise being not uncommon. Regrettably, those days are...

Last year, the former Equal Opportunities Commission brought judicial review proceedings against the Government regarding some of the provisions of the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 , which made amendments to the Sex...

 The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 prohibit victimisation and harassment as well as other forms of discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation. In the Regulations,...

A recent case, involving the family of a man who died and left his entire fortune to the Conservative Party, illustrates one of the main exceptions which can apply, in cases involving wills, to the normal rule that ‘the loser pays the costs’ of a...

The dangers of doing important things the casual way were spelled out clearly in a recent case in which a 37-year-old London man was recently left to count the cost of being an ‘informal’ sperm donor, after the Child Support Agency (CSA)...

A boy who suffered brain damage after he was kicked in the head while playing on a bouncy castle has been awarded compensation that could amount to £1 million, a ruling that will cause parents to stop and think. Sam Harris, who...

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) now has ten electronic learning guides available on its website. The topics are • bullying and harassment; • managing absence in the workplace; ...

The Government has announced that a scheme which will make unsold new homes available for housing association tenants is to be accelerated. The plan is aimed at making it easier for first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder. ...

A claim that a will is invalid because of ‘undue influence’ having been brought to bear on the testator demands a high standard of proof in order to succeed....

New measures designed to tackle illegal migrant working came into force on 29 February 2008. These measures, contained in the ...

A gas worker who was caught in a huge explosion while investigating a leak has won a £230,000 payout.   Danny McLeod, who worked for Transco, had been called out following reports of a gas leak near a pub in Norwich in 2003....

A father who showed significant improvement in his ability to look after his son has been granted custody of the child by the Court of Appeal.   The child had been...

Being injured in a road traffic accident whilst on holiday is an occurrence, until recently, made worse in many cases by the difficulties which can arise in seeking legal redress...

Being injured in a road traffic accident whilst on holiday is an unfortunate occurrence, until recently made worse by the fact that  in many cases considerable difficulties could arise in seeking legal redress against the...

Following the introduction in February 2008 of the highly-skilled migrants programme – Tier 1 under the new Points Based System (PBS) for immigration that will apply to migrants who are not nationals of the European Economic Area or Swiss...

Many people are not aware that the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).   The Information Commissioner’s Office has published an updated version of...

A fireman whose career was ended after he was injured by a hit-and-run motorist has been awarded £280,000 in compensation.   The accident happened when the fire fighter was cycling home from work, wearing his cycle helmet...

The rising cost of fuel for motor vehicles has forced HM Revenue and Customs to increase the amount which can be claimed tax-free by way of reimbursement for car fuel for fuel used for business purposes but paid for by employees. The ...

There are generally strict time limits that apply when presenting a claim for unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal (ET). Normally, a claim must be lodged before the end of a three-month period beginning with the...

Recent cases have shown the courts willing to back homeowners in their disputes with builders and insurers. In one case, the court had to deal with the common situation in which the cause of a fire was...

The right of a tenant to buy his or her property (under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act...

On 6 April 2008 most of the long-awaited Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force. The Act establishes a new statutory offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate culpable homicide in Scotland). An...

Unlike other forms of discrimination, such as race or sex discrimination, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 do allow a defence of justification in cases of direct discrimination, where this is ‘a proportionate means of achieving...

A mother has been awarded a multi-million pound settlement because her son was left severely disabled after he was starved of oxygen at birth.   Bailey Brown, 6, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and has to use a wheelchair. Although...

A lesbian soldier has won her claim against the Ministry of Defence for sex discrimination and discrimination on the grounds...

A will is only valid if the person making it has ‘testamentary capacity’, which is the basis of the phrase ‘being of sound mind’. In simple terms,...

Two cyclists have received compensation after being involved in road accidents that were the fault of the motorist in each case.   Rebecca Thompson was out training with five other cyclists when she pulled out to overtake...

Considering the sums involved, the contractual terms relating to property transactions are often treated rather...

It might well be a surprise to many, but when your child comes home from school with a bag brimming with photocopies, it might also be a bag full of copyright violations. ...

A man who was knocked down by a car driven by an underage driver has been awarded £8,000 in compensation for the injuries he suffered. Peter Ives, 60, was walking his dog near his house when a car mounted the pavement and hit him....

Following the recent judgment in the Court of Appeal that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) was wrong to reject six patent applications purely on the grounds that they were for software, UKIPO has accepted the ruling and indicated that it will not...

A director who was the sole director and shareholder of a company and who failed to stop the employees of the...

There have been several cases before the courts in recent years which arose because a house or property was purchased in the name of one of an unmarried couple and then when the...

A woman who injured her back as a result of repeated heavy lifting at work has received £60,000 in compensation from her employer.   Ms Karen Coulthard, 45, worked as a stores assistant for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). In...

The Government’s watering down of its proposals for the taxation of non-UK domiciled people has been well documented. Even after being made less aggressive, the new proposals do pose...

Following consultation with the entertainment industry and licensed trades, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have...

A former electrician has been awarded £20,000 in damages after he developed asbestosis, a crippling respiratory disease.   Peter Guy, now 74, worked for Harland and Wolf in its Liverpool shipyard in the 1960s as an...

  A new voluntary code of conduct for the management of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) has been...

A parcel service worker whose hearing was damaged owing to exposure to high levels of noise has won a compensation award of £11,500 from his former employer.   The man worked on an airfield transporting parcels. He was...

The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET), upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal...

Where a landlord or tenant breaches their repairing covenants on a let property, the other party is...

Last year, the former Equal Opportunities Commission brought judicial review proceedings against the Government regarding some of the...

When you ask for a redemption statement from your mortgage lender, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to see an additional charge termed ‘mortgage exit administration fee’ (MEAF), which,...

A former RAF sergeant whose personality changed after he suffered head injuries in a road-traffic accident has been awarded £1.7 million in compensation.   The accident was caused by a drunk driver who attempted a...

As of 6 April 2008 the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 are extended to the music and entertainment sectors. For other industry sectors...

A recent case raised the question of whether an association could consist of a single person. Whilst the question might not seem to be of...

When a person is unable to pursue a claim against someone who has been made bankrupt on account of the bankruptcy having been discharged,...

A woman has secured a six-figure sum in compensation for injuries she suffered ten years ago when her appendix ruptured following a delayed diagnosis.   She was aged 13 at the time of her illness in 1998. After...

The House of Lords has issued a decision which will be unpopular with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC): it has ruled that the reduction in time limits...

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reminded employers of their legal duties with regard to manual handling, after an employee was injured when a 50kg sack of basmati rice fell onto the back of his neck.   The...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have launched hundreds of investigations into the tax affairs of taxpayers they believe have...

Following the recent judgment in the Court of Appeal that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) was wrong to reject six patent applications...

A social worker who suffered damage to her eyes when oven cleaner was sprayed in her face has won £7,000 in damages.   Rudi Meszaros, 33, was working at a residential home for young offenders when the...

Pre-nuptial agreements have been given a boost following a recent case involving a ‘serial divorcee’....

The standard weekly rate of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay increased...

A 14-year-old girl who was bitten on the face by a Rottweiler has been awarded compensation for her injuries.   Louise Macdonald was playing with a friend at her grandmother's house when the attack occurred. Her grandmother...

If an employer is proposing to make redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days, the collective consultation provisions of Section 188...

The Office of Fair Trading has announced that it is bringing the first ever criminal prosecutions for ‘cartel offences’ – more...

The Government has announced that it does not, for the time being at any rate, intend to proceed with reforms to the law that would have...

Home Information Packs (HIPs) are now required for most residential properties put on the market, but the list of...

The widow of a man who died of mesothelioma in his late sixties, after being exposed to asbestos decades ago, has been awarded £122,000 in compensation.   Harry Worth was diagnosed with the deadly asbestos-related...

A pensioner who fell two storeys from a hospital balcony has been awarded £230,000 in compensation.   Dorothy Cardno, 67, was admitted to hospital after suffering a minor heart attack. Three days later,...

A recent decision of the House of Lords may have opened the door for thousands of tenants of offices and other properties originally designed to be...

A man whose home was destroyed by fire claimed under his insurance policy. The policy gave the insurer the right to reinstate the...

Commercial buildings to be built, sold or let will in future require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The requirement is being phased in,  having...

The  Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force on 6 April 2008. The Act establishes a new statutory offence of...

A spectator at a stock car race who was hurt when a lorry wheel careered over a 15 foot protective barrier has won an undisclosed six-figure sum in compensation for the injuries she suffered.   On Easter Monday in 2006,...

When financial arrangements are being made on divorce, the issue of the payment of maintenance is often in point. One of the...

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, protection against unfair dismissal is only afforded to employees. For this reason, the exact...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued new draft regulations which are intended to reduce the number of reports which need...

A nurse whose career was cut short after she developed an allergy to latex has been awarded a six-figure sum in compensation.   Tanya Dodd, 25, was working as a trainee nurse at Scarborough General Hospital when she...

When a company becomes insolvent, whether or not a shareholder and director is an employee, within the meaning of section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), for the...

Copyright owners will be dismayed to hear that the Government has proposed that the law of copyright be relaxed to allow limited 'private copying'. Under present law copying anything in print, or even a CD which you have already...

Landlords (strictly ‘managers’) of Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are reminded that minimum standards were introduced on 1 October 2007, which include the requirement to:   ...

A boy born with brain damage from complications at birth has been awarded £2.7m in compensation.   The boy’s mother, Diane Doyle, visited hospital three days before giving birth to her son, Kieran. A midwife had detected...

The Companies Act 2006 was designed to modernise British company law, making it ‘fit for purpose’ for the 21 st Century. In particular, there are several changes which affect directors. As of 1 October 2007, the...

A judge who in her verdict in a child care case failed to give adequate reasons for departing from the clear evidence of experts recently found her decision overturned by the Court of Appeal.  ...

The Court of Appeal has recently issued a ruling that will be regarded with dismay by councils as it has allowed a man with a four-bedroom council house to retain it...

After a long fight, the family of a woman who died in 2002 from asbestos-related cancer has received a five-figure sum in settlement of a compensation claim against her employers.   In 1957, Martha May Charlson had appeared on a...

The Court of Appeal recently handed down a decision which should convince directors to take great care when they sign contractual documents on behalf of their...

The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2007, which details the annual inflation-linked increase in limits on the amounts which can be awarded by employment tribunals applies where the appropriate date falls on or after 1...

If trustees act in a way that gives rise to an unintended liability to tax, the situation can be put right by going to court to have the trust deed rectified. Traditionally, all the trustee had to do was to persuade the court...

31 March 2008 is the last day for a small company, or 5 April for an unincorporated business, to incur expenditure on plant and machinery, which will qualify for a 50%...

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, the person responsible for the management of a building site is required, if the construction phase involves more than 30 calendar days or 500 person-days of work, to appoint a Construction...

The high cost of long-term care in the UK is a well known problem to anyone responsible for funding it. Depending on the circumstances, the cost of such care can be the responsibility of a number of different entities and...

A miner has been awarded £105,000 in compensation after a piece of rock fell and broke one of his vertebrae.   At the time of the accident Alun Finney, 55, was working at a coal face that was being prepared for charging and...

The number of individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) is set to soar to over 50,000 this year, according to industry sources. This follows two years in which the number of IVAs has been slightly more than 40,000 per year.   One of...

If you are subject to a long delay or the cancellation of your flight when on holiday, the airline is required to give you a leaflet outlining your right to compensation. If the delay or cancellation means that...

A man who suffered hearing loss as a result of being exposed to excessive noise at work has been awarded £6,000 in compensation.   Terry Howarth, 51, worked for North Western British Road Services in Manchester, carrying out the...

A group of British holidaymakers has won more than £2.5m in compensation for illness contracted while staying at a hotel in Spain.   Many holidaymakers were struck down with the 'norovirus' infection while staying at the Beach...

You would be forgiven for thinking that training costs aimed at improving your skills or business profits would automatically qualify for tax relief, but that is not necessarily the case. The complexities of the UK tax system mean that the availability of...

A recent case sounds yet another warning bell for employers who neglect to take appropriate measures to prevent harmful noise at work and led to a man who suffered hearing loss as a result of being exposed to excessive noise at work being awarded...