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Harrow on the Hill , Harrow & Wealdstone Kenton and...
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8864 0111
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8864 4514
DX: 4201 Harrow 1
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April 09
Be Careful What You Talk About In Taxis (or in an Email)
It is often thought that for a binding contract to be created, you have to ‘sign on the dotted line’, but most contracts do not need to be in writing to be valid.
A Current Tenant is a Good Tenant
A recent report by commercial property agents King Sturge (KS) may concentrate the minds of commercial landlords.
You Can Borrow My Log-in
It is common practice in many organisations for users of subscription resources to ‘borrow’ other people’s log-in details
Breach of Patent – What to Do
When you discover that a business has breached your patent, what should you do?
Common Sense Restored in Insurance Decision
The recent decision in which the loss of a trawler tied up in port was held to be an uninsured loss, because of the breach of a warranty clause that cover applied only when there was a ‘Warranted Owner and/or Owner's experienced skipper on board and in charge at all times and one experienced crew member’, has been reversed in the Court of Appeal.
ECJ Rules on UK’s Mandatory Retirement Age But the Fight Goes On
People aged over 65 who want to keep on working face an uphill battle, following the long-awaited judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
Employee Health Screening Not Taxable
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have at long last agreed that medical checks provided by employers for employees can be exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions if screening is made available on similar terms to all employees.
Employers Guilty in Fatal Accident Case
A recent decision of the House of Lords may have far-reaching consequences for employers, especially those tempted to cut corners regarding health and safety.
EU – New Rules on Applicable Law
Where a dispute has a foreign element, one of the common problems is deciding under what jurisdiction legal action should be taken.
Failure to Pay Instalments on Time Means Contract Void
When times are hard, there is always the temptation to delay payments to those owed money and, in many cases, the main disadvantages of this will be a cooling of one’s relationship with the supplier and possibly some deterioration in service received.
Failure to Reserve Rights Means Landlord’s Plans Stymied
A landlord, which wished to add an extra floor to maisonettes it owned, recently came unstuck because the drafting of the leases for the maisonettes was insufficiently precise.
Fitness for Purpose – Knowledge Critical
One of the most important principles of law governing buyers and sellers is that an item sold must be fit for the purpose for which it has been supplied.
Health and Safety – VDU Use
More and more workers are spending a large part of their day looking at a computer screen. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 specifically deal with the health and safety issues associated with working with VDUs.
HMRC Guidance on Goodwill Valuation
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have traditionally taken the view that where the nature of a business is such that it must trade from a property (for example, a pub or a care home), where the use of specially adapted premises is concerned, the amount of goodwill in the business which is ‘extra’ is likely to be small.
IHT and Agricultural Property – Europe Demands Equal Treatment
The European Commission (EC) has requested the UK to cease its discriminatory application of Inheritance Tax relief for agricultural property.
Good Boardroom Practice
The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators has published a practical, short guide (3 pages) on boardroom good practice, which will be of great interest to company secretaries and directors, especially non-executive directors.
Guide to IR35
A handy guide to IR35 (the rules that determine whether or not a person who provides a service through a company is treated as being an employee of the organisation which has retained the company) has been published by Contracteye, the website for IT Contractors.
Managing Violence in Licensed and Retail Premises
Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
New Data Protection Guide
For those of you with £350 burning a hole in your pocket, the British Standards Institute has published a new guide on data protection.
SDLT – Lest We Forget
Tenants who undertook leases after 1 December 2003, which was when Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) came into effect, are reminded that it may be necessary for them to submit a new SDLT return and the result may be additional SDLT to pay or a refund of SDLT.
Insolvency and TUPE
Whilst the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) operate to protect the employment law rights of employees when there is a relevant transfer of a business or part of a business, Regulation 8(7) provides that where insolvency proceedings are analogous to bankruptcy proceedings....
Landmark Ruling on Access for the Disabled
A 17-year-old disabled man from Sheffield has secured a historic legal victory against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on account of its failure to make adjustments as a service provider to one of its branches in order to accommodate members of the public with impaired mobility.
Late Filing Fees Hike for Companies
Companies filing their accounts after the due date will pay a bigger late filing penalty from 1 February 2009.
Licensees Beware
The Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amount of Penalty) (Amendment) Order 2008 has recently come into effect and allows penalty notices to be issued by a variety of officials, such as trading standards officers and community support officers, as well as the police.
Make Sure Your Bank Knows You
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), a bank is required to inform the authorities about any transaction that it suspects might be connected with money-laundering or the proceeds of crime.
Make Your Arguments at the Right Time
In a recent case, a claim was made for summary judgment after an adjudicator made a decision regarding a construction dispute.
Misled Customer Cannot Make Client Account Claim
When a customer paid a cheque to a firm, on the understanding that the money was to be held in a separate client account, it expected that it would be safe....
New Environmental Damage Regulations in Force
The Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009, which transpose the provisions of the EU Environmental Liability Directive into law in England and Wales, came into force on 1 March 2009.
Patent Searches Improved
Checking for existing patents in force will be easier (and free) now that the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has made two new patent databases accessible online.
Pre-Signed Document Invalid
A recent tax case should sound a warning bell for those in the habit of signing documents which may subsequently be amended.
Restricting Your Salary – Good Idea or Not?
With the economic situation worsening, it might well be tempting for company directors to save on employers’ and employees’ National Insurance Contributions and delay tax payments by switching from paying salaries to paying dividends on shares.
Similar Company Names – New Rules and Decision
On 1 October 2008, new rules relating to the registration of company names came into force.
Tenancies and Insolvency – Landlords Take Note
Businesses in financial difficulties are increasingly seeking ways of ridding themselves of extra costs and, in many cases, premises let in more promising economic times are viewed as a substantial and avoidable liability, especially for businesses which have expanded too quickly.
Valuation Not Binding if Not All Parties Agree
In the present market, it is likely that there will be many instances of shareholders in unquoted companies, which are often owned and managed by a small group of people, selling their shares to other shareholders. The main problem in such instances is almost always the question of the valuation of the shares.
Who Can See Your Register?
Under the 1985 Companies Act, the register of shareholders of a company was open to the public, although a small fee could be charged to non-shareholders wishing to inspect it.
