The French Government passed measures last year which have increased the taxes payable by non-resident owners of properties in France and further rises are planned. Since 1 January 2012, the rate of tax for rental income arising on French property is 35.5...
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which implement the EU Agency Workers Directive, came into force on 1 October 2011. Under Regulation 5 of the AWR, agency workers have the right to the same basic terms and conditions of employment as if they had...
A businesswoman whose business fell victim to the recession has persuaded the family court that it would be appropriate for the settlement she had agreed to pay her ex-husband to be varied. The total settlement was £450,000, made up of: ...
A couple who defaulted on their £500,000 mortgage have failed to convince the High Court that the loan is unenforceable by reason of the lender’s failure to comply with the safeguards contained within the Consumer Credit Act 1974 . The Court...
Many people fail to make a will, thus causing problems for surviving family members. However, difficulties can also arise when a person makes several wills, particularly if these contain drafting errors. A recent case concerned a woman who died having...
With one in six British marriages now involving a spouse not domiciled in the UK, problems involving the tax consequences of domicile are becoming increasingly common. Most of the press coverage involving domicile and tax has involved Income Tax. However,...
A businesswoman who was belittled as being ‘no more than a receptionist’ by her multi-millionaire husband has had her £2.7 million divorce settlement upheld after the Court of Appeal ruled that her ‘exceptional’ contribution...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) and ruled that a lap dancer at a London club owned by Peter Stringfellow was not an employee ( Stringfellows Restaurants Ltd. v Quashie ) and was not therefore entitled...
When a businessman voiced his opinion on planning matters by joining a planning action group which opposed the construction of two biomass power plants, he did not expect his past business record to become the subject of debate. However, a bundle of papers...
When an elderly and ill woman was put under continual pressure by her brother-in-law to change her will in favour of his children, whom she rarely saw, her resolve finally cracked and in a bid to have a quiet life, she instructed her lawyers to draw up a new...
When a planning appeal to which the National Trust was a party came before the court and the judge due to hear it was a member of the Trust, he was automatically disqualified from hearing the appeal. The planning application was to build four wind...
Changes in the system for dealing with child maintenance claims will soon be fully implemented, with cases currently dealt with by the Child Support Agency being transferred to the Child Maintenance Service. As part of this arrangement, a new formula has...
The early months of the tax year are a good time for savers to think about tax planning for the current year. In particular, now is a good time to think about investments that produce regular income – if you can find them. If you expect to have a...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the established regime whereby applicants for jobs requiring contact with children or vulnerable adults have their entire criminal records disclosed to prospective employers is unlawful and an infringement of the...
For a will to be valid, one of the conditions imposed by the Wills Act 1837 is that two witnesses must attest the will by signing and acknowledging the signature of the person making it (the ‘testator’) and must do so ‘in each...
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) for this year’s adult and youth National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates. However, the LPC’s recommendation that the apprentice rate, which applies to...
Following recent changes to the length of consultation required when making collective redundancies, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Acas) has published a guide for employers entitled ‘How to manage collective redundancies’...
When a group of gypsies found that the housing benefit they received did not cover the full cost of their caravan pitches on a private caravan site, they claimed that it should and that the failure of the council to provide for this was discriminatory. Had...
Currently, bringing a claim to the Employment Tribunal (ET) is free of charge. From July 2013, this is set to change, however, with the introduction of fees for single claims to the ET as follows: For level 1 claims (i.e. claims for sums due on...
Facing the possibility of a development on neighbouring land that will reduce your light is never welcome and the threat of such a development is not something you might care to have hanging over you. A recent case will provide some comfort for anyone who...
The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision of the lower court to hand out suspended prison sentences to two non-residents who failed to pay child maintenance as ordered by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC). One of the miscreant...
Many people will have read the recent reports of a 67-year-old lady, Marlene Howes, who was prosecuted for allegedly fraudulently claiming pension tax credits and for allegedly concealing that she had received a £50,000 legacy under her mother’s...
In dismissing claims for wrongful deductions from pay, brought by local authority employees, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) declined jurisdiction to carry out a comparative evaluation of their jobs on the basis that to perform such a subjective task...
Six men who between them stole millions of pounds from a charity set up to assist asylum seekers were recently jailed for terms of up to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court. The six were found guilty of the theft of £1.8 million, but it is...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published two sets of guidance for businesses on how to prevent discrimination and avoid costly legal challenges. ‘The Equality Act: Guidance for Small Business’ explains how the Equality...
