How do you prove that you are married when a valid marriage certificate is not available? This question may not often arise, but it does sometimes happen that a marriage certificate cannot be produced, which can be particularly problematic when someone is...
When an adjudicator in a construction dispute gives a ruling, the decision can only be appealed on a limited number of grounds. One of these is ‘breach of natural justice’, which means that the adjudicator’s decision is so obviously flawed...
The Government has announced its proposals for reform of the employment law system following its consultation, ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’, and the Red Tape Challenge review of employment law. The aim is to replace overburdensome regulation...
A recent case ( Whitham v Club 24 Ltd. t/a Ventura ) sheds further light on how an employer should respond if an employee makes derogatory remarks concerning the workplace on a social networking site. Mrs Whitham worked as a team leader at Club 24 Ltd.,...
A consultation on ways of making it easier for social housing providers to evict problem tenants has recently closed. It is proposed that landlords be given the right, in appropriate circumstances, to evict tenants who have been proven to have acted in an...
When a woman updated her will in 2003, she had no way of knowing that a simple change to a precedent document could cause problems for her executors several years later. There was no intention to change one of the main provisions of the will, which was that...
There has recently been a further case on long-term sickness and a worker’s right to accrue untaken annual holiday leave ( Fraser v Southwest London St George’s Mental Health Trust ). Mrs Fraser was on long-term sick leave after she injured her...
Although pre-nuptial agreements are persuasive rather than binding in the British courts, a recent ruling of the High Court on a French ‘pre-nup’ illustrates clearly the current approach of the courts. It involved a very wealthy French couple...
A court ruling that a spouse’s lottery winnings were not ‘matrimonial property’ so were not subject to the usual rule of equal division between the spouses when the marriage broke up received much publicity recently. The normal rule on...
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (now superseded by the Equality Act 2010 ), when deciding whether or not an employer took sufficient steps to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments to remove a disadvantage faced by a disabled...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have announced that the Mortgage Verification Scheme (MVS), which was developed in co-operation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association and run as a pilot scheme in March 2010, is now fully...
When a Jersey multi-millionaire gave most of his assets away to one of his daughters in the months prior to his death, leaving an estate of less than £100,000 to be shared by all three of his children, it was perhaps inevitable that a legal challenge...
In Williamson & Soden Solicitors v Briars , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered the employment status of a solicitor who was described as a partner of the firm and whose remuneration was by way of a ‘guaranteed profit share’...
When a marriage or civil partnership breaks up and there is a significant risk that one party may move assets (normally cash in bank accounts) ‘out of sight’, it is sometimes possible to obtain a ‘freezing order’ to prevent the sums...
A recent case illustrates how strong the evidence must be before the presumption that a person making a will has the mental capacity to do so will be overturned. It involved an elderly woman who died leaving an estate of a little under £150,000. Her...
It is common for service charges to be paid ‘on account’ of the annual cost, based on estimates, and a final account to be made up some time after the year end, based on the actual costs incurred. However, not all landlords are diligent about...
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 effective date of termination (EDT)....
One of the rules that applies to the administration of estates is that whilst a person appointed as executor under a will can refuse to accept the appointment, once an executor ‘intermeddles’ in the estate, in principle he or she cannot then...
The cardinal rule in proceedings involving children is that the welfare of the child comes first. In some cases, the interests of individual children in a family are sufficiently different for them to be considered separately. In a case involving a...
When an elderly woman passed away, her daughter, who was her personal representative, realised that some of her late mother’s land was occupied unlawfully by three people. She brought an action against them , seeking to recover possession of the land...
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued for consultation proposals for introducing fees for those wishing to lodge a claim with an Employment Tribunal (ET) or an appeal with the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). Currently, the system is free to use and in...
In July, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced that it had applied to intervene in four cases due to be heard by the European Court of Human Rights, all of which were brought by Christian employees who claimed to be victims of religious...
A husband has lost his appeal against an order made in July 2010 for ancillary relief (the legal term for financial provision for an ex-spouse) that put family assets of £10 million, including £7 million held in two trusts, into the pool of...
Every year the firm's Christmas party presents employees with the chance to relax and enjoy the holiday season. However, it is easy to forget that an employer owes its employees certain obligations, even outside work, when the employer has organised the...
When a millionaire estate agent died intestate, the two women he had been involved with both tried to have his estate distributed according to their wishes. Chris John died leaving an estate worth £5 million. At the time of his death, he had been...
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional fatal injury statistics for the year April 2010 to March 2011 . These show that the number of workers killed in Britain was 171, compared with an all time low of 147 deaths in the previous...
When does a commercial property become vacant under a lease agreement? This was the question considered in a recent hearing in the Court of Appeal . The appeal was brought by haulage and storage firm NYK Logistics (UK) Ltd., a former tenant of Netherlands...
Following its Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation and the Red Tape Challenge review of employment law, the Government has announced its proposals for reform. The aim is to replace overly burdensome regulation whilst safeguarding workers’ rights,...
A widow who was excluded from inheriting her husband’s £500,000 estate, under the terms of a will he made four years before he died in 2009, has contested the will, alleging that the brain tumour from which her husband was suffering meant that he...
A father who sought to have a hearing regarding his contact with his children adjourned so that new evidence could be obtained found his argument rejected by the Court of Appeal recently. The family court had issued an interim order that the father, who had...
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which came into force on 1 October 2011, agency workers are entitled to have the same basic terms and conditions of employment as if they had been employed directly by the hirer once they have completed a...
A developer who completely demolished a property when he only had permission to demolish part of it has landed himself with a fine and legal costs totalling more than £120,000. The developer has been given a year to pay the £80,000 fine and the...
Years ago, it was common for a deed creating a trust for children to specify the beneficiaries as being ‘the legitimate children’ of the person setting up the trust. Recently, the children of the 13th Duke of Manchester, by his bigamous marriage...
Two companies have been fined a total of £450,000 and ordered to pay costs after health and safety failures led to a maintenance worker falling to his death. Christopher Booker, 49, was working at Aberthaw Power Station when the accident happened in...
A woman who paid more than 90 per cent of the cost of a £3 million property purchased for her daughter, in whose name the title is held, has failed in her attempt to have the ownership of the property changed to reflect her contribution. It would seem...
The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in a case concerning the employment status of 20 valeters who provided car-cleaning services to motor retailers and auctioneers ( Autoclenz Ltd. v Belcher and others ). The valeters had written contracts with...
On 1 October 2011, changes to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (normally called the Construction Act) came into force. The changes are contained in Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 ...
The combination of a deathbed marriage, a millionaire and a new will was always likely to end in a court battle, and so it proved recently when a family challenged their late father’s will, which left everything to his new wife, who had been his...
The Law Society is urging the nearly 70 per cent of the adult population who have not yet made a will to do so. There are many reasons why you should make a will. It is a mistake to think that it is only necessary if you have a substantial estate. Estate...
As reported previously, the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) as they currently stand are not in accord with recent decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the interpretation of the Working Time Directive with regard to the interaction of...
Employers are reminded that new National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates came into force on 1 October 2011. The revised rates are as follows: The adult hourly rate of the NMW has increased from £5.93 to £6.08; The development rate (which...
Among the requirements for a will to be valid are that it must not be witnessed by a beneficiary and it must be signed at the bottom by the testator (the person making it) or, if they are unable to sign it, under their direction. You would therefore be...
A recent divorce case has confirmed the general position that when wealth is inherited, it is not normally subject to the ‘equal shares’ rule that applies to assets built up during a marriage. The case involved a couple who married in the UK...
When a licensing application cannot be heard because insufficient information has been supplied relating to the primary use of the premises, the licensing authority must decide whether to grant the licence and deal with any issues through enforcement action...
Earlier this year, the Government published a consultation document entitled ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’. This sought views on various measures aimed at increasing employers’ confidence to take on more workers, encouraging the early...
The Government is calling on businesses to have their say in the latest phase of its Employment Law Review. From today until 19 October, the Government's ‘Red Tape Challenge’ is focusing on more than 160 different employment-related...
An employee wishing to bring a claim of unfair dismissal must do so before the end of the three-month period commencing with the effective date of termination (EDT) of their employment. Where a period of notice is given, the EDT is the date on which this...
According to a recent poll, more than one in eight wills is ‘self-written’ and one in 10 of those people who have made a will fails to tell anyone where it is. Since nearly 4 out of every 10 adults have not made a will in the first place, the...
A recent case shows how unwilling the court will be to change an adoption order once it has been made. The case concerned a child who was removed from his mother’s care because she was unable to look after him due to drug dependency. This was...
If a claim is not defended, is a person indemnifying the defendant required to meet the claim in full? This question was at the core of a recent legal case involving a property development. The developer contracted with a subcontractor to carry out...
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are becoming increasingly common. For example, all of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms have been LLPs for several years now. Recently, the acrimonious bust-up of an LLP led to one of the ex-members suing the...
