The Scottish Court of Session has declined to grant any declaration concerning tribunal fees until a full hearing can take place. The case is relevant to England and Wales as the Lord Chancellor has conceded that a ruling by the Court of Session will bind the whole of the UK, not just Scotland....
Under the Equality Act, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person`s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. In the case of Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing Ltd an employee suffered from a multitude of physical and mental symptoms described as functional overlay which was significantly compounded by his...
Clarkslegal held its second tea party for the local elderly community at the Forbury Gardens in Reading on Sunday...
On 29 July 2013, the following sections of Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013) into force: Pre-termination negotiations- a new, but complex statutory framework that will allow for certain discussions to remain confidential from a tribunal in unfair dismissal cases only. Section 14. Compromise agreements and compromise contracts- will be renamed as "settlement agreements" in...
In the recent case of Topland Portfolio No. 1 Ltd v Smiths News Trading Ltd [2013] EWHC 1445 (Ch), the High Court held that a guarantor was automatically released from its obligations under the terms of a lease as a result of the landlord and tenant entering into a licence for alterations to undertake works to a property without its consent....
As reported in our blog on 7 June 2013, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has allowed an appeal by the union, USDAW, which fundamentally changes the application of the collective redundancy laws in the UK - subject to any appeal. The change has come about as a result of the decision by the EAT to apply UK employment law in conformity with EC Directive and will impose a significant burden on employers, particularly larger employers. This will be frustrating for the government, having reduced in April of this year the 90 day consultation period for large redundancy exercises to 45 days, in an attempt to reduce the burden....
Following the Woolworths case there has been a lot of discussion on the meaning of one ‘establishment` for the purposes of collective redundancy consultations and the consequences of this....
The Government`s intention to introduce Tribunal fees from 29th July 2013 is quite possibly the most controversial change to the Employment Tribunal procedure that they have made to date....
The Upper Tier Tax Tribunal has disallowed a claim for Business Property Relief in respect of a holiday letting...
In a dispute over whether tax was payable on a very large settlement sum, the High Court has determined (no doubt, to the huge relief of the employer) that the proper construction of a clause "to pay £1,350,000" was that the sum was to be paid net of tax (that is, after deduction of income tax). The clause did not say that tax was deductible. The parties agreed that: The settlement sum was su...
A week later and finally Chip Starnes, from the US, president of Specialty Medical Supplies, is able to leave his office, after being barricaded in by his own employees at a factory in China....
On-demand bonds are experiencing a revival in these recessionary times. They have the advantage of being able to be called upon immediately and are generally perceived as a "must-have" security document for most clients entering into construction contracts...
Clarkslegal was delighted to support the Association of Commonwealth Universities` centenary reception and their Second Century Campaign on Monday 10th June....
With Wimbledon being televised this week, many people have tuned into the endless grunts and back hands of the tennis stars, including former number 1, Spanish favourite, Rafael Nadal. However this year, he was knocked out in the first round to Steve Darcis, ranked 135th in the world.Nadal was expected to perform at a high standard, so when he was surprisingly kicked out this early on in the com...
Thank you to those who attended our Centenary Charity Reception at the St. David`s Hotel, Cardiff on Thursday 13th June....
A recent High Court decision ruled on whether Marks and Spencer had infringed trademarks belonging to Interflora through its use of keyword advertising (Interflora Inc and another v Marks & Spencer plc and another [2013] EWHC 1291 (Ch))....
The Government is to review the use of controversial "zero-hours" contracts under which employees are put on standby and not guaranteed a minimum amount of work....
UNISON has confirmed that is making an application to the High Court to challenge the introduction of fees in the employment tribunal system. This is a judicial review of the Ministry of Justice`s decision to introduce employment tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal fees from 29 July 2013. UNISON argues that these charges will make it ‘virtually impossible` for workers to exercise their employ...
The Government is set to reduce the number of regular soldiers by nearly 4,500, 84 per cent of whom have volunteered to be made redundant. Following a defence review in 2010, this 3rd round of cuts further emphasises the Governments plan to reduce the number of regular soldiers to 82,000 by 2017. At the same time, there is a planned 100 per cent increase in the number of reservists from 15,000 to...
Hiring and inspiring were the overriding themes at a high profile event hosted by Clarkslegal, Grant Thornton and Clydesdale in Henley. Addressing the capacity audience of Thames Valley business leaders was VIP speaker and ambassador for Clydesdale Bank Steve Cram MBE, whose key message was that in any field, sport or business, "you have to give people the environment for talent and ability to be nurtured and developed."...