Tier 2 visas are the main route for skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to come to work in the UK....
Figures suggest that fly-tipping – the illegal deposit of waste – is on the up after years of decline, with a 20% increase in fly-tipping since 2012/13. A costly concern for landowners, it is estimated that fly-tipping on private land costs of as much between £50m and £150 million to clear up each year. This note, gives a brief overview of some of the issues to aware of ....
We have recently been asked whether a landlord is able to operate historic rent reviews. The lease in question was a lease granted in 1999 for a term of 15 years, expiring at the end of December 2013 and within the protection of the renewal provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The tenant is still in occupation, holding over under the 1954 Act....
Ikea is leading the way in the campaign for a National Living Wage, becoming the first large national retailer to announce plans to comply with the new rates....
The Justice Committee, consisting of 11 cross party MPs is conducting an inquiry into the impact of tribunal fees introduced for claims submitted on or after 29 July 2013....
Last month we blogged about news that the cap on the number of Tier 2 visas for skilled migrant workers was reached for the first time....
Clarkslegal’s Construction team is pleased to confirm the recent recruitment of Victoria Kempthorne, a newly qualified solicitor, and Stanley Kamalu, a paralegal/trainee, to their ever-expanding team of construction, engineering and energy professionals....
Two recent cases, one in Supreme Court and the other in the High Court give an interesting illustration of the approach taken to interpret a contract. Although in each case the court applied the same legal test, it reached the opposite result. ...
Liquidated damages clauses are commonly used in construction contracts as a solution to deal with specified breaches. However, the courts have refused to enforce liquidated damages which are deemed to be a penalty....
This week the Government announced the new Trade Union Bill 2015, which will be highly controversial, including the biggest changes to industrial action law since the 1980s....
This week’s other big news on the employment front has been the Government’s launch of a consultation on legislation on gender pay gap reporting. This will close on 6 September 2015....
In relation to sickness and holiday leave, an issue which sometimes arises is whether an employee on sick leave has to demonstrate that he was unable by reason of illness to take holiday for it to be carried forward. Another question is whether there is an unlimited right to carry forward....
This week’s huge news is the announcement by the Chancellor of a new “National Living Wage” which will effectively replace the National Minimum Wage for workers over the age of 25....
If you have been one of the many commuters stuck this week because of the rail and tube strikes, you may be heartened to learn that in a recent case, the Court of Appeal took a robust approach on the issue of how much pay an employer can withhold from a salaried worker....
The recent case of Medicure v Minister for the Cabinet Office was unusual in two key respects. First, it involved a challenge to a procurement process which was brought some seventeen months after the framework agreement had been concluded. Further, the claimant company bringing the challenge had in fact been successful in obtaining a place on the framework....
The balance between private landowners and motorists in the parking arena has shifted in recent years. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (the 2002 Act) brought in by the Coalition government outlawed private clamping but permitted landowners to obtain the details of the registered keepers of vehicles from the DVLA. ...
In assessing whether unfair prejudice has occurred, the courts will look at the facts objectively and, as a starting point, will examine the basis upon which the ‘aggrieved’ shareholder agreed to become a member of the company, i.e. looking at the articles of association and any formal agreements between the shareholders....
I attended an event last month hosted by the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA), in which industry leaders (and me!) gathered to discuss a couple of pertinent questions for the construction industry:...
So, with the summer holiday season upon us, where are we now exactly on the issue of the calculation of holiday pay? Can employers move forward in implementing changes to how holiday pay is calculated in the knowledge that there is sufficient legal certainty on the issue?...
The EAT has upheld a decision of the Central Arbitration Committee that for the purposes of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (The ICE Regulations) an undertaking has to be a legal entity....