Articles
February 2014
Why You Should Review Contracts of Employment
Author: David Seals
Employees’ contracts of employment are important legal documents which should be periodically reviewed and kept up to date. There are various reasons why you might want to update and change contracts of employment.
February 2014
Unexpected Absence
Author: Nicola O'Dwyer
It is likely that there will be occasions when an employee fails to attend the workplace owing to circumstances beyond his/her control. This type of non attendance may be caused by the following:...
February 2014
Unfair Dismissal Update
Author: Matthew Kilgannon
In 2013, we saw a number of changes to the rules relating to unfair dismissal, which includes:...
February 2014
False Self Employment
Author: Nicola O'Dwyer
HMRC has recently issued a consultation paper on false self-employment, due to increasing evidence that Intermediary Companies and Employment Businesses are being used to present individuals as self employed to avoid paying national insurance and tax. They also avoid the costs and risks associated with having employees.
January 2014
Zero Hours - Useful or Abused?
Author: Laura Marchington
Zero-hours contracts have been the subject of much debate over recent months. This includes a lot of press coverage where these types of arrangements have alleged to have been abused. Figures from research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) estimates that around 3% of the workforce are working on a zero-hours contract; that is, approximately one million people.
December 2013
New Property Fraud Alert Service
Author: Caroline Walton
In an effort to combat property fraud, the Land Registry are currently trialling a new alert service called 'Property Alert' which is aimed at helping the public to protect themselves against property fraud.
November 2013
School Liable for Brain Damage?
Authors: SImone Horrobin and Matthew Kilgannon:
The recent Supreme Court decision of Woodland v Essex County Council highlights the exposure faced by Schools when engaging third parties to provide services. While the case involved a maintained School, the implications apply equally to independent Schools, indeed, part of the Court’s rationale included reference to fee-paying schools have greater exposure given the contractual nature of the relationship.
October 2013
Tax Savvy Education Trusts
Author: William Edwards
For parents who are concerned about Inheritance Tax (IHT) following their own deaths, education trusts are a tax efficient means of both financing their children’s education and reducing the value of their estate for IHT purposes.
October 2013
Confidential Discussions (Pre-Termination Negotiations)
As one of its many recent changes, the Government has now introduced a new right for employers, employees and their representatives to have confidential discussions regarding the termination of an individual’s employment.
September 2013
Grounds for Divorce
A recent study shows that in 2013 unreasonable behaviour is cited in 47% of all divorces and adultery in just 15%. These figures differ from the 1970s when only 28% of divorce petitions were based on unreasonable behaviour and 29% based on adultery.
