Landlords risk losing hundreds of thousands of pounds if they fail to consult tenants properly over service charges. In a recent case, Daejan Investments Ltd had to forfeit £270,000. Now Stenau Properties Ltd have fallen into the same trap. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that landlords go through a thorough consultation process before
Changes to employment tribunals designed to save businesses £50m a year and make it easier for them to take on staff have now come into effect. The Government says it has streamlined the system to reduce some of the burden on employers and reduce the number of vexatious claims. The main changes are: The qualifying
The Supreme Court has ruled that an employer can operate a compulsory retirement age if it is “founded on legitimate social policy aims”. The case involved solicitor Leslie Seldon who was a partner at a law firm. In 2006, he was obliged to retire at the age of 65 under provisions contained in the firm’s
People declared bankrupt may have to use some of their untaken pensions to pay their debts, following a High Court ruling. When a person is declared bankrupt, the courts will assess their income and decide how much they can afford to pay their creditors each month, usually for a period of three years until the
It is not unusual for people to sign agreements without being fully aware of how legally binding the document actually is and how much protection it gives them. This can prove costly, as shown in a recent case before the High Court. It involved two businessmen, Karim Dhanani and Serge Crasnianski, who discussed setting up
A director and a shareholder were held to be in contempt of court after selling company assets. The case involved an agency that sold car breakdown policies on behalf of an insurance company. The insurers came to believe that the agency had not accounted fully to it for its premiums and had provided false information.
Three out of four middle managers in UK businesses are unaware of the Bribery Act, according to research by the fraud investigation specialists Ernst & Young. This is in spite of the fact that the Act came into effect in July 2011. The researchers also found that of the 28% of middle managers who had
A manager whose redundancy was rushed through before his 50th birthday to avoid giving him up to £1m in pension benefits has lost his claim of age discrimination. The Court of Appeal ruled that the actions by the employer to save money were justifiable under the circumstances. Employment law specialists say it overturns previous case
Five bus drivers have won a claim of unfair dismissal after a change of employer meant they would have to spend up to two hours a day extra getting to their new depot. The case arose when the bus operator Centrewest transferred one of its routes in London to another operator, Abellio. The drivers were
The Government is asking businesses to express their views and concerns about workplace dismissal rules. The move is part of the wide ranging Employment Law Review, which aims to assess the awareness, understanding and the use of the ACAS Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance. The Review will also look at the idea of