The government’s new scheme to help people buy a home with a 95% mortgage has now come into effect. It means buyers can now get on the property ladder even if they only have a 5% deposit. The mortgages are available to both first-time buyers and existing homeowners for houses costing up to £600,000. The
A firm’s equality and diversity training has been dismissed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal as stale and ineffective against preventing harassment. The case involved Allay (UK) Ltd and Mr S Gehlen, who was of Indian origin. Mr Gehlen had been dismissed due to his performance. Following his dismissal, he complained that a work colleague had
A bus driver who knocked down a cyclist after he made obscene gestures towards him has lost his claim of unfair dismissal. Sam Beech had worked for Lothian Buses for 11 years until he was dismissed in September 2019 for gross misconduct. It all hinged on an incident when Beech was moving away from a
A bank worker has won his claim of unfair dismissal after he was made redundant following the breakdown of his relationship with his bosses. Joynal Choudhury had worked for Gatehouse Bank since 2015 and took on a new role as head of real estate in March 2018. He immediately suffered a strained relationship with his
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an employer could be justified in not re-engaging an unfairly dismissed employee if it had a rational belief that he could not carry out the duties required in a new role or if there had been a genuine breakdown of trust. The case involved Mr Scott Kelly, who
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that domestic abuse could mean far more than just violence and included behaviour that could affect the welfare of children even if they were not the direct victims. The issue arose in four conjoined appeals involving allegations of domestic abuse by one parent against the other. In giving judgments,
The High Court has provided some useful guidelines on what is required for a person’s statements to be legally classed as ‘deathbed gifts’ in inheritance cases. The court was asked to determine the proper distribution of the estate of a married couple. The wife died in January 2019 of cancer and the husband died of
Separating couples wills soon be able to apply for £500 vouchers to pay for mediation to help them settle disputes without having to go to court. Mediation is often a quicker and cheaper way of resolving disputes, which can spare families the trauma of attending court and the impact this can have on children. It
Royal Mencap Society (Respondent) v Tomlinson-Blake (Appellant) Two “sleep in” care workers appealed to the UK’s highest Court, the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decision that they are not entitled to the national minimum wage (NWM) for the duration of their “sleep in” shift. A “sleep in” shift typically means that the employee is
The Family Court has ordered that two children who were wrongfully removed from Italy by their mother must be returned to their father in Rome. The father and mother had married in 1998 and their eldest son was born in England in 2008. The family moved to Italy in 2011 and their youngest son was