The government has introduced a new £15m scheme, ‘Supporting Families; Investing in Practice,’ which will help families tackle issues such as domestic violence, substance abuse and addiction. The overriding target is to keep children with their parents and avoid sending them into care, by creating a safe home environment. The programme will be rolled out
A Tesco employee was entitled to premium overtime pay despite an agreement between the supermarket and trade union that stated otherwise. The employee, Mr J Lozaique, had been employed by the store in a security role for four years when he was offered a job as a CCTV operator at another branch. A letter from
Two recent cases involving fathers taking paternity leave have highlighted a defining difference between parental leave and a mother’s statutory maternity leave. One male employee who worked for a technology firm sued for sex discrimination after his employers insisted he should not be paid at the same rate as mothers on statutory maternity leave. A
A social worker has won her discrimination claim after a drawn-out dispute with her employers in which she was asked, “how long would this disabled thing go on”. Patricia Murphy worked for Northumberland County Council from 1999. She suffered a foot injury in 2014 and lost some mobility. A series of complaints led to her
After two years of intensive research the Pension Advisory Group has published an essential guide clarifying the legal treatment of pensions on divorce. Pensions are often the single largest asset after the family home for divorcing couples, yet a lack of understanding and clarity across England and Wales has led to confusion as to how
House prices rose slightly over the year to March, but there was a fall in the latest monthly figures. The UK House Price Index shows that prices fell by an average of 0.2% between February and March. However, there was an annual rise of 1.4%. The average house in the UK is now valued at
A divorcing husband has been ordered to disclose documents relating to his financial affairs, despite claiming that doing so could lead to his arrest. The case involved a businessman whose wife believed he had an interest in a German company that he was refusing to disclose. Two months after the wife had started divorce proceedings,
Corporate insolvencies continue to rise with companies struggling to cope with falling consumer confidence and Brexit uncertainty. Underlying corporate insolvencies rose by 6.3% in Q1 2019 compared to Q4 2018, and rose by 5.1% compared to Q1 2018. Stuart Frith, president of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3, said: “These insolvency figures – the highest
A tenant has successfully appealed a service charge he incurred after his landlord removed rubbish from the car park of the property. The tenancy agreement included the rent payable as well as the right of the landlord to add a variable service charge to cover services specified in the agreement, such as garden maintenance and
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure people taking out Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) are given the help and protection they need. LPAs enable you to nominate someone such as a family member or trusted associate to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to do so yourself in