A trainee emergency call operator was racially discriminated against when he was wrongly accused of distributing drugs. Jerry Ogbonna, a black employee of Partnership of East London Cooperatives (PELC), was suspended without pay after being accused of consuming and distributing illegal drugs. However, he had actually been taking Pro Plus – a caffeine supplement. An
A cohabiting couple whose relationship has broken down will walk away with an equal share of their £1m home due to a conversation they had in a pub. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving Claire Chipperfield, 52, and Andrew Horn, 58, who lived together for 15 years and have
UK house prices rose by an average 1.7% in the year to January but there were wide variations in different regions across the country. The House Price Index compiled by the Land Registry shows that although prices rose year on year, there was a fall of 0.8% from December 2018 to January 2019. The average
A mother should be allowed to keep her children with her in England even though she had detained them against their father’s will. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a family that had lived in both the UK and Australia. The mother, who was English and the father
The government is providing £500m to help housing associations build 11,000 affordable new homes, including some ‘rooftop’ properties. The funding boost will help the government towards its target of building 300,000 properties a year by the mid-2020s.The associations will have the freedom to spend the money on developments where it can have the biggest impact.
Cohabiting couples are being urged to draw up living together agreements to decide in advance how their assets should be divided if their relationship breaks down. The Law Society points out that unmarried cohabiting couples are the fastest growing type of family in the UK. Many of them assume they have the same legal rights
A City banker has successfully sued his architect after a home cinema designed to float above an indoor swimming pool failed to deliver a “wow factor”. Philip Freeborn was a successful banker and owned a luxurious home. He hired architect Daniel Marca to redesign his pool-house. They agreed on a cinema screen that would appear
The Justice Secretary David Gauke announced today the archaic divorce laws will be reviewed to end hostility between divorcing couples. The current position Couples must divorce on the ground of ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage’ established on one of the five following grounds: Two years separation with consent Five years separation Unreasonable behaviour Adultery Desertion
A chief executive who was dismissed after raising concerns that her company was trying to avoid paying tax has been awarded £57,000 compensation. The case involved Mrs Faiza Rizvi, who worked for the medical staffing agency, Capital Care Services, for 11 years. In 2017, she became concerned that the company was deliberately moving money out
The Court of Appeal has upheld a tribunal ruling that female workers in Asda stores were employed under terms and conditions that were comparable to men working in the company’s distribution depots. It’s an important decision as it could allow thousands of women working for major retailers and numerous other businesses to bring equal pay