A landlord who temporarily transferred ownership of a block of flats to his wife has won his appeal in an enfranchisement case. The court heard that in 2004, the landlord’s tenants gave initial notice of their intention to exercise their legal right to acquire the freehold of the property. The landlord served a counter-notice disputing
A group of refuse collectors have won an overtime claim that could have an impact on employers across the UK. The workers were employed in the Bromley and Camden council areas by the French owned company, Veolia Environmental Services. Their union, Unite, brought a test case relating to overtime payments. The Employment Tribunal found that
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a director was unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about company practices in a whistleblowing case. The director worked for a firm of estate agents. He alleged that the employer was manipulating the accounts to reduce the level of commission payable. He claimed that it affected 100 senior managers’
Claims by employees of wrongful dismissal and victimisation should be taken seriously but that did not mean that tribunals should be afraid to throw out unworthy claims without having to go to a full hearing. That was the advice from the Court of Appeal in a case involving British Airways and one of its ground
A company has been granted the right to examine a former employee’s computer and electronic devices after he admitted taking a copy of its list of clients. The employee had been the managing director of the company, which specialised in maritime insurance claims. The company’s case was that he had asked his assistant via email
A disabled employee who reduced his hours from full-time to part-time before taking ill health retirement was not treated unfavourably in the calculation of his pension rights. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of man who retired at the age of 37 after longstanding medical issues. The court heard
The law governing the writing of wills needs to be updated to reflect modern understanding of dementia and mental capacity. The government should also consider the introduction of electronic wills and reduce the age for making a will from 18 to 16. Those are some of the recommendations from the Law Commission in a public
A developer who failed to co-operate in seeking additional planning permission for a proposed tower block has been ordered to pay damages to the company selling the site. The seller had obtained planning permission to construct a 34-storey tower on a large site. The grant was subject to a s.106 agreement, under which the seller
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is to refund nearly £90m to thousands of people who’ve been overcharged when taking out lasting powers of attorney (LPA) in the last four years. The errors occurred between April 2013 and March 2017. In its annual report, the MoJ said: “More people have been registering for lasting powers of
A mother with a troubled background has won the right to oppose adoption proceedings involving her youngest child. The Court of Appeal was told that the mother had depression and problems with alcohol that had led to aggression and chaotic parenting. Her son had been removed to foster care in June 2015. His two older