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The director of an employment agency has been fined £17,000 for eight breaches of regulations relating to his business sector. Stephen Paul Harvey, who is aged 63 and from N10 in London, was also banned from being a company director for two years. Mr Harvey’s offences related to the operation of two companies, one incorporated
A landlord is not liable to pay council tax if a fixed term tenancy ends early. The payment remains the responsibility of the tenant even if they are no longer resident. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving Leeds City Council. The landlord in the case had granted assured
Five model agencies and their trade association have been fined a total of £1.5m for colluding on prices. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that FM Models, Models 1, Premier, Storm and Viva – and their trade association, the Association of Model Agents – colluded together for two years. The CMA
The government has announced new regulations to help small businesses get paid quicker when supplying large companies. The new ‘duty to report’ will require large companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to publicly report twice yearly on their payment practices and performance, including the average time taken to pay supplier invoices. It’s hoped this will
A pilot who was suspended by travel company Thomas Cook after saying he was too tired to fly has won his grievance claim. The Employment Tribunal was told that Captain Mike Simkins was suspended for six months and threatened with dismissal because he refused to fly a Boeing 767 with more than 200 passengers on
A woman has failed to have herself appointed as the administrator of her late mother’s estate because the High Court considered that she was untrustworthy. A man claiming to be the deceased’s husband was also rejected as an administrator with the court preferring to appoint someone independent from outside the family. The case involved a
House prices in the UK rose by 6.9% in the year to October, according to the latest official figures from the Land Registry. However, the number of sales dropped by 8% over the same period. The price of the average property is now £216,674. In England, the October data showed an annual price increase of
The latest government figures show that more than 220,000 people have now used the various Help to Buy schemes to purchase a new home. More than 180,000 of them are first time buyers. The average house price across the schemes is £191,000, showing that it is those buying smaller properties who are benefiting most. There
The divorce rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1975, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. Just over 130,000 couples divorced in the UK in 2013, the latest figures available. That’s a fall of 3% on the previous year. The number of divorces fell to 9.8 per thousand married
The government is to use banning orders to crack down on rogue landlords and property agents. The orders will be used in cases involving serious offences against tenants. Ministers say such offences could include failing to carry out work required by the council to prevent a health and safety risk to tenants, threatening tenants with