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Directors are being urged by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to make sure their company practices comply with the law. Failure to do so could result in penalties and disqualification. The CMA has provided the following check list: Why should directors help companies avoid breaking competition law? Company directors have a special responsibility to
The government has announced plans to provide £7 billion to expand its affordable housing programme. Housing providers can now apply for a share of the fund, which was allocated an additional £1.4 billion in the Autumn Statement, to deliver 40,000 new affordable houses across the country. Alongside this extra funding, the government is expanding the
A judge was justified in committing a husband to prison for six weeks for breaching the child maintenance requirements set out in a divorce settlement. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of a couple who had divorced in 2013. The consent order provided for the couple’s properties in Monaco
A husband who failed to disclose all his assets when negotiating a divorce settlement has been ordered to pay his wife an extra £1.6m. The couple were both teachers when they married in 1984. The husband began a business in 1988. He owned 99 of the 100 shares and his wife had the other one.
There is often confusion between the rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples as opposed to unmarried couples, with many unmarried couples still believing in the myth of the “common law spouse” and the misapprehension that they have the same rights as a spouse. One of the differences between married and unmarried couples is in
Employers have had to pay out more than £83,000 under the tribunal penalty regime that came into force last year. Firms now face penalties of up to £5,000 for non-payment of tribunal awards under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act. The regime applies to judgments made on or after 6 April, 2016. The Department
The government says it wants to provide mothers and pregnant women with better protection against the threat of redundancy. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is to hold a public consultation on the issue and consider new ways to ensure women are not subjected to discrimination at work. It follows a report by
Machins Solicitors regularly advise start-up businesses on the legal aspects of their new venture. Set out below is a basic checklist of the main points for you to consider and which we are usually asked to advise on: Business Structure Choose an appropriate business structure. The most common are: Sole trader – is when you
What is a Legal Services Payment Order? A Legal Services Payment Order (LSPO) is an order whereby one party is ordered to pay to the other party a sum of money to enable them to obtain legal services. For example, a working husband may be ordered to pay his non-working wife a sum of
Many will be familiar with contracts in one way or another. However, to some, preparing or reviewing such documentation may seem like a wasteful expense, particularly for a new business as the cost would cut into that all important bottom line. Legally, a contract can be written or spoken and therefore an effective agreement could