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This is a basic outline of the rules relating to inheritance tax and gifts made during a person’s lifetime. The rules may differ in certain situations, such as where gifts are made into a trust. When a person’s estate is valued to calculate whether inheritance tax is due, any gifts that the deceased person made
At present the divorce process in England and Wales is lengthy, costly and unnecessarily bureaucratic. This article focuses in particular on the need for a no fault divorce. There is currently only one ground for divorce – that the marriage has broken down ‘irretrievably’. This can only be demonstrated by proving one of the facts
New legislation is to be introduced to oblige large firms to reveal what measures they take to prevent the use of slavery throughout their supply chain. The Transparency in Supply Chain duty applies to all commercial organisations that carry out business in the UK and which have a total annual turnover above £36 million. It
A company that sacked one employee involved in a fracas but only gave his opponent a written warning was entitled to treat them differently, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case involved two employees who attended a corporate social event and were told that they would need to maintain a good standard of behaviour.
A director who breached his duty to his company’s shareholders has been told he must compensate them through a share purchase order. The case involved the chairman of a large passenger car service. He also became the director of a new start-up company providing bins for the disposal of cigarette butts. The plan was to
A firm of insurance brokers has successfully taken legal action to prevent a rival business from recruiting its staff. An interim injunction was granted to give the brokers more time to gather evidence that the rival had acted unlawfully. The court heard that the brokers had lost 30 employees including senior managers from the fine
A man has been disqualified from being a company director for eight years after diverting more than £84,000 away from his struggling company to one of his associates. The disqualification prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company until 28 October 2023. It follows an investigation
The average pay gap between men and women has remained static over the last year at 19.2%, prompting ministers to call on employers to implement change. The latest figures show the pay gap is the highest in the South East at 22% and lowest in London at 16.3%. The Minister for Women and Equalities, Nicky
The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced in the autumn statement that buy-to-let investors and second home buyers will pay an additional 3% of the purchase price of properties in respect of Stamp Duty Land Tax from 1st April 2016. This means on a £250,000 property they will pay £10,000 of SDLT, rather than £2,500. The tax
A wife has lost her appeal against a divorce settlement in which she received a smaller share of the matrimonial assets than her husband. The case involved a couple who had been married for 14 years and had a 10-year-old daughter. Shortly after the birth, the wife developed mental health problems and was diagnosed with