| Welcome to the September edition of our commercial law newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest news from the world of commercial law.
Workers to Launch Legal Action over Toilet Break Pay Deductions
A number of factory staff who are required to clock in and out when visiting the toilet are set to take their employers to an employment tribunal over the deductions that are made to their pay as a result. They claim that these deductions take their earnings below the National Minimum Wage and employees such as those who are pregnant or who suffer from conditions that require regular toilet breaks are being discriminated against. This is a very unusual story but we will keep up to speed with developments.
VAT Charges Could Hit Salary Sacrifice Vouchers
This month we report on a ruling revolving around the issue of vouchers that are offered as a salary sacrifice. These vouchers are becoming more common but they are coming to the attention of the authorities, who believe they are a taxable supply and therefore subject to VAT. Read the story in more detail below for further information.
HMRC Suffers Defeat over Tax Deduction on Landlord Repairs
Landlords won an important victory over HM Revenue & Customs when the organisation was forced to back down over their challenge of tax deductions for repairs that were part of a refurbishment project. The ruling confirmed a landlord's right to offset the cost of legitimate repairs against rental income, even when they are part of a major refurbishment or rebuilding project. Victory for David over Goliath is rare but when it happens it has big consequences. Landlords are urged to learn more about this case by speaking to one of our professional legal experts.
As usual we have a number of interesting and relevant stories from the commercial law world this month below.
Make sure you regularly check our website for up to date news and developments throughout the month. And, lastly, all the recent news about HMRC getting people's tax calculations wrong might scare some of your staff. Make sure they know they can talk to you or your HR team if they get one of the "You owe us" letters.
Regards,
Your signoff | 
Businesses that offer vouchers to employees in exchange for salary sacrifices may face a VAT charge, according to the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Advocate General decided that the vouchers represented a taxable supply which meant that the company in question was liable to pay output VAT on the value of the salary foregone. If you offer similar vouchers to employees, make sure you seek our professional advice on this area of commercial law. Read the story in full on our website this month.
An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case involving two neighbours shows how important it is to make sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse. If an easement is not enforced, then when a property is sold it will be hard for the new occupier to rely on a right that the previous occupier had failed to enforce. Do not forget about easement judgements as it could have consequences for you or future tenants. Read this story in full on our website.
As the saying goes, always read the small print. Unfortunately for one company, they did not read the small print in their contract with their financial advisers, and as a result were forced to pay their entire success fee to their previous financial advisers who had been shown the door before the deal was completed. There was a clause included in the financial adviser’s contract which stated that they would be due the entire fee even if the letter of engagement was terminated before completion. Before taking drastic action such as terminating a contract, ask one of our experts for advice on any element of contract law to prevent any such event happening to you. More can be found on our website.
In a recent case, the courts rejected a man’s claim that the accountants who provided him with professional advice had acted negligently. The man entered into a scheme to avoid Capital Gains Tax (CGT), which later led to a charge to CGT occurring even though a loss had been made. Capital Gains Tax is an extremely complex area of law and professional advice is vital. Our legal experts will be more than happy to answer any queries on this area of law. You can read this story in full on our website this month.
I apologise now if you read the Daily Mail, but this 
