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Employment Law Changes in 2026 and 2027

Kelly Ngan
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Employment Law Changes in 2026 and 2027: A Brief Overview for Employers Significant employment law reforms are being introduced in stages during 2026 and 2027. Although some details and commencement dates remain subject to regulations and statutory...

Shareholder and Director Disputes

Christine Appiah
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Shareholder and Director Disputes: Protecting Your Business When Relationships Break Down Running a business with others often starts with a shared vision and a strong sense of trust. Directors and shareholders work together to grow the company and make...

Selling a Commercial Property at Auction: The Key Considerations

Jonathon Lewis
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The Key Legal Considerations Selling a commercial property at auction can be an effective way to achieve a swift and certain sale. However, the success of an auction often depends on the quality of the legal preparation undertaken before the property is...

Alcohol Licensing in England and Wales: Key Issues

David Darlington
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National Licensing Week: Alcohol Licensing in England and Wales: Key Issues and How a Solicitor Can Help Alcohol licensing in England and Wales is primarily governed by the Licensing Act 2003. The regime controls the sale and supply of alcohol, the...

National Licensing Week: How Licensing Affects Us All

David Darlington
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National Licensing Week: How Licensing Affects Us All and How a Solicitor Can Help Licensing law touches everyday life more than many people realise. From the pub serving a pint after work, to the taxi journey home, the shop selling late-night...

Top 10 Tips When Agreeing a Shareholders' Agreement

Joseph Hossein
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A well-drafted shareholders’ agreement is one of the most important documents in any privately owned company. While company law and a company’s Articles of Association provide some legal framework, a shareholders’ agreement helps further...

Personal Guarantees: An Essential Guide

Joseph Hossein
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What is a personal guarantee? A personal guarantee is a contract between an individual and a creditor (typically a lender or supplier). By signing, you, as the personal guarantor, are agreeing to pay the borrowers debt if it defaults. Why I am being...

COVID-19 and the recovery of commercial rent arrears

Emma Manifold
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COVID-19 and the recovery of commercial rent arrears    Commercial landlords have been significantly impacted during COVID-19 due to various legislative changes preventing any meaningful enforcement of commercial rent arrears. As lockdown...

Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill

Emma Manifold
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Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill - what we know so far    In response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on many UK businesses and their inability to pay rent, the UK Government is set to introduce a binding arbitration scheme to deal...

Covid-19 and its effects on employment

John Webster
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COVID-19 and its effects on employment With the current crisis in full flow, the government has introduced a number of emergency measures to help businesses and employees through this crisis. Extension of Statutory Sick Pay Employees who are sick...

To furlough or not to furlough

John Webster
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Furlough leave and what this means for employers The Government has announced extraordinary measures to help keep businesses afloat during the global COVID-19 pandemic. One of these measures is the ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ which...

LEGALESE: Part 3 - "NOTWITHSTANDING"

Joseph Hossein
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LEGALESE: “NOTWITHSTANDING” “Notwithstanding”. It’s a bit of a mouthful. When used in a contract the term indicates that what is being said in a clause (Clause 2) takes priority over the contents of another clause (Clause...

LEGALESE: Part 2 - "WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO"

Joseph Hossein
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LEGALESE: “ WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO ” “Without prejudice to”. Whilst it sounds like a strange phrase, you will often find it written in contracts. The term indicates to a reader that what is being said in a clause (Clause 1)...

LEGALESE: Part 1 - "THIRD PARTY"

Joseph Hossein
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LEGALESE: “THIRD PARTY” The term “third party” in a contractual context refers to any person (which includes a company, partnership or other entity) who is not a signatory to a contract. Third parties often appear in contracts...

Structure of a Commercial Lease

Joseph Hossein
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STRUCTURE OF A COMMERCIAL LEASE Leases can be lengthy and complicated documents. Well drafted leases however tend to follow a similar format. Below is a quick glimpse at the format and key parts of many commercial leases: Date of the Lease – One...

Real Axe with a point and a pint

David Darlington
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FIELDINGS PORTER ADVISE ON SET UP OF NEW ADVENTURE TO HELP YOU REAL AXE WITH A POINT AND A PINT Fieldings Porter’s David Darlington, an Associate Solicitor in the Commercial Department, recently advised Real Axe Ltd on the opening of a new axe...

Legalese - Subject To - What does it mean?

Joseph Hossein
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LEGALESE: “SUBJECT TO” The phrase “subject to” is used quite a lot in contracts. It indicates to a reader that they should cross reference the current clause they are reading (Clause 1) with another clause elsewhere in the...

Partnership Agreements - How to make it plain sailing

Joseph Hossein
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PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS – THINGS TO THINK ABOUT A partnership exists when two or more people start a business together with a view to making a profit. There are 3 types of partnership in England and Wales; a conventional partnership, a limited...

A Licence To Occupy - useful or dangerous?

Joseph Hossein
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LICENCE TO OCCUPY – USEFUL OR DANGEROUS? What is a Licence to Occupy? A Licence to Occupy (Licence) is a personal agreement between a property owner (Licensor) and an occupier (Licensee). Under a Licence the Licensor provides the Licensee with...

Commercial lease terms - everything you need to know

Joseph Hossein
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You could be a tenant that has finally secured the perfect business premises or a landlord that has been approached by the ideal tenant, but your work is not over yet. It is essential that you now secure favourable lease terms. Below is a list of the sort...

Don't Be Broken By A Break Clause

Joseph Hossein
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Break Clauses - Top Tips for Commercial Tenants A break clause is a provision in a lease that allows a tenant to terminate their lease well before the lease expiry. Having a break clause is particularly helpful when a tenant’s business is performing...

Could Your Business Survive If You Became Incapacitated?

Liz Taylor
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Every business owner, director, partner or sole trader should prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney as part of an effective business continuity plan. As a business owner I’m sure you have considered what would happen in the event of your death...