Latest News
UK equality watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new technical guidance for employers, to help them protect staff from sexual harassment and victimisation at work. Launching the guidance, EHRC chief executive Rebecca...
A change to intestacy law recently announced by the government has increased the sum of money that spouses and civil partners of people who die without having made a will are entitled to receive. The change has been introduced via a statutory instrument...
Those who have suffered sexual abuse are entitled to expect that the perpetrator will be punished by the criminal courts – but they may also be due compensation. In one case, a junior member of a religious organisation who was raped by one of its...
The government has launched a review into the implementation of forthcoming changes to the off-payroll working rules. Intended to address concerns from businesses about the changes, the review will consider whether any additional steps can be taken to...
Adoption of children outside their natural families is always a last resort and will only be permitted if nothing else will do. The Court of Appeal made that point in coming to the aid of a couple whose son was taken from their care when he was just two...
It may seem surprising but, in order to win compensation, it is not always necessary to prove that you are a victim of negligence. A striking case on point concerned a nine-year-old girl who received millions in damages despite continued denials by the NHS...
If you receive notice that your commercial property is to be compulsorily purchased to make way for a public infrastructure project, the only wise course is to take legal advice immediately. A Court of Appeal case concerning the HS2 railway project ...
Road accidents which have lifelong consequences frequently occur in the blink of an eye and that can make it very difficult to ascertain who was to blame. However, as a High Court case showed, experienced lawyers are adept at cutting such gordian knots and...
If you are involved in a dispute with your builder, taking sound legal advice is by far the best means of ensuring that matters do not get out of hand. One householder who failed to take that sensible course found himself embroiled in costly legal...
If you are paid less than a colleague of the opposite sex for doing like work or work of equal value, there is absolutely no reason why you should put up with it. In a case on point, an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that the difference between a female...
When someone dies due to the negligence of another, the law will compensate their family for the loss of the services they would have provided had they lived. In a case which clarified the law, a woman whose husband died from asbestos-related cancer received...
Co-ownership of land by family members can be intensely problematic if they do not see eye to eye as to the use to which it should be put. A High Court case on point focused on a naturalist's ambition to 'rewild' farmland he and his brother had jointly...
New rules surrounding the payment of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on profits made on the sale of a residential property are now just weeks away. Taking effect on 6 April 2020, the changes will reduce the amount of time individuals have to pay their CGT bill and...
The ever-increasing dominance of the internet as a sales medium was the focus of a landmark Court of Appeal case in which a bespoke golf club manufacturer that banned its authorised dealers from selling its products online was fined over £1 million...
Accidents are always unexpected, but some are more so than others. In one case, a businessman who was struck on the head by a falling rugby post whilst watching his son play in a junior game received substantial compensation for his injuries. The man, aged...
Do landlords of commercial premises continue to be occupiers of the premises, thus owing a duty of care to tenants' visitors? In a guideline case concerning an outbreak of carbon monoxide poisoning at a beauty school, the High Court has answered that...
It is hardly surprising that confidential or privileged documents which have or may have been illegitimately obtained cannot be used in evidence. However, as the High Court made clear in the context of a big money divorce case , that rule does not apply...
Levels of compensation in some clinical negligence cases may appear very high, but they are no more than is needed to fund a lifetime of care. That was certainly so in the case of a brave young man who will need every penny of his seven-figure damages to...
Victims of serious accidents often believe that they face a long wait before receiving just compensation – but the wheels of justice can move surprisingly quickly. In one case, it took little more than a year to achieve a seven-figure settlement for a...
Managing a sick employee's return to work can be tricky and employers who fail to act fairly risk serious financial and reputational consequences. In a case on point, a company which replaced a driver while he was on sick leave and refused to allow him back...
Letting your land stand vacant, going to rack and ruin, inevitably carries the risk that a squatter will obtain title to it. A woman who inherited a small but strategic strip of land from her builder father came within an ace of suffering that fate. The...
Accident victims who suffer head injuries often have no memory of how they came to grief and, in the absence of other witnesses, that can create obvious difficulties in claiming compensation. However, as a High Court case showed, overcoming such problems is...
Deliberate infringement of others' trade marks is a crime and perpetrators can expect severe punishment. In one case, a businessman who rode roughshod over a former trading partner's goodwill received a suspended prison sentence and a five-year...
There is a general principle that a person may leave their estate to anyone they wish, but legislation exists – the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – to allow people dependent on a deceased person to claim against the...
Directors are obliged to put their own interests to one side in making decisions for the benefit of the companies they serve. The Court of Appeal emphasised that point in the case of a businessman who executed an unauthorised transfer of a company's...
