Library - Corporate

Disputes in the EU - Rules on Applicable Law

Where a dispute has a foreign element, one of the common problems is deciding under what jurisdiction legal action should be taken. This is avoided in many commercial contracts by specifying the applicable law in the contract, but in consumer contracts there...

Accounting Warranties - When Ignorance Is Bliss

In an acquisition it is standard practice for a buyer to require warranties from the seller in respect of the audited and management accounts of the target. The case of Macquarie Internationale Investments Ltd v Glencore Uk Ltd concerned a claim by the buyer...

Administration of Troncs

The long-running series of disputes between employers in the hospitality industry and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) concerning the taxation of employees’ tips and their National Insurance (NI) status seems to have been concluded by the issue of ...

Advice on Acquisitions Deductible

One common area of dispute between companies and the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is that of deductibility of expenses. One of the hottest areas of dispute is often whether an expense is a trading expense (deductible as part of the day-to-day running costs...

Age Discrimination - Life After the Abolition of the Default Retirement Age

The Default Retirement Age (DRA) has now been abolished and it is no longer permissible for an employer to dismiss an older worker on the ground of retirement unless this can be objectively justified under the Equality Act 2010 . This does not mean that...

Are You Data Friendly?

Many businesses regard the Data Protection Act 1998 as something that merely requires a lot of form filling and the payment of fees, but there is a lot more to it than that. The purpose of the Act is to protect a person's right to privacy with regard to...

Bank Deposit Protection Rules for Businesses

In December 2010, new limits were announced for the levels of protection available for different investments underwritten by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protects the deposits of small companies, which are those which meet...

Bribery Act Guidance

The Government provides guidance for businesses on complying with the Bribery Act 2010 , which came into force on 1 July 2011. The Act was originally scheduled to take effect in April 2011, but its implementation was delayed to allow the final version of...

Business Relief - Traps for the Unwary

Most business people know that for family businesses there are generous Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs, which generally operate to make assets used in the business exempt or partially exempt from IHT. The reliefs take various forms but have been collectively...

Business Tenancies: What is a Business?

The question as to what sort of organisations can be regarded as businesses came before the courts in a case involving a not-for-profit company which had failed to give the required notices to protect their tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. ...

Buying from an Administrator - Take Care

With businesses becoming insolvent in large numbers, opportunities abound to acquire assets from their administrators. However, the low prices sought for the assets are due, at least in part, to the additional risk to the purchaser. Here are some of the...

Collective Redundancy Consultation

Employers should be aware of the potentially serious financial consequences of failing to consult when making collective redundancies. If an employer is proposing to make redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or...

Companies Act 2006 Overview

The Companies Act 2006 became fully effective from October 1st 2009. Here are some useful sources of information on the Act. For more information and advice on your circumstances, contact us. Companies House Overview . Changes which came into...

Companies Act Model Articles - Think First

Since the Companies Act 2006 came into effect, the incorporation of a company has been straightforward as the Act provides an easy to use set of model articles of incorporation. However, before you rush off and buy an ‘off the shelf’...

Company Name Rules

You cannot incorporate a company using any name you like. Some names are prohibited (for example, those which suggest a connection with the Government or the Crown) and names will not be allowed if they are too similar to the names of existing companies. It...

Company Disclosure Rules

The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 set out the the requirements as to where and when company trading names, names of directors etc. need to be shown. The Statutory Instrument implementing the changes is both short and straightforward. In...

Company Formation Checklist

You may have come across advertisements which make forming a company sound very easy, but before you go ahead there are some serious issues to think through. If you have decided that a company is the best vehicle for your new venture then here is a...

Compensation for Loss of Light

Following a recent case in which a dispute regarding a property owner’s right to light was unexpectedly dealt with by the granting of an injunction against a developer, a more recent case has offered guidance on how much compensation might be payable...

Compromise Agreements

As a general rule, ‘out of court settlements’ of employment disputes are not legally binding in that they cannot exclude an employee's right to take the matter concerned to an Employment Tribunal (ET). A formal compromise agreement is one of the...

Compromise Agreements - Tax Position Clarified

A compromise agreement is an agreement made between an employer and an employee who is having their contract of employment terminated. It sets out the terms under which the termination will take place and contains a provision that the employee will receive a...

Considering Outsourcing

These days more and more processes are being outsourced (run by external contractors under a service agreement) by more and more businesses. It is particularly common to outsource IT functions and telephone call management. Outsourcing can offer many...

Construction Act Changes

On 1 October 2011, changes to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (normally called the Construction Act) came into force. These apply to all relevant contracts entered into from that date. The changes include: The removal of...

Contractors Are Your Responsibility

A handbook produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) outlines the responsibilities of both the contractor and the client in situations in which work is carried out by contractors rather then employees. It does not apply to circumstances in...

Costs Awards in Employment Tribunal Proceedings

Costs orders are the exception, rather than the rule, in Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings. However, where a claimant acts unreasonably in pursuing a claim, the ET can make a costs award in favour of the other party. In Dunedin Canmore Housing...

Damages for Wrongful Dismissal

The Supreme Court has ruled ( Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ) that a consultant surgeon who suffered a loss as a result of findings of personal and professional misconduct made against him in disciplinary proceedings that were...

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