Divorce rates have fallen to their lowest level since the 1970s but breakdowns continue to spike after the festive season, and professionals are encouraging couples with rocky relationships to focus on talking to each other in the run up to Christmas. 

Many attribute the stress and financial burden of trying... Read More →

Christmas brings a round of festive celebrations with drinks, dinners and bottles of wine shared between customers and suppliers, but whether giving or receiving, businesses need to keep up with the rules on corporate gifting. 

Under the regime introduced in 2011 by the Bribery Act, any corporate hospitality... Read More →

Don’t put your footer in it when it comes to contracts

Forget the ink, the courts have ruled that an automatic email signature can count when it comes to the dotted line 

Companies are being urged to review their electronic procedures after a court ruled that an automatic email... Read More →

Any company-organised office party, whether in or out of working hours and on or off site, is an extension of the workplace which can test a business across the board on its policies and attitudes.

“It’s a real stress-test for the culture of the business and its employment policies,” explained Irina... Read More →

Christmas Day has been the biggest day of the year for online and app downloads in recent years, as users set up the new devices they’ve received as presents.

In the latest report, Apple announced that 180 billion apps had been downloaded from Apple App Store and alongside the enormous growth in the... Read More →

If you’re a parent, you’ll be familiar with how long it takes to get your children ready to leave the house. Whether it’s setting up the pram for the baby, filling your bag with all the supplies you need or finding lost shoes, it can be a real pain to do anything quickly, especially if you have an appointment... Read More →

Eaton Smith is delighted to welcome Irina Polyakova to the team. Irina joined the firm at the beginning of November as a Senior Solicitor in the Employment Law team. A dual qualified (English & Russian) employment solicitor with experience in the Middle East, UK and Russia, Irina has advised business from a... Read More →

Q. What is Conveyancing?
A. The procedure for transferring ownership or certain rights in property from one person to another.

Q. Do I need a Solicitor?
A. In most cases banks and building societies will insist on a solicitor dealing with the mortgage. Given the... Read More →

Holiday pay for those who work only part of the year and have no contractually set hours should not be calculated on a pro rata basis, under a judgement that will affect many in the education sector. 

The Court of Appeal has ruled in The Harper Trust v Brazel that part-year workers are entitled to have... Read More →

Christmas is often a period when Directors take an extended break to recharge their batteries and spend time with their families. It can also be a period where rogue employees take advantage of the absence of senior personnel to do damage to their employer’s business.

A case that I was involved in started... Read More →

Landlords who have not responded to legislation introduced last year to protect tenants in multiple occupancy properties are facing massive fines. 

The latest involved a property in Lincoln, where landlord Julie Churchill was fined £40,000 for not having a licence for a house in multiple occupation and... Read More →

"Do I need terms and conditions? What are they about?"

If you asked me "Should I have a document that I can put in place between my business and my customer that will give certainty to our transaction, comfort to my customer that we are a credible business and may serve to reduce as far as possible our... Read More →