Getting rocky relationships through tinsel-time
Getting rocky relationships through tinsel-time The family-focus of Christmas is often followed in January with news of unhappy couples who decide to call it quits, leading to so-called Divorce Day, as family lawyers receive a surge of enquiries when they re-open after the break. And as the holiday season goes into... Read More
Co-operation and mediation can save thousands of pounds
Research published this week suggested that the cost of divorce is at its highest ever and the average divorcing couple now spend between £17,000 and £30,000 on legal fees. However, the Family team at Eaton Smith have seen a different trend. It is claimed that the rising costs of divorce are a result of couples arguing... Read More
How employers can say no, without saying a word
The warning comes after an employer was found to have failed to take the necessary steps to facilitate rest breaks – despite the employee not having made any specific request. The case was brought by an employee who was running a roadside traffic management system. He argued that he had been denied his legal... Read More
The Autumn Statement - key employment points
National living wage, for workers aged 25 and over, will increase to £7.50 with effect from 1 April 2017.
National minimum wage rates will also increase with effect from 1 April 2017! The new rates will be:
21-24 year olds = £7.05 per hour;
18-20 year olds = £5.60 per hour;
16-17 year olds = £4.05 per hour; and
Apprentices... Read More
Brexit update December 2016
Theresa May has indicated that notice will be given under Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union by the end of March 2017. However, On 3 November 2016 the High Court held that the government did not have the power to give this notice without legislation being passed to give them this power. The matter has been... Read More
Employment Status
In our update seminar, we looked at the case of the Uber Drivers who have successfully claimed to be workers instead of self-employed. Following their successful case, Deliveroo cyclists and CitySprint couriers are now bringing claims to be recognised as workers instead of self-employed or “freelance”. The designation... Read More
Holiday Pay
We have had further confirmation from the Employment Tribunals that the principle that holiday pay should be “normal remuneration” means that the calculation of holiday pay should include results based commission payments that a salesman would have earned had he been at work during the holiday period. However, the... Read More
Legislation in the pipeline
Modern Slavery Act – commercial organisations must prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year in which their turnover is more than £36million. This is now live as it relates to financial ears ending on or after 1 March 2016. The statement must include both your own staff practices and due... Read More
Some interesting discrimination cases
EasyJet have recently lost a sex discrimination case. Two cabin crew asked for flexible working, in particular they wanted agreement that they would not be rostered for more than 8 hours at a time as they wanted to be able to express milk to continue breast feeding their babies. EasyJet refused their request on the... Read More
Safeguarding design is a priority for smaller business
Cheaper registration fees are an opportunity for small businesses and designers to secure greater protection for their intellectual property in future, as well as being a route to protection in the UK post-Brexit. A registered design is one of the options available from the Intellectual Property Office, alongside trade... Read More
Life lessons from headline breakdowns
Watching others acting out the ending of a marriage on a public stage can provide a valuable lesson on how to ‘uncouple’ with least pain. Whether fiction or fact, marriage breakdown issues have been stealing more than their fair share of headlines in recent weeks. BBC Radio 4 listeners tuned in to hear revelations... Read More
Beyond Pokémon: property test posed by virtual reality games
Beyond Pokémon: property test posed by virtual reality games Experts across the world are focusing on property laws and how they will stand up to the shift to augmented reality gaming, following on from the global success of Pokémon Go. Businesses who found themselves inadvertently hosting the augmented-reality... Read More