Coronavirus has now been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation and, at the time of writing, two cases have been confirmed in the UK. The risk of the spread of coronavirus in the UK continues to rise and so employers should be considering how they should act if an employee intends to travel to China, contracts the virus in the UK or is absent from work. Gina McCadden, Employment Solicitor, here explains the facts about the virus and how employers can take steps in accordance with the law.
The Government has overnight published new guidance for those who are currently buying or selling a property. In light of the current restrictions on movement across the UK and the importance of self-isolating, it is understandable that this will...
On Friday 20 March, the Chancellor announced the concept of Furloughed Leave in response to the economic uncertainty caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). As part of this announcement, the Chancellor explained that a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) would be set up to allow “all UK employers… to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.” This has been referred to as Furloughed Leave. Here, our Employment team explain what Furloughed Leave is, who it applies to and how employers can apply for the grant.
At an age where it may be challenging to access more traditional mortgage finance, equity release can supply you with the funds for your future plans. The money generated from equity release can be used for any purpose you have in mind, such as a once in a lifetime holiday, home improvements or even assisting a loved one in the purchase of their own property. In this guide Solicitor and Equity Release specialist, Kiri Saunders-Brown, details everything you need to know about equity release, including what it is, how long it can take, the safety of it and how it can impact Inheritance Tax.
Interviews can sometimes be a difficult task. Depending on how many applications you receive and how many positions you have available, you could be interviewing multiple candidates over a number of weeks and it important that detailed notes are kept for you to review when deciding who, if anyone, to hire.
Although some employers may treat appraisals as no more than a tick box exercise, or find conversations on poor performance difficult, they are important. While there is no legal requirement for you to carry out appraisals with your employees, they can be useful in monitoring and supporting their performance. How often they should be held will depend on your business, but the more regularly they are scheduled, the better. In this article, our Employment team explore this in further detail and also explain why you should hold appraisals, what should be included in them and what can happen if you don’t hold them.
Buying a property is an exciting and momentous life milestone. Whether you are looking for a new home for an expanding family, or you are looking to start your climb up the property ladder, buying a home can be a complicated one and it’s important to understand the steps that will see you settle in to your dream property. In this guide, Conveyancing Executive, Sabrina Skerritt, details the three stages to buying a property, shares her top tips and details how we can help you if you’re a first time buyer.
The case of Beaney v Highways England illustrates the importance of an employer properly investigating and dealing with complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The commute to work can be difficult at the best of times, but adding adverse weather conditions into the equation can mean employees may find it impossible to get into the office at all, but what does that mean for their pay? As an employer, you might decide to temporarily close your business due to the weather conditions, in which case your employees would still be entitled to their pay. However, where your business site remains open, you are under no obligation to pay employees who do not attend work due to transport disruption, unless this is provided for in their employment contract. In this article, our Employment team detail the considerations you will have to make in regards to closing your business due to weather conditions, as well as alternatives you can offer your employees if they cannot attend work.
In response to a written question posed to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Government has indicated that it has no plans to implement the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market ( (EU) 2019/790 ) (the...
The Commercial Court has recently held in the case of Alafco Irish Aircraft Leasing Sixteen Ltd v Hong Kong Airlines Ltd [2019] EWHC 3668 (Comm) (22 November 2019) that a commercial lease which made provision for a party to recover "all reasonable...
The European Patent Office (“EPO”) has recently refused two applications on the basis that the applicants had named an Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) system called DABUS as the inventor (Case: Grounds for the EPO decisions...
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and the Competition & Marketing Authority (CMA) have issued joint guidance to influencers and affiliates to assist with making their advertising clearer and that consumers are aware of the advertising. The published...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) have issued a joint statement re-iterating the need for insolvency practitioners and other FCA-authorised firms to be...
Selling a Commercial Property at Auction is becoming increasingly popular, and there are many advantages over the conventional method of selling. Joe Taylor , Solicitor in our Commercial Property team explains more about the benefits of selling at...
In most cases where there is a dispute between business parties, it is likely that you will be told to try and resolve matters through Alternative Dispute Resolution. Mollie Leak , Solicitor within our Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution ...
