The Court of Appeal has seemingly turned the law on pre-nuptial agreements on its head in a landmark ruling this week. The Court ruled that the husband of a German heiress should receive only about £1 million from her estimated £100 million...

With the economic situation worsening, it might well be tempting for company directors to save on employers’ and employees’ National Insurance Contributions and delay tax payments by switching from paying salaries to paying dividends on shares....

A recent case has sounded a warning bell for those who knowingly take unnecessarily risky activities: the court will take a firm line in assessing damages for injury in cases in which the injured party has acted irresponsibly. The case involved a skier...

Traditionally, trustees used to regard their responsibilities as being almost exclusively the safeguarding of the assets of the trust. The Trustee Act 2000 raised the bar somewhat and it is clear that many trustees are unaware of their new...

The Government’s Equality Bill will include measures aimed at eradicating the pay gap that still exists in many workplaces between men and women. Incremental pay scales based on length of service can disadvantage women, who are more likely to have...

With things tough at home, owners of a foreign holiday property may be very tempted to sell and repatriate the proceeds, but take advice before you act. You might think that if the property has fallen in value, there will be no tax implications… but...

In Child Support Agency (CSA) v Truman , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the correct comparator test in cases of disability-related discrimination in an employment law context, under Section 3A of the Disability Discrimination Act...

Copyright of written and other visual material is an automatic right and does not have to be applied for: it lasts for 70 years after the owner or creator of the copyright has died. Because it is an automatic right, there is no register of copyright. This...

If you are considering building an extension to your property, you may think that it is simply a matter of getting planning permission and finding a builder. A recent case shows, however, how important covenants affecting property can be in determining...

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators has published a practical, short guide (3 pages) on boardroom good practice, which will be of great interest to company secretaries and directors, especially non-executive directors....