Under the Points Based System (PBS) for immigration most people applying to come to or remain in the UK to work or study who are not nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss nationals will, in addition to having to meet the criteria set by the...

Construction contracts usually provide for payments to be made in stages, with the amount payable being based on the amount of work certified as complete at the appropriate time. Where project milestones are not met, the contract will normally provide that...

Divorce can be highly confrontational and can involve a great deal of negotiation conducted by correspondence on the part of solicitors and their clients. This necessarily takes a great deal of time and can make, what is already a stressful process, even...

Following persistent criticisms of Home Information Packs (HIPs), Housing Minister Caroline Flint has announced new proposals 'to improve the quality and flow of information consumers receive through the HIP'. A ...

The Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court’s ruling that a boy who suffered brain damage after he was kicked in the head while playing on a bouncy castle should be awarded compensation that could have amounted to £1 million. ...

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been given the power to impose substantial fines on organisations that deliberately or recklessly commit serious breaches of the Data Protection Act (DPA). The new power is granted under the...

Companies can now execute documents under deed without having to have the document signed by two officers (directors or the company secretary) or affixing the company’s seal. Now, provided it is allowed under the company’s...

Much has been made of the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) changes, regarding the taxation of business assets, due to the abolition from 6 April 2008 of ‘taper relief’. However, the CGT position regarding non-business assets has also changed significantly...

A marriage carried out under foreign law will not be recognised as valid in England and Wales if it could not have been validly contracted under English law. This was the conclusion of the court after a Bangladeshi couple sought an order...

Currently, restaurants operate a wide variety of practices when it comes to dealing with tips and the Government does not regulate as to how they should be managed. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR)...

Rogue debt collectors face tough new rules in a Government bid to improve consumer protection in this contentious area. This is because of changes to the Consumer Credit Act 2006 (CCA) which have recently come into effect. Chief...

The danger of cohabiting without making an express agreement as to how the title to property is to be held has again been underlined by a recent case. It concerned a woman who had lived with a man for several years in a house which was...

A tax clearance is a procedure by which a taxpayer considering making a transaction, obtains the agreement of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that the tax effects of the transaction are what the taxpayer believes them to be. A clearance allows certainty...

Blackburn-based brewery Thwaites, which owns 400 pubs, has won a victory which will bring cheer to licensees, after the Court ruled that a decision by magistrates to cut the opening hours of its Saughall Hotel in Saughall Massie on Merseyside was not based...

The changes recently made in the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) regime are more far-reaching than has generally been understood. In this article, we look at the impact of the changes and work out who are the winners and losers. Losers ...

A recent ruling of the House of Lords will come as a big blow to criminal conspirators hoping to protect their assets from confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and related legislation. The judgment means that, where co-defendants have jointly...

Clients in the building trade should be reminded that the person responsible for the management of a building site is required, if the construction phase involves more than 30 calendar days or 500 person-days of work, to appoint a Construction Design and...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a warning to homeowners who are seeking to make extra income by renting rooms out for short periods to those seeking accommodation whilst attending events such as Glastonbury and Wimbledon. Such income is...

The Government has announced that it is extending the temporary provisions for first day marketing whereby a property can be put on the market without a Home Information Pack (HIP), provided one has been commissioned and paid for and is expected to be in...

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have merged to form a single national regulatory body. Originally, the two were established as separate, non-departmental bodies with working practices...

With the holiday season in full swing, we thought it might be a good idea to remind our clients that UK credit card companies can be held liable under the Consumer Credit Act for breaches of contract or misrepresentations arising out of foreign credit card...

In recent years there have been several failed attempts by the European Union Council of Ministers to agree on proposals to improve the employment rights of agency workers. In December 2007, the Agency Workers Directive (AWD), giving temporary workers...

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has launched a consultation exercise on a proposed new law, whereby employees will have the right to request time off work to complete relevant training. It is planned that the new entitlement will...

There have been a number of cases in which a refusal to mediate on the part of one party in a dispute has led to that party carrying the costs (at least in part) of the other party, even though the party which refused to mediate won the case. Recently,...

A SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) is one of several types of pension provision in which a person can invest – but it is crucially different from most other forms of pension in that it is the purchaser of the pension who controls the investments...