Clarkslegal LLP - Updates

Timing is everything

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

As with all aspects of life, time passes all too quickly. The world of procurement is awash with timeframes that bidders and contracting authorities have to be aware of. The implications of missing deadlines in a procurement process are considered below from both the perspective of the bidder and the contracting authority. We also provide practical advice on how an organisation can sidestep the issues that can arise when insufficient attention is paid to deadlines.

Construction Adjudications - meaning of a "dispute" and absence of effective notice of withholding

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

Jurisdictional challenges are the order of the day in adjudications. These jurisdictional questions can be a hard fought issues running parallel with the Adjudicator`s main purpose of deciding whether a contractor should be paid the sums claimed, in what is after all a fast track summary process that is aimed at addressing the contractor`s problems of cash flow when an employer refuses to pay them.

Dilapidations Protocol Becomes Law

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

For some years` the "Pre-action Protocol for claims for damages in relation to the physical state of commercial property at termination of a tenancy" - better known as "the Dilapidations Protocol" has been followed imperfectly (if at all) by landlords, tenants, surveyors and solicitors.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) - Proposed changes to the regime

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

The UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Regime started on 1 January 2007 and we have previously posted a paper on the workings of REITs and their benefits for various investors. Broadly, the aim of a REIT is to provide returns to investors that mirror returns that an investor would expect if it owned the property directly. This is achieved through tax transparency - the REIT does not pay corporation tax on its rental income or capital gains but instead passes these tax liabilities onto the investor who pays tax on the proceeds from the REITs.

All change for the Intestacy Rules?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

When a person dies "intestate", that is without leaving a valid Will disposing of the whole of his or her property, the distribution of any money and other assets among surviving family members is governed by a set of legal rules known as the intestacy rules. These rules date back to 1925 and have not been comprehensively reviewed for over 20 years. At the end of last year however the Law Commission published its review of the rules (Law Com No 331) and draft legislation (the draft Inheritance and Trustees` Powers Bill and the draft Inheritance (Cohabitants) Bill) proposing a number of amendments including giving rights in intestacy to cohabiters equal to those of spouses and civil partners. But what do the proposed changes mean for you?

Employee or Independent Contractor?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

Employment contracts often label the employment status of a worker as either "employee" or "independent contractor". The main difference between the two being that employees have greater protection under employment laws and the employer is responsible for deducting PAYE and class 1 national insurance contributions.

Economic Outlook Survey

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

We recently hosted "Going for Gold: The Economic Outlook for 2012", alongside Forbury Investment Network, Kingston Smith and Natwest Group in London.

England coach Fabio Capello may have breached his contract by expressing his views on John Terry being demoted as captain.

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

Reports on the BBC Website today say that Fabio Capello may be in breach of his contract having expressed to Italian TV Channel RAI that he found the FA`s decision to force Terry to step down as Captain unfair.

A Guarantor or not a Guarantor? That is the question.

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

The vexed question as to the extent of a guarantor`s continued liability for a tenant proposing to assign its lease finally came before the Court of Appeal in K/S Victoria Street v House of Fraser (Stores Management) Ltd & others.

West end stars of Legally Blonde row over right to return from maternity leave

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

It is a subject which has caused much debate over the past few days, and has led to a number of "twitter wars" breaking out.

Collective Redundancy: Definition of Establishment

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Former employees of Woolworths have successfully brought an action for its failure to inform and consult, in connection with a collective redundancy procedure.

Tribunal Award Limit Changes 1 February 2012

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

With effect from today, the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increases from £68,400 to £72.300.Other changes coming into force today include:- The limit on the amount of a week`s pay for statutory redundancy payments and the basic award for unfair dismissal will increase from £400 to £430 an increase in the maximum amount of a guarantee payment payable to an employee from £22.

Will you keep your New Year resolutions?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

No chocolate, go to the gym etc etc etc ......How about trying some HR ones instead!

Hurry! Get Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief before it disappears

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

It is time to act if you are a first time buyer and would like to save up to £2,500 on the purchase of your first property. The Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) "holiday" announced by the Chancellor in his Budget on 24th March 2010 will end at midnight on the 24th March 2012. At present, first time buyers do not pay SDLT on purchases of up to £250,000. Beware - this first time buyer relief is time limited and will end soon.

Can a fixed share equity partner be an employee?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

In Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP Mr Tiffin was a fixed-share partner in Lester Aldridge LLP. When Mr Tiffin was dismissed in February 2009, Mr Tiffin brought claims in the Employment Tribunal ("ET") and in doing so sought to establish that he was an employee.

Tribunal finds traffic warden WAS unfairly dismissed

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

At the start of January buddy blogged about a traffic warden who had brought a claim of unfair dismissal after he was allegedly dismissed for refusing to issue the public with excessive amounts of tickets.

Third party harassment must relate to a protected characteristic

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Clarkslegal LLP was instructed to act on one of the first employment tribunal cases concerning third party harassment.

New timetable for Pensions Auto-Enrolment published

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

As outlined in a buddy blog late last year, the Department for Work and Pensions planned to amendthe timetable for auto-enrolment into pension schemes. Yesterday the new timetable (set out below) was published.

Cable to tackle executive pay issue

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has this week announced a package of measures to try to curb excessive pay for executives.

Redundancies and Suitable Alternative Employment

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

The case of Readman v Devon Primary Care Trust has illustrated that an employee is said to act reasonably in refusing an offer of suitable alternative employment where the Employment Tribunal correctly concludes that a reasonable employee would have accepted the employer`s offer.

Regional Mediation Networks Pilot Scheme for SMEs

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

The Employment Relations Minister, Edward Davey, has this week announced a pilot scheme for two regional mediation networks in Cambridge and Manchester, to be set up for small and medium-sized enterprises

Unfair Dismissal Qualifying Period

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

In November we confirmed that the Conservative government would increase the qualifying period to bring an unfair dismissal claim from one year to two years, from 6 April 2012

Can a tribunal hearing be adjourned for ill health?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

In the Employment Tribunal (ET) case O`Cathail v Transport for London, the Claimant had applied for an adjournment of his tribunal hearing on the grounds of ill health.

Clarkslegal joins VitalSix to support high growth SMEs

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Clarkslegal is delighted to be confirmed as a Strategic Partner providing legal advice to VitalSix`s clients and members of the Vital Business Network, a new network launched for high growth SMEs, designed to work with the next generation of great companies to accelerate profitable business growth.

Paid Work Experience - Indirect Sex Discrimination

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

An Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland has held that a job advert requiring applicants to have at least two years paid work experience over a five year period to be indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of sex.

Almost 70% of employers have rejected a candidate due to content on their social networking sites

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

It is reported on the Guardian Jobs website today that 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate after viewing their social networking profiles. The figure comes from a survey carried out by social media monitoring service Reppler. A similar study was conducted by Microsoft in 2009, where only 49% of emlpoyers were influenced by such sites. According to the results of the current&nb

Anonymous CV plans backed by major employers

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

More than 100 major UK business have pledged support to a government initiative that proposes to ask for CVs without the name or school details of candidates, in order to safeguard against potential discrimination during the application process. Firms such as Tesco, Barclays and Coca-Cola have agreed to the Government’s Business Compact, which stipulates the requirement to recruit "

Will employees be given the right to request shares in their employer`s company?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has today announced plans to bring in a new universal right for employees to request to buy shares in the company they work for. Well known business John Lewis already operates this model, with employees owning shares in the company. Mr Clegg says of the scheme: “Liberals believe strongly in the virtues of the market but only if it is a market for the many

New rules regarding dismissal of underperforming teachers announced today

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

The Government has announced that from September 2012 it will put in place measures to make it easier and faster for Head Teachers to sack underperforming staff. At present the plans will only affect teachers in England. Michael Gove, Education Secretary said schools have been "tangled in red tape" for too long when dealing with staff who do not meet performance expectations. Currently, the pro

Employment tribunal cases down by 30%

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice reveal that the number of employment tribunal claims have decreased by 30% in the period from 1 July to 30 September 2011 compared with the same period in 2010

Will there soon be a Common European Sales Law (CESL)?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

For many years there has been talk of the European Commission (the Commission) introducing a common European contract law, which would govern the way contracts are formed and operated throughout Europe. This was heralded as a key requirement to encourage investment in and integration of Europe and has been the subject of much discussion across many borders

Using Declaratory Judgments in Favour of Arbitration Agreements

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

An arbitration tribunal will have jurisdiction to hear a dispute if there is a valid arbitration agreement between the parties that covers the dispute in question. Most national arbitration laws recognise that a properly constituted arbitration tribunal has the same authority as a national Court to determine its own jurisdiction. A national Court must therefore be very reluctant to hear an application to decide whether or not there is a valid arbitration agreement between the parties before the arbitration tribunal can consider the issue.

Are Agency Workers being dismissed because of new laws?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

The new EU Agency Worker directive dictates that after 12 weeks, employers will be required to give temporary staff the same rights and pay as permanent staff. However, a recent survey has revealed that in order to avoid this requirement becoming a reality, a third of employers will terminate the employment of temporary staff prior to the completion of 12-week trial periods. The new rules c

Access all Areas?

contact@clarkslegal.com (Clarkslegal LLP) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

The recent case of London Tara Hotel Ltd v Kensington Close Hotel Ltd highlights the need for landowners to ensure that anyone exercising "rights" over their land does so on a properly documented basis and that the terms of those documents are actively managed and enforced to ensure that the party exercising the "rights" does not require a permanent right on a basis which is detrimental to the landowner.

Consultations by Public Bodies - The Need to Get it Right First Time