Employers are generally barred from circumventing collective bargaining agreements by going behind trade unions’ backs and making direct offers to the workers they represent. In a ground-breaking decision, however, the Court of Appeal has ruled that that does not amount to trade unions having a
One would have thought that sophisticated financial professionals engaged in high value deals would have the sense to get their agreements recorded in writing by a professional. However, that is sadly not universal practice and a High Court case illustrated the kind of disputes to
Every email user is aware of the risk that so-called ‘fat finger syndrome’ may result in a message being sent to the wrong address. The consequences can be more than just embarrassing, but a High Court case showed that judges can act with great speed
Promises upon which others rely to their detriment have the full force of contract and must be kept. The Court of Appeal made that point in the case of a dairy farmer who toiled on her parents’ land for 30 years after receiving repeated assurances
The credibility of the justice system depends on court orders being obeyed and those who fail, or even drag their feet, in doing so can expect severe punishment. In one case, a pensioner received a prison sentence for deliberately obstructing execution of an order made
One of the most anxious tasks performed by the family courts is to decide whether injuries suffered by children are non-accidental. The lengths to which they will go to uncover the truth were underlined by a case in which a baby boy was taken to
Where money or other assets pass from a parent to a child, the law presumes that they are gifts, unless proved otherwise. That rule had a central part to play in an insolvency case concerning properties which were bought in the name of a woman
From the day of their appointment to the day of their departure, directors owe duties of confidence and loyalty to the companies they serve. A tailor found that out to his cost after copying the confidential customer lists of the company he founded with a
Making a will without professional advice is a positive invitation to dispute after you are gone. That was certainly so in the case of a vulnerable alcoholic who had a pint of beer in front of him when he signed will forms in a pub,
Companies have independent legal personalities and, just like people, they can be domiciled in one place and resident in another. That point arose in a case in which the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled effective a tax avoidance scheme that depended upon the involvement of three
