Professional firms that follow the traditional course of fixing a particular age at which their partners are given their gold watches and required to retire will be relieved to hear that the practice does not fall foul of the ban on age discrimination. In a
In a case of massive importance to all small businesses with Interest Rate Swap Products, Josiah Hincks acted in the High Court case of Kays Hotels v Barclays Bank. In Kays Hotels Limited v Barclays Bank Plc, the Defendant bank applied for summary judgement/ strike
The Help and Support for Separated Families Mark is part of an initiative which aims to reduce conflict and promote collaboration between divorced or separating couples and parents in the best interests of their children, regardless of the difficulties and challenges breaking up brings with
Tribunal judges resorted to a Great British Bake Off-style taste test before ruling that the makers of popular ‘Snowball’ snacks should receive VAT rebates totalling more than £2.8 million – because they are technically cakes. Confectioners Lees of Scotland Limited and Thomas Tunnock Limited engaged
A company which wants to build an enormous solar energy farm on a site in Suffolk, equivalent in size to almost 65 football pitches, has had its hopes of winning planning permission for the scheme boosted by a High Court ruling. Although Lark Energy Limited
In a decision which significantly strengthens the hand of workplace whistleblowers, and self-employed people in particular, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that a health and safety consultant was a legally protected ‘worker’ despite not having the benefit of an employment contract. As was
The full weight of Sir Richard Branson’s business empire has come crashing down on an entrepreneur who had the temerity to register an Internet address incorporating the composite word ‘virginmoney’. The businessman specialised in helping those who had been mis-sold payment protection insurance but found
Employers are reminded that from today, 30 June 2014, the right to request flexible working arrangements is extended to all employees who have completed 26 weeks’ qualifying service. The statutory procedure for dealing with such requests is repealed and replaced with a Code of Practice,
In a case which illustrates that country living is not always an idyll, a homeowner who objected on noise and odour grounds to his neighbour’s plans to keep chickens and goats in a new agricultural building has had his challenge to planning permission granted for
Thirteen years of heated debate over the rateable value of New Scotland Yard, the iconic headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, has resulted in a tribunal ruling which is unlikely to satisfy the force and will only result in a modest reduction in its bills. The
