Annual National Minimum Wage Rates
The Government has published the draft National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2017, which are due to come into force on 1 April 2017. The revised rates are as follows: The National Living Wage for those
Contract Administrators Must Be Impartial – High Court Cautionary Tale
Employing an impartial contract administrator to oversee major construction projects is vital. In one High Court case where that did not happen, a company was left with an incomplete housing development and an adjudication bill
Inventive Employees and Exceptional Rewards – Court of Appeal Test Case
Companies are entitled to reap the benefits of their employees’ inventiveness – but patent law does require compensation to be paid to those whose ideas make an outstanding contribution to profits. In an important test
Businessman Accused of $17.5 Million Fraud Jailed for Defying Court Orders
One of the advantages of the English legal system is that even the most convincing lies tend to be exposed under rigorous forensic examination in the witness box. In one case that proved the point,
Administering Big Construction Contracts is a Job for Professionals
Construction contracts are often replete with detailed provisions in respect of time limits and payment schedules and that is one good reason why their administration is best entrusted to professionals. The point was strikingly made
Wind Turbines Patent Obvious and Invalid Court of Appeal Rules
Patents provide protection and encouragement to inventiveness and novelty, not to obvious developments of others’ ideas. The Court of Appeal made that point in finding invalid a patent in respect of wind turbine arrays. A
Owners of Listed Buildings – Keep Them in Repair Or Else!
Owners of listed buildings are entrusted to keep them in a reasonable state of repair and a failure to do so can have grave consequences. In one case, a woman whose 17th century manor house
Developers – Are Your Planning Permissions Lawful? Don’t Jump the Gun!
Unlawful planning permissions are regularly overturned by judges, and those who pre-empt their decisions by carrying out developments prematurely do so at their own risk. In one such case, however, the High Court found that
Company Wrongly Refused Insurance Cover Wins Test Case
Product liability and professional indemnity insurance policies invariably require that any potential claims must be swiftly notified to the insurer, but what exactly does that mean? The Court of Appeal has considered the issue in
Where Is a Company’s Centre of Main Interest? High Court Considers
The location of a company’s registered office is not always an indication of where it has its centre of main interest (COMI). The issue can be of crucial importance to insolvency practitioners, as one High