Archive for the ‘General’ Category

CFOs Less Optimistic

Chief financial officers (CFOs) are increasingly concerned that the UK may be headed for a ‘double-dip’ recession, according to a survey by accountants Deloitte.

 
The survey found that 29 per cent of CFOs predicted a double-dip and that optimism is at the lowest level in two years.
 
If you are concerned about difficulties with collecting debts, meeting your financial obligations, the availability of finance or protecting your business from trade risk we may be able to help.

Posted April 19th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Royal Wedding – Rates of Pay and Time Off in Lieu

The Royal wedding has already put an extra bank holiday into the calendar on the 29th of the month and the House of Lords has reacted by allowing pubs an extra two hours of drinking time on the 29th and 30th of the month, so it looks like being a lively weekend.

 
For employers, however, the question arises of what to do about the ‘extra’ bank holiday as regards the entitlements of their employees.
 
As regards payment for the holiday, the contract of employment of the employee will determine the need to pay. In most cases, employers will not be required to pay staff for the bank holiday.
 
The rate of pay which applies for staff who work on the bank holiday will also depend on the contract of employment. There is no statutory right to overtime rates of pay or to time off in lieu for working on the 29th.
 
However, employers will need to balance the strict letter of the law against the need to maintain employee goodwill.
 
If you have concerns about any employment law matter or wish to revise your contracts of employment in the light of the recent developments as regards the default retirement age or any other matter, contact  us for advice.

Posted April 14th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Problems of Insolvent Landlords

Retail to letIt is not only tenants that go broke: increasingly, overstretched landlords are becoming insolvent.

 
If you are a commercial tenant coming up for a rent review, it makes sense to do some investigation into your landlord’s finances and to make sure that you protect your position if necessary.
 
If you have paid a rent deposit and it is not legally separate from the landlord’s other assets, it may be lost if the landlord becomes insolvent. Check your lease. It may be possible to persuade your landlord to refund the deposit or agree to vary the lease to allow the deposit to be protected.
 
If the landlord fails to comply with its covenants it is possible that the breach may be sufficiently serious to allow you to repudiate the lease.
 
However, one of the most common problems arises where the insolvent landlord is itself a tenant and defaults on its covenants with the head landlord. If this results in the forfeiture of the landlord’s lease, this could lead to the loss of the right to occupy the premises.
 
If you have concerns about what your position would be in the even of the insolvency of your landlord, we can advise you and assist in any necessary negotiations.

Posted April 13th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

The Protection of Freedoms Bill – ‘A Return to Common Sense Government

Video Surveillance NoticeThe Coalition Government has published the Protection of Freedoms Bill 2010/2011, which contains a wide range of measures aimed at ending the unnecessary scrutiny of law-abiding individuals.
 
If enacted, the Bill will result in:
 
  • a radical reform of the vetting and barring scheme that will see a large reduction in the number of individuals requiring checks to just those who work most closely with children and vulnerable adults;
  • DNA samples and fingerprints of innocent people being deleted from police databases;
  • an end to town hall snoopers checking householders’ rubbish bins or school catchment area;
  • the scrapping of Section 44 powers, which have been used to stop and search hundreds of thousands of innocent people;
  • the permanent reduction of the maximum period of pre-charge detention for terrorist suspects to 14 days;
  • gay men being able to clear their name with the removal of out-of-date convictions for consensual acts; and
  • thousands of motorists protected from rogue wheel clamping firms.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who has been instrumental in shaping the contents of the Bill said, “The Freedoms Bill will protect millions of people from state intrusion in their private lives and mark a return to common sense government.”
Other measures included in the Bill include:
  • an end to the fingerprinting of children in schools without parental consent;
  • the introduction of a code of practice for CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems;
  • restrictions on the powers of government departments, local authorities and other public bodies to enter private homes and other premises for investigations and a requirement for all to examine and slim down remaining powers;
  • the repeal of powers to hold serious and complex fraud trials without a jury;
  • the liberalisation of marriage laws to allow people to marry outside the hours of 8am-6pm; and
  • the extension of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and strengthening the public rights to data.
The Government’s aim is that the Bill will be enacted by late 2011 or early 2012.

Posted April 8th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Private Emails Lead to the Sack

A recent decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET) illustrates that care should be taken over any private communication made out of working hours if this contains material or expresses views that would fall foul of your employer’s equal opportunities policy and/or Internet policy. In certain circumstances, you could face disciplinary action should the communication end up in the public domain and reflect badly on your employer.

 
The case concerned a man who worked for the charity Lifeline Projects Ltd., which provides help to drug users and works closely with HM Prison Service (HMPS). Whilst working on assignment to HMPS, he forwarded a chain email to a colleague from his home computer outside working hours. The email, which contained racist remarks and images of naked women, was headed ‘It is your duty to pass this on’. The colleague in turn forwarded the offensive email to an HMPS employee at his work email address and it came to the attention of the management of the prison where he worked. The prison employee was offered early retirement and the charity worker was suspended from doing any further work for HMPS as a result.
Computer
Lifeline Projects Ltd. subsequently dismissed its worker for gross misconduct that had caused damage to the charity’s reputation. He claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed.
 
The ET ruled that the dismissal was fair, however. The fact that the offensive chain email stated, in a prominent position, that it should be passed on meant that the charity worker could not have expected it to remain private and it was through his actions that it had made its way onto the computer system of HMPS, one of Lifeline’s biggest clients.
 
Devotees of Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites take note!

Posted April 8th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

New Rules on Sunbed Use Come into Force

The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010, which was introduced in Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill, came into force on 8 April 2011.

 
Regulation was anticipated after a 2009 study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer reported a clear link between the use of sunbeds and skin cancer, with people who began using UV-emitting tanning devices before the age of 30 found to be up to 70 per cent more likely to develop melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. This finding prompted a number of local authorities to remove sunbeds from leisure centres.
 
Under the Act, it is an offence for sunbed business operators to allow people in England and Wales under age 18 to use their tanning machines. The use of sunbeds by children is only allowed if it is necessary in order to treat a medical condition and takes place under the supervision or direction of a registered medical practitioner.
 
The Act also allows for more stringent restrictions to be implemented, including the power to require any person who carries on a sunbed business to provide customers with information on the health risks associated with sunbed use and to impose a duty on operators to ensure that protective eyewear is made available and is worn by users.
 
The Welsh Assembly has announced its intention to make full use of the powers available to it under the Act and will introduce further measures, from 31 October 2011, which will include a ban in Wales on the unsupervised use of sunbeds.

Posted April 7th, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Guidance on Bribery Act Published

The Bribery Act will now come into force on 1 July 2011 and helpful new guidance has been published by the Government.
Whilst the penalties in the Act are still potentially very serious, including jail, and liability remains with a business for actions of employees or agents for failing to prevent bribery, there is a defence in being able to show adequate procedures and steps were implemented to prevent bribery. Crucially, it has been made clear in the new guidance that adequate procedures will be considered as proportionate to the size and resources of the business and the risk involved on a case by case basis.
The guidance has case studies helping with common possib;le scenarios and hpow to deal with them and we would strongly recommend taking a god look at the guidance, which is available  here. See also the ‘quick start guide’ to the Act.

Tags: , ,
Posted April 1st, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Tweet, Tweet, You’ve Been Defamed!

A recent case shows how dangerous it can be to think that because ‘tweets’ on the social networking site Twitter are short, they can’t do much harm.

 
In the case, a councillor from South Wales was sued for defamation because of a reckless tweet – he had wrongly alleged another councillor had been removed from a polling station by the Police.
 
The error cost him more than £50,000 in damages and legal costs...more than £350 per character of the tweet.
 
The case has obvious implications for social networkers and, potentially, businesses that do not have a robust internet use policy.

Posted March 31st, 2011 in General |

Comments Off

Newer Entries »