An employment tribunal has decided that a law firm's mandatory retirement age of 65 for partners was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of workforce planning and staff retention. Therefore, the retirement age was objectively justified and did…
Businesses that sell directly to consumers should be made aware of a Court of Appeal decision which held that a "commercial practice" can refer to a single act or incident, as well as repeated conduct. This case involved the supply…
It is quite common when a subsidiary of a group of companies wishes to undertake a substantial contract for the other side to seek assurances of support from the subsidiary’s holding company, or occasionally from another member of the group…
In a ruling which underlines the potential hazards of signing personal guarantees in respect of corporate debts, a businessman has been hit with a bill for more than £330,000 almost seven years after he resigned from the relevant company. The…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a district nurse, who was summarily dismissed on capability grounds and then reinstated following a successful appeal, with full back-pay, was constructively dismissed when she resigned over the terms of her return…
Taxpayers that actively manage their property lettings and wish to incorporate their business will welcome a recent decision in the Upper Tribunal (Tax Chamber). The Upper Tribunal determined that the term "business" in the capital gains tax (CGT) "incorporation relief"…
Following the launch of a new update service by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), businesses can now carry out free online checks to find out whether there have been any changes to an employee's criminal record certificate. The DBS…
In the context of an agreement for the sale of an estate agency business, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a contractual clause should be interpreted in line with its ‘natural meaning’. Notwithstanding the rather surprising outcome, the commercial…
In a case which vividly illustrates that confusion between similar website names is not an insoluble problem, a businessman has been directed to give up two internet domain names which were capable of creating public confusion and a perception that…
The central issue before the High Court in a recent case was whether a number of letters written by a parent company and sent to the directors of a daughter / subsidiary company were legally enforceable. The letters, written by…
