The Sentencing Council has published a sentencing guideline for environmental offences which sets out a 12-step sentencing process to punish offenders, prevent reoffending and remove financial gain. The guideline uses turnover as a starting point in the process of setting…
Following a recent First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) decision, owner-managed businesses may need to review arrangements for shifting income from higher rate taxpaying shareholders to their lower rate taxpaying spouses if those arrangements involve dividend waivers. The tribunal held that dividend…
When a consultant commenced work for a company, her intention was to carry out the work through the medium of a limited company. She delayed forming the company, however, and this led to her first consultancy invoice being sent to…
A widely reported recent case has potential implications for those entrusted with the care or safety of others who delegate that responsibility – for example by the use of subcontractors. The tragic case concerned a boy who suffered brain injuries…
When a subsidiary in a group does something, what is the legal position of the holding company that owns it? In some circumstances, the courts might hold the parent company responsible for the actions of the subsidiary – especially if…
In a case which raised new issues on the inter-relationship between insolvency rules and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), the Court of Appeal has dismissed the unfair dismissal claims of four employees who lost their…
The pitfalls of not getting documentation exactly right have become all too clear for a lender following a recent Court of Appeal hearing. The case arose because the lender wished to rely on the guarantees given over a debt by…
In a bitter example of how an innocent party can be left to carry the financial can following a corporate failure, the owner of a hotel who paid £110,000 for diesel powered generating equipment has received judicial sympathy but ended…
In a dispute over the supply of children’s clothing to a major high street retailer, the High Court has ruled that a breakdown in effective communication between the parties justified early termination of the agreement and that the notice period…
Landowners looking to let a field for solar may be interested in understanding how renewable energy developers generate income. They will usually have two income streams: income from the sale of the electricity generated, and a subsidy paid by the…
