We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter answering questions about being named as an Executor and the role of an Executor entails. Our Chartered Legal Executive, Janine Guthrie, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. What are the key things to think about if you’ve been…
When considering allegations of workplace gross misconduct, it is often not enough simply to establish that a forbidden act occurred, without going on to discern the reasons for it and whether those reasons are linked to a disability. A tribunal made that point in finding that a diabetic lorry driver was unfairly dismissed after he…
We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter answering questions about social media usage and employment Law, looking at what employers will think about employee posts. Our Trainee Legal Executive, Lucy Watson, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. When it comes to employees expressing their opinion…
The Government are attempting to crack down on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and confidentiality clauses by employers to cover incidents in the workplace including incidents of sexual or racial harassment, by issuing a consultation document on ways to tighten up the rules. The consultation is due to close on 29th April 2019. Tayntons…
Employers are reminded that new National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates apply from 1 April 2019. These are as follows: The NLW, which applies to those aged 25 and over, will increase from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour; The NMW for 21- to 24-year-olds will increase from £7.38 to £7.70 per…
We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter answering questions about pre-nuptial agreements, what they are and if they are enforceable in England and Wales. Our Chartered Legal Executive, Sandra Waller, and our Trainee Solicitor, Luke Stephens, were on hand to provide some much needed guidance. What is a prenuptial agreement and is it a legally…
In a guideline ruling, the Court of Appeal recently found that two care workers were not entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for time when they were asleep during sleep-in-shifts. Noting that the conflicting authorities had given rise to a need for clarification of the law on the point, the Court found…
We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter answering questions about a Transfer of Equity and what this process involves and how we can help. Our Chartered Legal Executive, Sara Robinson, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. What is a Transfer of Equity and when is it required? This is where a persons…
The question of what is and is not a house in multiple occupation (HMO) is far from straightforward to answer, as a recent decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed. It was held that landlords who fail to take legal advice on the issue can be hit in the pocket after unwittingly breaching the law….
We participated in Solicitors Chat on Twitter answering questions about a legal jargon and the importance of legal terminology. Our Digital Marketing Manager, Ruth Pendell, and Trainee Legal Executive, Lucy Watson, were on hand to provide some much needed guidance. Why are legal terms and phrases so important in contracts and cases? Legal terms and…
If people are injured by uninsured drivers on private land, are they entitled to compensation? In a landmark decision, the High Court has answered that question with a resounding yes. The case concerned a pedestrian who was walking across a private field when he was struck and catastrophically injured by an uninsured 4×4 vehicle. The…
We participated in Solicitors Chat yesterday on Twitter answering questions about gender-balance in the workplace and looking at the law around gender equality and discrimination in the workplace. Our Trainee Legal Executive, Lucy Watson, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. 1. What is The Equality…
The Court of Appeal has given important guidance on the correct interpretation of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) in ruling that a railway signalman’s rights were not breached by his employer’s failure to afford him a 20-minute uninterrupted break in every six hours he worked. The signalman provided relief cover at a number of…
Although the case below concerns a vulnerable young adult, the criteria for assessing whether someone has capacity to access the internet safely is also relevant to other vulnerable groups, such as elderly LPA donors, who may be financially or emotionally exploited online. It will also be of general interest to deputies and attorneys who may…
We participated in a special 100th anniversary Solicitors Chat today on Twitter answering questions about how our Lawyers entered the legal profession and what being a Lawyer means to them. Read their responses below: 1. What made you decide to become a solicitor? We asked our Child Care Solicitor, Jess O’Shea, what made her want…
The Government has published guidance explaining the powers available to Employment Tribunals (ETs). This is based on feedback from users of the service which suggested there was a lack of awareness on this issue. Using case law examples to illustrate how ETs have used the powers at their disposal in the past, the guidance aims…
It was over 10 years ago that law was passed to make it compulsory for the sale of the Property to have an Energy Performance Certificate in place. It is also a legal requirement for an EPC to be in place for letting of a residential or commercial property (unless one of the exemptions apply)….
With the internet being accessible by more or less everyone, basic legal claims can seem straightforward. Although this is often the case, the Claimant can encounter problems with the Court process. When issuing a claim, the Claimant will submit a claim form including a document setting out the factual and legal circumstances of the dispute…
We participated in Solicitors Chat yesterday on Twitter answering questions about Avoiding Common Business Mistakes. Our commercial team were on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. 1. How can businesses make sure their contracts are properly drafted and why is it important they do so? Whether it’s…
Workplace disciplinary proceedings are always tense and it is vital to remember that their reasonableness is likely to be examined in detail by Employment Tribunals (ETs) after the event. In a case on point, a carpenter who was sacked after being accused of describing gay people as his pet hate succeeded in unfair wrongful dismissal…
Tayntons are currently acting for a client who underwent surgery to fix a forearm fracture but the wrong metal plates were inserted. Further surgery has been a necessity to rectify the error made and promote the healing process. This week it has emerged that Hospitals in England may have fitted up to 5,500 patients with…
Credit card companies are subject to a six-year time limit in launching proceedings against defaulters, but when exactly does that period begin to run? The Court of Appeal has answered that question in an important ruling for debt recovery specialists. The case concerned a man who was alleged to have defaulted on monthly payments after…
We participated in Solicitors Chat yesterday on Twitter answering questions about Marriage & Your Will. Our Chartered Legal Executive, Janine Guthrie, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. 1. How does getting married or entering into a civil partnership affect your will? It revokes your Will…
We are delighted to take this opportunity to announce that our chosen Charity for 2024 is Pied Piper Founded in 1992, The Pied Piper Appeal is the leading children’s charity in Gloucestershire. Our mission is to make a difference to the lives of sick and disabled children in the county. We do this in four…
The decision in Oakley & Others v Harper McKay relates to a commercial transaction. The Court’s decision re-affirms existing law and, on the facts of the case, the result is hardly surprising. Most buyers of commercial and residential property will choose to take advice from a Solicitor and are very unlikely to find themselves in…
Our Trainee Legal Executive, Kate Shields, has answered the most commonly asked questions about Road Traffic Accidents. Do you have to be the driver of a car to make a road traffic accident claim? No, it is not only the driver of the car that can make a claim for personal injury. Any innocent party…
We participated in Solicitors Chat yesterday on Twitter answering questions about Court of Protection. Our Chartered Legal Executive, Janine Guthrie, was on hand to provide some much needed guidance. We’ve set out our answers out below. What is the Court of Protection and who does it help? The Court of Protection exists to safeguard vulnerable…
Engaging Solicitors to both draft your Will and store it safely until it is needed really is the only sensible course to take. In a case where such wisdom did not prevail, the High Court had to decide whether a missing Will had been deliberately destroyed, mislaid or dishonesty removed. After a homeowner’s death the…
With parts of the UK expecting heavy snowfall over the coming days, employers and employees will be preparing themselves for the potential impact of severe weather conditions. So where do employer’s (and employee’s in return) stand if your employee’s can’t attend work due to adverse weather? Do you have to pay employees if they are…
Whether it is a workplace disciplinary or grievance, or even a redundancy procedure, none are pleasant experiences for either employers or employees. It is therefore understandable that employers may wish to deal with them as quickly as possible and without following their own procedures and policies. However, by doing so may cost employers heavily in…
Third party debt orders can be a powerful means of enforcing judgments, but how do they affect funds held in solicitors’ client accounts? The High Court considered that issues in a guideline case concerning an alleged financial fraud. What happened? Two companies and an individual launched proceedings against a businessman. They alleged fraud in connection…
Compensation awards to clinical negligence victims may seem generous, but long lives and the escalating costs of care mean that they are no larger than needed. That was certainly so in the case of a seriously disabled 11-year-old girl whose lawyers succeeded in negotiating a settlement of her claim worth over £20 million. The girl’s…
Not all disabilities are obvious and employers cannot be guilty of discrimination if they are unaware of a worker’s impairment. The point was made by a decision of the Employment Appeal tribunal (EAT) concerning a postal worker who suffered from chronic hypertension. The man’s condition, which was diagnosed four years before he began the relevant…
Clinical Negligence in the first hours and days a six-year-old boy won eight-figure damages from the NHS shows that specialist lawyers are always there to ensure that lessons are learned and just compensation paid. Outline of case The much-wanted boy was born following a surrogate pregnancy. After his delivery, however, medical staff failed to notice…
When divorcing couples have contributed equally to their marital fortune, the general rule is that assets will be split 50/50. However, as one ‘big money’ case showed, it is not always as simple as that and complications can arise in respect of wealth that has been generated post-separation. Prior to a professional couple’s marriage, the…
Court orders must be obeyed or the whole system of justice breaks down. In a case on point, a brother and sister – with a combined age of almost 150 – were sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of court in the context of a big money divorce. The brother, aged in his 80s, had been…
Providing misleading information can be just as effective in causing injury as physical acts of negligence. The Supreme Court made that point in guaranteeing substantial compensation to an assault victim who was wrongly informed by an accident and emergency (A&E) department receptionist that he would have to wait hours before receiving medical attention. The man…
On Thursday 29th November, Tayntons attended the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Legal Excellence Awards held at Bowood Golf & Spa Hotel. In our first year of entering the awards we were nominated for 2 awards – Service to the Community award and Law Firm of the Year. Joining in the celebrations were 3 ex-international Rugby players…
Nobody wants to be a Scrooge at Christmas, but as an employer you need to be aware of the risk of unpleasant incidents occurring and take preventative steps to stop you suffering a hangover and the risk of Employment Tribunals long after the festive period has ended. Employees may not be aware or understand that…
When money passes between family members without legal advice, it is only too common for disputes to arise as to whether the sums concerned were meant as gifts, or something more. A recent case reflected this. A mother and son ended up at loggerheads over ownership of properties worth £800,000. The case concerned a flat…
Workplace disciplinary proceedings are never pleasant and it is understandable that employers may wish to deal with them as swiftly as possible. However, in one case, an engineering company paid heavily for its impatience in refusing to adjourn a hearing so that a worker could be accompanied by a trade union official. The woman was…
When family judges make financial orders in divorce cases, they are not beating at air and have a panoply of powers to make sure that they are obeyed. A wealthy businessman who spent over £70,000 on his wedding to his new wife, whilst neglecting to pay maintenance to his ex-wife, found that out to his…
Statistical evidence, however striking, is rarely enough to prove discrimination in the workplace. However, the fact that there was not a single non-white manager of a retail chain’s 81 stores in a particular region certainly had a persuasive impact on an Employment Tribunal (ET). Outline of the Case The case concerned a mixed-race man who…
Buying and selling businesses can be a highly complex matter and dispensing with legal formality is a positive invitation to trouble. The point could hardly have been better made than by a High Court case concerning the ill-fated purchase of a fish and chip shop which culminated in threats of violence. Following informal discussions, a businessman…
Those who take the wise step of signing lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) are entitled to give instructions concerning their future medical treatment. But, as a guideline High Court ruling made plain, that right does not extend to requiring attorneys to break the law by engaging in assisted suicide or euthanasia. The Office of the…
Buying a property at auction can be hazardous and should never be attempted without instructing solicitors to carry out all the necessary checks. In a case highlighting this point, a father and son bought a former council flat for over £200,000, without knowing that the number of its bedrooms had been doubled without the required…
Compensation awards to clinical negligence victims may sometimes appear eye-wateringly large but, with the ever-increasing cost of professional care, they are never any more than is needed. That was certainly so in one case, in which a six-year old boy won a record payout from the NHS worth over £37 million. The boy suffered catastrophic…
“No-fault divorce would help to remove an unnecessary process which simply makes life more complicated.” Sir James Munby Those who experience the breakdown of any marriage can empathise with the fact that divorce is a sad, stressful time and can often create a hostile environment for the parties involved. As it stands, to be granted…
A man who neglected to take legal advice before putting his home into his and his long-term girlfriend’s joint names will have to live with the consequences. Despite his protestations, a Judge found that she was entitled to half the property – in part to recompense her for the way that he had treated her….
Whether you are an employee or employer, mental health in the workplace affects at least 1 in 6 of us and work is the biggest cause of stress in people’s lives, more so than debt or financial problems. Tayntons Solicitors have put together some top tips for both employees and employers for staying on top…
To contact us please call 01452 522 047 or 03330 145451 or email info@tayntons.co.uk
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