A tribunal has held that a company did not discriminate against a Muslim security guard when it refused to allow him time off to attend Friday lunchtime prayers at a local mosque. The guard was employed by the company to provide security services at a site belonging to one of its clients. The client required
A director has been found guilty of wrongful trading after taking money for services his company could not provide. The director was the sole shareholder of a company that tried to provide a DX mailing service. He allowed an employee to market the business and take advance payments from customers who entered into contracts for
A commercial tenant failed to exercise a break clause correctly because it was still carrying out repairs to the leased premises after the day it should have given up vacant possession. The case involved a company that had two break options on a warehouse that it leased. The first date was for April 2009 and
There’s been a large increase in the number of firms facing critical difficulties, according to new research. The Red Flag Report produced by Begbies Traynor shows that 186,554 UK businesses were experiencing significant or critical financial problems in the first quarter of this year. That was a 15% increase on the same period in 2010.
A new law has come into effect which should make it easier and less daunting for small and medium sized businesses to protect their patent and design rights. There have been examples in the past of firms being unwilling to protect their rights because of uncertainty over how much it would cost. The Patents County
A corporate landlord has been left with a bill of £270,000 after failing to consult properly with tenants. The case involved five leaseholders at a block of flats which required major renovation. The landlord was entitled to recover most of the cost through service charges as long as there was full consultation with the tenants.
Businesses need to ensure they follow the correct procedures when making redundancies. Otherwise mistakes can lead to claims of unfair dismissal, as happened in a recent case involving a company that needed to lay off a number of staff. The company had selection procedures in place and used them to assess which employees should be
A recent case in the High Court has highlighted the need for firms to keep a tight control on who signs contracts on their behalf. It involved a recycling firm which found itself tied into a hire contract for three years when it thought the arrangement was only on a month by month basis. The
The number of businesses in the UK has been growing despite the economic downturn. That’s the picture that emerges from figures released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The latest statistics show that the total number of businesses rose by 48,000 to 4.5m between the start of 2009 and the start of
It is now four years since tenancy deposit protection schemes were introduced yet some people still don’t realise they are a legal requirement, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA). The RLA says it still gets calls from landlords and managing agents who have misunderstood the schemes and how they work. One landlord thought he