A director has been banned for seven years after repeatedly failing to pay his workers the minimum wage. Shakil Ahmed was a director at Euro Contracts Services Limited (ECS), which supplied labourers to farms. The farms paid a fee to ECS, which was then responsible for paying the labourers. An investigation by HMRC in 2009
If a landlord doesn’t want to carry out repairs on a commercial property unless he has a tenant waiting to move in, is he entitled to have the rateable value reduced? A recent case saw landlord Christopher Shaw appeal after a valuation tribunal refused to reduce the rateable value of one of his business units.
A quarter of UK companies say they’ve suffered a hit to their cash flow and longer-term finances because of the insolvency of a customer over the last six months. The research by the insolvency and restructuring trade body, R3, found the financial impact of the insolvency of another business was described as “very negative” by
A director breached her legal duties when she transferred company assets to herself during a period of financial difficulty. Julie Anne Davey ran a company called Angel Group Ltd or AGL, which had three subsidiaries. The businesses specialised in development and lettings. They had gone into administration in late 2012/early 2013 and into liquidation in
The National Landlord’s Association (NLA) has criticised government proposals to introduce 3-year minimum tenancies. Ministers say 3-year tenancy terms, with a 6-month break clause, are necessary to help renters put down roots, and to give landlords longer term financial security. The average amount of time tenants stay in a property is four years, according to
A developer has been ordered to pay an extra £750,000 for land that was sold subject to the condition that the price would increase if planning permission for houses was granted. The issue arose after the developer purchased property from a landowner to redevelop for residential use. The contract provided that the extra money would
A recruitment agency has been granted an injunction to prevent a former employee working for rival companies while on garden leave and to ensure its confidential information isn’t misused. The case involved Coyle Personnel, which supplied nurses to NHS trusts and private hospitals. It employed a senior recruitment consultant, Mr Hackett, for four years. During
Business leaders have welcomed government proposals to make large companies justify the pay of their chief executives and reveal how much higher it is than that of their average worker. The move affects UK listed companies with 250 employees or more. They will have to disclose the pay ratios – the difference between the top
An employment tribunal has ruled that drivers with Hermes are workers, not self-employed contractors and so are entitled to employment rights. The ruling follows a similar decision by the Supreme Court, which held that a plumber with Pimlico Plumbers should also be classified as a worker rather than self-employed. The Hermes case involved 65 drivers.
A sub-contractor has won its battle to force a developer to pay more than £388,000 for work carried on a major project. The case involved E7 Building Services and R G Carter Cambridge Ltd. E7 had been contracted to carry out mechanical and electrical works on one of Carter’s projects. The two sides later disputed