A national estate agency that operates on a franchise basis has successfully taken legal action to prevent competition from a former franchisee. The agency offered training and support to partners across the country. Franchisees could only operate within their own defined area and were subject to a restrictive covenant stating that if they ended their
The Home Office has released details of how landlords will be expected to carry out right to rent checks to make sure tenants are entitled to be in the UK. From 1 February 2016, you will be affected if you are a private landlord, have a lodger, are sub-letting a property or are an agent
The government has announced the latest measures in its campaign to eradicate the gender pay gap within a generation and to provide more opportunities in the workplace for women and ethnic minorities. Legislation to prevent discrimination and promote equality has been in place for more 40 years but women still earn less on average than
The Localism Act 2011 has made a number of changes in order to give local people more control over what happens in their neighbourhood. One such change is the ability to designate a property as an asset of community value. An asset of community value is an asset that furthers the social well-being or social
A woman who was brought over from India to work in Britain for as little as 11p an hour has been awarded £184,000. It’s thought to be the first successful case in the UK involving “low caste” discrimination. Permila Tirkey and her family are Adivasi people from Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. They are
Nearly a third of small businesses expect the problem of late payment and cash flow to get worse, according to a survey conducted by Lloyds Bank. The survey reveals that late payment of invoices remains the main cause of cash flow problems facing UK firms. One in five businesses admit it’s causing them difficulties, and
The government has commissioned an independent review to find ways to encourage more people to set up successful businesses. It will be led by Michelle Mone, who founded the lingerie business Ultimo and turned it into a multi-million pound company. Nearly 70,000 new businesses have already been created through the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, which
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that if employees don’t have a fixed place of work then the time they spend travelling from home to their first job of the day should be classed as work time. The same principle applies to the time spent travelling back home after the last job of
New regulations designed to improve standards in business could lead to more directors being disqualified. The measures, which came into force on 1 October, state that the Secretary of State can seek to have a director of a limited company disqualified if they: • breach laws or regulations • have been convicted of a company
Temporary workers have the right to be informed of vacancies at the company employing them but that doesn’t automatically entitle them to be interviewed for any particular post. Employers are also justified in giving preference to permanent employees who are facing the threat of redundancy. Those were the findings of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in