Letting agents are to be regulated to protect both tenants and landlords against unfair practices. Housing Minister Mark Prisk has promised legislation that will raise standards across the industry. His proposal will oblige letting and managing agents, and agents involved in leasehold management, to offer tenants and landlords access to an approved redress scheme. It’s
A council has been ordered to compensate the owners of an amusement arcade which lost business when a seaside pier was closed for safety reasons. The case arose after the arcade owners became concerned about the structural integrity of the pier and commissioned a survey. It then provided a copy of the survey to the
Two directors have been disqualified for five years for taking a total of £59,000 from company funds instead of paying creditors after their business got into financial difficulties. Neither director disputed that they took the money at a time when the company’s tax liabilities had risen to more than £109,000 and when a trade creditor
A firm of surveyors has been ordered to pay compensation to a finance company for negligently providing a property valuation that was far too high. The case arose after the surveyors valued a house at £3.4m in July 2007. On the basis of that valuation the finance company provided the purchaser with a loan of
The Government has unveiled plans to introduce a 90-day patent service to help creative and innovative businesses. Under the present system it can take a number of years to obtain patent protection. Ministers say this is acceptable for most patent applications as it gives innovators time to develop their ideas and make important commercial decisions.
The Government is introducing a new Code of Practice to ensure that pub tenants are treated fairly and are allowed to run their businesses as they wish. The code will be enforced by an adjudicator with powers to fine large pub companies who abuse their powerful position. Ministers say the measures will save tenants £100m
The Government has announced new measures designed to simplify and improve the employment tribunal system. The move follows concerns from employers that tribunal cases are both expensive and time-consuming for them. The proposals include: new strike out powers to ensure that weak cases that should not proceed to full hearing are halted at the earliest
A company has been granted an interim injunction to prevent a former employee from soliciting its clients. The case involved an employee who had been a senior manager and associate director of the company. In October 2012, he was told that he was no longer a senior manager but could continue as an associate director.
Many businesses overestimate the burden placed on them by employment regulations, according to Government research. Its survey found that businesses that view regulations as burdensome often did so because of a lack of understanding of employment law. Dismissal processes were seen as particularly stressful and costly, with some employers going beyond the legal requirements because
When drawing up contracts with automatic renewal clauses it is important to ensure that you fully understand what is being agreed. Failure to do so can prove costly, as demonstrated in a recent case before the High Court. It involved an IT company and a bank that had entered into an agreement. There was a