A husband has failed in his attempt to use the impact of the Covid pandemic as a reason to have his divorce settlement set aside. The husband and his wife had reached a settlement on 12 March 2020, shortly before the UK ‘s first national lockdown. He was managing director of the family company, which
A carer who was called a ‘slut’ by colleagues after they saw photos of her modelling underwear has been awarded £3,000 compensation for harassment. Ms C L Wallace worked for the Acomb Court Care Home in Hexham in October 2019 until January 2020. She also did a little modelling and on one occasion posted photos
The government has launched a new scheme to boost the number of affordable homes in England over the next five years. Its housing agency Homes England is seeking strategic partners with the ambition and capacity to deliver affordable housing at scale. Strategic partnerships are a way to access grant funding from Homes England through the
The government’s new scheme to help people buy a home with a 95% mortgage has now come into effect. It means buyers can now get on the property ladder even if they only have a 5% deposit. The mortgages are available to both first-time buyers and existing homeowners for houses costing up to £600,000. The
A firm’s equality and diversity training has been dismissed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal as stale and ineffective against preventing harassment. The case involved Allay (UK) Ltd and Mr S Gehlen, who was of Indian origin. Mr Gehlen had been dismissed due to his performance. Following his dismissal, he complained that a work colleague had
A bus driver who knocked down a cyclist after he made obscene gestures towards him has lost his claim of unfair dismissal. Sam Beech had worked for Lothian Buses for 11 years until he was dismissed in September 2019 for gross misconduct. It all hinged on an incident when Beech was moving away from a
A bank worker has won his claim of unfair dismissal after he was made redundant following the breakdown of his relationship with his bosses. Joynal Choudhury had worked for Gatehouse Bank since 2015 and took on a new role as head of real estate in March 2018. He immediately suffered a strained relationship with his
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an employer could be justified in not re-engaging an unfairly dismissed employee if it had a rational belief that he could not carry out the duties required in a new role or if there had been a genuine breakdown of trust. The case involved Mr Scott Kelly, who
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that domestic abuse could mean far more than just violence and included behaviour that could affect the welfare of children even if they were not the direct victims. The issue arose in four conjoined appeals involving allegations of domestic abuse by one parent against the other. In giving judgments,
The High Court has provided some useful guidelines on what is required for a person’s statements to be legally classed as ‘deathbed gifts’ in inheritance cases. The court was asked to determine the proper distribution of the estate of a married couple. The wife died in January 2019 of cancer and the husband died of