More than 150,000 people have got on to the housing ladder through Help to Buy, according to the latest figures from the government. The statistics show that since the launch of the scheme in 2013: more than 150,000 completions have taken place, with 80% having been made by first-time buyers the average house price was
People who feel they’re being discriminated against at work and are considering bringing a claim need to act quickly. Claims generally have to be brought with three months minus one day of the discrimination taking place. There are limited exceptions to this but the best advice is to act within the deadline. A woman with
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that employees are entitled to have commission earnings added to their holiday pay. The decision is the latest round in a long running case involving British Gas and one of its salesmen, Mr Joe Lock. Mr Lock earned a basic wage plus commission. However, when he took holidays, he
A supermarket has been held liable after one of its employees carried out an unprovoked assault on a customer. The incident arose when a customer asked for help from a kiosk attendant at a petrol station run by the supermarket. The attendant responded with foul-mouthed abuse and ordered the customer to leave. He then followed
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a company’s childcare voucher scheme did not discriminate against a woman on maternity leave. The case involved a company that operated a scheme that enabled employees to forego part of their salary in exchange for childcare vouchers. Entry to the scheme was conditional on employees accepting that
A doctor who was dismissed by the NHS after raising concerns about how a hospital was treating patients has been awarded £2.5m compensation. Dr Raj Mattu was a cardiologist at University Hospital Coventry in Walsgrave. He became alarmed that overcrowding was leading to patient deaths. He raised his concerns with the University Hospitals Coventry and
The Court of Appeal has ruled that an NHS Trust failed to protect a mental health nurse from abuse from his colleagues because it wanted to deter him from taking part in his trade union activities. The nurse was a leading member of the Workers of England Union (WEU). He was also a member of
A software developer has been granted an injunction to prevent a former employee passing on confidential information to a rival business. The developer specialised in computer gaming software for use in non-gaming industries. The employee had joined the company as a programmer and later moved to the sales department. There were restrictive covenants in his
Families inheriting estates valued at more than £2m will have to pay probate fees of £20,000 under new proposals being put forward by the government. The move would also see the beneficiaries of much smaller estates paying no fee at all. Under the current system, all estates worth more than £5,000 pay a standard probate
A quarter of a million first time buyers have opened a Help to Buy ISA since they became available last December. More than half of them are aged 30 or under. Some people have already claimed the bonus offered by the ISAs and are using them to help buy their first home. Help to Buy