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Families in the UK have paid more than £5 billion inheritance tax in a single year for the first time ever. The record figure reflects the increasing value of estates, largely fuelled by rising house prices. HMRC says that £5.1 billion was collected through inheritance tax receipts in the 12 months to May. That was
A wife has won her appeal against a divorce settlement that gave her husband an equal share of the marital assets. The case involved a couple whose relationship, including cohabiting and marriage, lasted six years. They had no children. At the start of their relationship they both earned around £100,000 a year, but during the
A woman who was sacked by an employment agency after becoming pregnant has been awarded £25,000 compensation. Daniella Lewandowski started working for the Bradford District Apprenticeship Training Agency in 2015. She had a minor role at first but was then employed on a £33,000 a year fixed contract. She said the agency told her that
The government has reiterated its commitment to helping more people own their home. Alok Sharma, Housing and Planning Minister, said: “As set out in our Housing White Paper, we’re committed to helping those aspiring home buyers currently locked out of the market to turn their home ownership dreams into reality.” The confirmation came as the
Thousands of women have won an equal pay claim estimated to be worth a total of £50m in a dispute dating back over several years. The 6,000 women all worked for Glasgow City Council in a variety of low-paid roles including carers, caterers and cleaners. The issue arose following several successful pay claims against the
A wife has been told that the assets of a trust she set up with her husband cannot be included in their divorce settlement. The case involved a couple who had established a charitable trust to conserve South China’s tiger population. It held land for conservation purposes. The trust was fully discretionary and held considerable
A Lease is usually a written agreement between a Landlord (usually the owner of the building) and the Tenant (the occupier of either the whole or part of the building). It is important to have a written agreement to regulate the relationship between the Landlord and the Tenant, particularly to avoid any ambiguity arising between
A father has won his discrimination claim against his employer after being denied his full paternity rights. Call centre worker Madasar Ali wanted to take the leave to care for his baby daughter because his wife was suffering from post-natal depression. His employer, Capita, said he would only be granted two weeks on full pay
The EU’s leading lawyer has stated that workers are entitled to claim unpaid holiday entitlement even after they have left their employment. Advocate General Tanchev said: “In circumstances where an employer has not provided a worker with paid leave, the right to paid leave carries over until he has the opportunity to exercise it and
The retail giant Argos has failed to get a court order restraining the Unite union from calling strike action in a dispute over staff relocation. The issue arose after Argos announced that there would be a TUPE transfer of one of its distribution centres to another company. The employees affected had a clause in their