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Many of the regulations relating to new house builds could be scrapped as the government tries to encourage the continuing growth of the housing market. Currently, builders of new houses must meet numerous specifications on how new homes should be built and what facilities they must include. Each local council is able to select the
The Law Society has launched a media campaign to highlight the importance of using a professional solicitor when seeking legal advice. ‘Use a Professional. Use a Solicitor’ is the tagline, and adverts will be appearing on numerous media outlets including television, railway stations and public buses. In recent years, various unregulated advisers and do-it-yourself legal
A ruling on a dispute between a sales agent and British Gas could have set a costly precedent for UK employers. The agent was paid for securing sales. His income was made up of about 40% basic salary and 60% commission. He only received holiday pay equal to his basic wage. He claimed that because
An estate agent was awarded too much compensation after being constructively dismissed, an appeal judge has ruled. The agent had worked for a firm as an area manager. He had a remuneration package that was linked to the profitability of his office. The company moved him from a successful office to one that was making
A judge “was wrong” to rule that a woman had been unfairly dismissed by her employers because of her disability. The woman suffered with fibromyalgia and had an ovarian tumour. She worked for the company from May 2011 until she was dismissed in April 2012. She took the case to court, claiming she had been
Employers who lose an equal pay claim could now be subject to an equal pay audit on their entire workforce. The update to the Equality Act came into force on 1 October and means that tribunals are obliged to order the audits on any employers who lose an equal pay claim. There are a few
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More than 20% of businesses would be put under considerable financial strain if interest rates were to rise by one percentage point, according to a recent survey. The Business Distress Index was conducted by insolvency trade body R3, which interviewed decision makers at 500 businesses. The findings showed that 16% of businesses would be in
The government’s ‘right to rent’ scheme, which will require landlords to check the immigration status of tenants, will be piloted in Birmingham and the West Midlands from 1 December 2014. Landlords will need to check a tenant’s ‘right to rent’ before providing a property. This includes seeing evidence of identity and citizenship. Landlords will then
Nearly half of all working mothers would consider sharing their parental leave with their partners, according to a recent survey. The new system of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows the mother and father to share 52 weeks of parental leave and comes into effect on 5 April 2015. Mothers whose Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC)