Read our latest articles, news briefs and legal updates across all our different services.
The Government has introduced new measures to allow up to two flats to be built in office or storage space above shops without the need for planning permission. The previous regulations only allowed for one flat to be created above a shop without permission. The change is designed to help increase the number of homes
A Government minister has publicly named a company that failed to pay an employee the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The move is part of an initiative by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to name and shame companies that don’t adhere to NMW regulations. It shows the Government’s determination to get tough on
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has started to name and shame firms that flout National Minimum Wage regulations. To help employers comply with the regulations, BIS has outlined the following seven points that could put a firm at risk. An employer only has to meet one of these points to be named:
Making a will is not necessarily the first thing you think about on the birth of your child! However, as you waft through a time of little sleep and lots of nappies, it’s certainly something worth thinking about when you get five minutes to spare! The most pressing need is to decide who will act
A firm has been fined £10,000 after making a slight change to its name without telling HM Revenue & Customs. The firm, which doesn’t want to be identified, was originally a partnership but then decided to restructure as a limited company. It added Ltd to its name but didn’t realise that it was suppose to
A managing director has been held personally liable for his company’s infringement of a rival’s trademark. The case involved two companies with similar names that both specialised in soil testing services. Geolabs Ltd had a series of trademarks including the name, ‘Geolabs’. It complained that another company, Geo Laboratories, had infringed that trademark by trading
The problem of rent arrears is increasing with 49% of landlords saying that they have experienced difficulties in the last 12 months, according to the National Landlords Association (NLA). Looking to the future, 37% of landlords are worried that they will experience more arrears in the coming months. NLA research shows that an average landlord
A company has won an injunction preventing a former employee and his new firm from using some of its confidential documents. The employee had left Churchill Retirement Living Ltd to work for a rival company called McCarthy & Stone Retirement Lifestyles Ltd. While working for Churchill, the employee was subject to contractual duties relating to
The Government is backing efforts by the Small Business Economic Forum (SBEF) to tackle the ongoing problem of late payment of invoices. Ministers are urging companies to sign up to the Government Prompt Payment Code. So far, more than 1,100 businesses have done so. They represent an estimated 60% of the total UK supply chain
The Government wants to scrap some planning restrictions to encourage more start-up businesses and attract shoppers back into town centres. Ministers want to make it easier for new ‘pop-up’ shops to use vacant high street premises until a more permanent tenant can be found. Under the current system, there are planning rules that restrict the