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Handing over a family business to the next generation may seem straightforward but it can create unforeseen problems. In fact, succession plans involving family members may contain more risks than handovers involving complete strangers. With strangers, people tend to be cautious and get legal advice; with family they often rely on goodwill and a muddle
It is vital to get the balance right when trying to protect your business by subjecting employees to restrictive covenants. If the conditions are not strict enough, they may not prevent the employee setting up a rival enterprise or helping a rival firm; if they are too strict, they may not be enforceable, as in
Government departments have identified enough publicly owned land to build more than 102,000 homes. This puts them well ahead of the Prime Minister’s target of releasing suitable land for 100,000 homes by 2015. The surplus public land includes empty offices and unused storage space at sites across the country. The Homes and Communities Agency must
Landlords risk losing hundreds of thousands of pounds if they fail to consult tenants properly over service charges. In a recent case, Daejan Investments Ltd had to forfeit £270,000. Now Stenau Properties Ltd have fallen into the same trap. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that landlords go through a thorough consultation process before
Since 2007, landlords of houses and flats have been legally obliged to “protect” their tenants’ rent/security deposits. Deposits must either be paid into an authorised scheme or be registered and insured with such a scheme. Landlords are also obliged to give tenants full written details, including the scheme reference number. The requirements initially had to
Landlords need to ensure they comply with tougher new tenancy deposit rules which came into effect on 6th April. If they fail to do so, they could face fines and find it harder to evict tenants. The new rules are part of the Localism Act, which redefines the way landlords should protect the deposits given
People declared bankrupt may have to use some of their untaken pensions to pay their debts, following a High Court ruling. When a person is declared bankrupt, the courts will assess their income and decide how much they can afford to pay their creditors each month, usually for a period of three years until the
It is not unusual for people to sign agreements without being fully aware of how legally binding the document actually is and how much protection it gives them. This can prove costly, as shown in a recent case before the High Court. It involved two businessmen, Karim Dhanani and Serge Crasnianski, who discussed setting up
A director and a shareholder were held to be in contempt of court after selling company assets. The case involved an agency that sold car breakdown policies on behalf of an insurance company. The insurers came to believe that the agency had not accounted fully to it for its premiums and had provided false information.
Changes to employment tribunals designed to save businesses £50m a year and make it easier for them to take on staff have now come into effect. The Government says it has streamlined the system to reduce some of the burden on employers and reduce the number of vexatious claims. The main changes are: The qualifying