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Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to “kill off the health and safety culture” which he says has become “an albatross around the neck of British businesses”. He says he wants to address “the fear from businesses of being sued for trivial or excessive claims”. The Government is now planning to change the law on
A court has ruled that a commercial tenant’s break clause notice was invalid because it had not paid the interest that had accrued as a result of late payments. The fact that the landlord had not sent a demand for payment made no difference. The case involved a tenant that had taken out a ten-year
Business leaders have criticised the Government’s much publicised moratorium on employment law saying that it has done virtually nothing to reduce the regulatory burden. The moratorium was introduced last April. The aim was to exempt start-up businesses and firms with fewer than 10 employees from new regulations for three years. The Institute of Directors say
Employees wanting to bring tribunal claims will have to pay fees ranging from £150 to £1,750 under new proposals announced by the Government. Ministers say the move will relieve pressure on businesses and reduce the £84m annual cost to the taxpayer. The Ministry of Justice has now begun a public consultation on the proposals, which
Three councils have lost their appeal for a judicial review of the Coalition Government’s decision to scrap the need for planning permission when converting single dwellings into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The need for planning permission was introduced in April 2010 by the last Labour Government after it had conducted a consultation with interested
A development firm must pay more than it bargained for to a local authority after selling on land at below market price to a group company. The developers bought the land from the authority with a view to creating a business park. The authority retained a share in the open market value of the land,
Investors buying properties consisting of two or more flats could be spending far more than necessary if they don’t take advantage of a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief introduced in the Finance Act 2011. The change rectified the situation whereby if an investor bought a property containing several flats from the same seller, the
A firm of architects has won a dispute over fees after the High Court ruled that a letter it had sent to its client did amount to a written contract. The case arose after the architects agreed to carry out consultancy services for a local authority under a framework agreement. The work was to be
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has updated its Debt Collection Guidance, which sets out the standards required of any business involved in recovering consumer credit debts. The revised guidance highlights specific practices that the OFT considers to be unfair, such as using Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to contact debtors. It says
The Government wants businesses to be treated as customers rather than culprits when it comes to the enforcement of regulations and has put forward a number of proposals in response to its recent Transforming Regulatory Enforcement consultation, which set out how the Government wanted a more mature and open relationship with businesses in relation to