Read our latest articles, news briefs and legal updates across all our different services.
The Government has announced a number of reforms to end unfair practices which it says have been holding back Britain’s pubs. The proposals have been put forward by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and are in response to the Select Committee’s Report on Pub Companies. They set out the details of a
There’s no such thing as a free lunch – but we can provide a free breakfast together with an opportunity for you to network with other business owners operating in the area. Following the success of the initial Machins Business Forum, we are pleased to announce that we will be running the second of our
Nigel Gibson-Birch has recently joined our Private Client Team and here his CV shows what he can bring to this expanding department. Before joining us he was a Partner in the long established firm of Williams & Company where he built up a strong client base. Personal Profile Experienced in many areas of the law,
I have been fortunate enough to work with many inspiring women both within my firm and those entrepreneurial women I have met being either contacts or clients of the firm. It’s always a motivation to meet with women whose business / career is just as important to them as their family life and who really
All businesses and individuals now need to be aware of new bribery legislation which came into force on 1st July this year. The Bribery Act describes actions which involve “a financial or other advantage” being offered or received in exchange for “a business function or decision to be carried out improperly” as being potentially criminal.
When drawing up deeds it is vital to meet all the legal requirements – otherwise the document could prove invalid and cost you thousands of pounds, as one firm found recently. The case involved a financial services company that entered into an invoice discounting facility with two directors of a client firm. A deed was
There are now so many tenants looking for rented accommodation that the private rental sector (PRS) may soon be unable to meet demand, according to new research. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says that the number of its members stating that there are more tenants than properties has reached the highest level since
The High Court has made it clear that having a business reputation is not enough to justify the protection of a trading name – the business must also be able to show that it has customers in the UK. The issue arose in the case of two online dating agencies. One was a free service
The Government has confirmed that it is making changes to the unfair dismissal rules in an attempt to encourage employers to take on more staff. The qualification period for being able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal is to be extended from one year to two years. The change will come into effect from
The number of data security breaches by private companies has risen by 58% over the last year, according to figures released by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This is in spite of the fact that three quarters of businesses surveyed understand that the Data Protection Act (DPA) obliges them to keep personal information secure –