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Businesses across different sectors are urging the new government to end late payment practices that are crippling many small companies. They say the existing Prompt Payment Code isn’t working and fear a surge in company insolvencies if no action is taken. David Frise, CEO of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), said repeated failures by
An agent who introduced a company to a buyer for one its properties has been awarded £435,000 for his services. The issue arose after the agent tried to buy the property himself from the company. The deal fell through and he was left £1.2m out of pocket. In order to recoup his losses, he proposed
A Royal Mail employee has won her case of unfair dismissal in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Ms Kamaljeet Jhuti joined the Marketreach unit of Royal Mail in October 2013 on a trial basis as a media specialist. She quickly raised concerns about potential regulatory breaches in the processes.
The restaurant chain Bella Italia has lost a dispute about terminating a commercial lease. The property in question was a new development of retail premises on a site owned by two groups of trustees. In November 2014, Bella signed the agreement for lease, with the trustees as the named freeholder and landlord. The other parties
Three estate agents have been fined a total of more than £600,000 for operating an illegal cartel to fix commission rates. The three firms, all from Berkshire, were Michael Hardy, Prospect and Richard Worth. Together with a fourth company, Romans, they began fixing prices in September 2008. They conspired to set minimum commission rates for
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mandip Bhachu as a Partner into our expanding family and matrimonial law practice. Mandip, who has joined the firm’s Luton office, brings with her a wealth of expertise in all aspects of family law with particular focus on divorce, high net worth and complex financial and children
A mental health nurse who was subjected to abuse by patients has won a claim of indirect race discrimination by his employer. However, his claim for harassment was rejected by the Employment Tribunal. Colleridge Bessong, from Africa, worked for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (2019) at a secure residential unit. In 2017 he was seriously
An employer has failed to get an injunction restraining six key employees from working for a competitor, pending a trial to decide whether they were bound by a non-compete covenant. The case involved recruitment company Affinity Workforce Solutions Ltd. In May 2019, it dismissed one of the employees for alleged gross misconduct. She challenged the
An employee who was duped into transferring nearly £200,000 to online scammers while her bosses were on annual leave will not have to pay back the money to her employers. Patricia Reilly worked as a credit controller for Peebles Media Group (PMG). She was left in charge while her managing director, Yvonne Bremner, and line
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a business manager who suffered from hepatitis C was unfairly dismissed by her employer because of her disability. Carol Smith worked for cosmetic wholesaler Amalgamated Euro Products. Her condition caused her pain, insomnia, fatigue and depression. She rarely took time off until the period between March and July 2016,