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The new National Minimum and Living Wage rates came into effect on 1 April. The new rates are: £8.21 per hour for ages 25 and over £7.70 per hour for ages 21 to 24 £6.15 per hour for ages 18 to 20 £4.35 per hour for school leaving age to 17 £3.90 per hour for
An employer must provide workers with a “compensatory” rest period when it’s not possible to offer the standard breaks as required by law. However, the compensatory period doesn’t have be identical to the standard break; it just has to be of equal value in contributing to the worker’s well-being. That was the decision of the
A widow has won the right to claim a share of her of her husband’s estate even though she was 26 years late in beginning legal proceedings. Shantabai Bhusate, aged 67, was the third wife of Kashinath Bhusate, who died intestate in 1990 at the age of 72. He left five children from his first
A trainee emergency call operator was racially discriminated against when he was wrongly accused of distributing drugs. Jerry Ogbonna, a black employee of Partnership of East London Cooperatives (PELC), was suspended without pay after being accused of consuming and distributing illegal drugs. However, he had actually been taking Pro Plus – a caffeine supplement. An
A cohabiting couple whose relationship has broken down will walk away with an equal share of their £1m home due to a conversation they had in a pub. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving Claire Chipperfield, 52, and Andrew Horn, 58, who lived together for 15 years and have
UK house prices rose by an average 1.7% in the year to January but there were wide variations in different regions across the country. The House Price Index compiled by the Land Registry shows that although prices rose year on year, there was a fall of 0.8% from December 2018 to January 2019. The average
A mother should be allowed to keep her children with her in England even though she had detained them against their father’s will. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a family that had lived in both the UK and Australia. The mother, who was English and the father
The government is providing £500m to help housing associations build 11,000 affordable new homes, including some ‘rooftop’ properties. The funding boost will help the government towards its target of building 300,000 properties a year by the mid-2020s.The associations will have the freedom to spend the money on developments where it can have the biggest impact.
Cohabiting couples are being urged to draw up living together agreements to decide in advance how their assets should be divided if their relationship breaks down. The Law Society points out that unmarried cohabiting couples are the fastest growing type of family in the UK. Many of them assume they have the same legal rights
All private rented property agents must now sign up to a scheme protecting renters’ and landlords’ money. Under the new regulations that took effect on 1 April, all agents in the private rented sector are required to join a government-approved scheme to protect their clients’ money while it is in their possession – with fines