Companies are entitled to protect their trading position by insisting that their former workers desist from joining competitors for a reasonable period after their departure. However, balancing such contractual rights against the liberty of workers to earn a living and…
Employers whose breaches of health and safety rules result in injury to workers are hit hard in the pocket – but, as with individuals, penalties levied are tailored to the seriousness of offences and ability to pay. In one case,…
Data published recently show that the new £100,000 additional 'private residence' exemption for Inheritance Tax (IHT), which is due to be introduced in April 2017 and will increase thereafter, could not come soon enough for many people. More than two…
When two football supporters travelling in a bus packed with fans made personal injury claims after the vehicle was involved in a collision, the result was a bill for them of more than £12,000. The two men claimed that they…
Many employers may be surprised to note that it is inherent in the Equality Act 2010 that the duty to make reasonable adjustments may require them to treat a disabled employee more favourably than others. The point was made in…
It is a fundamental tenet of the English legal system that those on the losing side in litigation are entitled to know the reasons for their defeat. In a case which underlined that principle, a teacher who was refused permission…
This summer’s hot weather raised the issue of the law regarding temperatures in the workplace. What is a suitable environment will depend on the nature of the activity. For example, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers recommends a temperature…
Returns on private sector pensions have been in the doldrums for a long time, and with interest rates (on which annuity rates depend) firmly stuck at historically low levels, an increasing number of people are unable to rely on their…
When an insurance company obtained evidence that a claimant had fraudulently misrepresented the extent of his injuries when making a personal injury claim, it took the case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to obtain a repayment. …
Four black Royal Mail employees who claimed that they had been victimised due to their race and treated less favourably than a white colleague have had their hopes of winning compensation boosted by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The four…
