Blog Articles
With the first school holiday of 2018 having already taken place, and the Easter break approaching quickly, many parents may be planning their next holiday with their children. But, when parents have separated this may not be an easy task. Consideration needs to be given to how much time the children will spend with each parent which can often lead to disagreements.
Approaching your employer when you have been suffering with endometriosis is a daunting prospect. Apart from coping with the pain itself, getting across what you are actually suffering from can be difficult, if not impossible.
Starting at the beginning is the best option so you understand the condition and can then help your employer to understand too.
These days, Wills and Estate Planning is about much more than simply ‘who do I wish to inherit once I’m no longer around’. There is a lot to think about, and it can often involve some tough decisions. At Lawson-West, we understand this, and have tailored our Wills and our procedures to what we feel is important to our clients.
So what does having a Will with Lawson-West mean?
MEES (short for Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) originate from the Energy Act 2011. They help the Government in meeting carbon reduction targets. The better the insulation and heating systems, the less amount of heating and energy will be required and therefore, reducing the carbon footprint.
If you own a business or shares in a business, then you might wish to consider planning now and writing your Will in a tax efficient manner to help minimise Inheritance Tax.
There are several ways you can beat Inheritance Tax by giving away assets, setting up a trust or changing your Will. Make sure you pay close attention to the legal details and tax consequences and if you are unsure of anything, one of Lawson West's Wills and Probate solicitors can help you out.
Britain has been thrown into complete chaos as the 'Beast from the East' together with Storm Emma continues to cause havoc across much of the country. With many people unable to get to work, what impact does the adverse weather have on an employee's rights?
At Lawson-West our Employment team are extremely knowledgeable about employee's rights, so if you need advice about the disruptions the weather has caused you, contact us today and find out how we can help.
The annual update to employment tribunal limits has been released and from 6 April 2018 will increase.
Our employment team at Lawson-West have dealt with many employment tribunals in the past and have a vast amount of knowledge to be able to advise you on how to make a claim successfully.
The latest and seemingly final edition of the long running battle between Gary Smith and Pimlico Plumbers was deliberated in the Supreme Court last week. For a breakdown of the preceding Court of Appeal decision see here: http://www.lawson-west.co.uk/articles/pimlico-plumbers-b0576a93-ee94-4d10-b75c-f58aedc8eb8d. The finding of worker status was based on the lack of an effective right to substitution and the level of control that was exerted by Pimlico.
If you are a tenant in a former council property that has been transferred to housing association ownership, or a council tenant, you may be eligible to purchase your home at a discounted rate. Known as Right to Buy.
By instructing Lawson-West to deal with your divorce or separation you know that you are going to receive the very best legal advice and representation from a team with a combined 50 years’ experience.
At Lawson-West we understand the sensitive nature of divorce and separation, especially when children are involved. Despite a divorce ultimately being between two people, we believe where children are involved they must come first.
Depending on the age of the child, their awareness of the situation and understanding of the outcome is going to vary massively. Trying to get your own head around what is happening might seem difficult enough, but you must remember the children are equally affected by what is going on too and you need to put their needs first.
With most mortgage lenders requiring a minimum of 70 years left on the Lease at the date of completion, you may wish to address the issue of extending your Lease before is becomes a necessity.
Lease terms which have been left to decrease can cause owners severe headaches when they come to sell or mortgage their property. If left until a sale or mortgage is required, the burden of additional costs and time will be added to what is already considered a stressful situation. The sale price of the property is also likely to decrease in line with the risk of purchasing a short term lease.
At Lawson-West we can help you and your organisation to understand the importance of pregnancy and maternity rights within the workplace.
Often individuals suffer from multiple complaints that could in essence be considered as a Disability in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. Recently, colour blindness has been determined within the Employment Tribunal as an impairment, but the Claimant’s red-green colour blindness could not be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Cases such as this could leave many wondering whether or not they have the right to make a disability claim.
A Will is a document that you create, and it details who is to benefit from your estate on your death. A Will is a document that should ideally be drawn up by a solicitor. This is due to the potential complications that can arise from homemade Wills. These include invalidity, unclear instructions and accidental beneficiaries. It is highly recommended that you see a solicitor, especially if you have more than one beneficiary in your Will.
Equal pay for equal work and equal pay for work of equal value. These are the two key concepts that underpin UK legislation in regard to pay equality.
They are things that sound simple, but the latter point about work of equal value is where the controversy and confusion arises. What is work of equal value is a question that is being argued in a number of high profile recent cases, involving such mammoth employers as the BBC, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
A new Government scheme is managing partial refunds to people who were overcharged when paying the registration fee/s for Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) between 1/4/2013 and 31/3/2017.
The breakdown of a relationship isn’t something people really want to think about, but with 42% of marriages ending in divorce, this is a reality for a lot of people.
If the worst was to happen, and you and your partner were unable to reconcile, the next step is seeking advice and finding a solution that is best for you.
Alistair Dobson, head of the Lawson-West Family department, has provided some advice for things to consider before instructing a Solicitor.
The Court of Protection and its powers is an area I am advising clients on more and more. I was recently asked to dispel some common urban myths surrounding the Court of Protection for the benefit of my colleagues, and I realised that there were no urban myths because the Court of Protection was not common knowledge.
In December 2017 the Law Commission announced that one of its consultation areas would be Chancel Repair Liability.
What is Chancel Repair Liability?
It is a legal obligation on some property owners in England and Wales to pay for certain repairs to a local church. Homeowners have found themselves with a large bill to pay for repairs, under a medieval law which dates back to the time of Henry VIII.
The deadline for private and volunteer sector companies with 250 or more employees have until 4th April 2018 to publish their first gender pay gap reports.
The process of making a Will does not have to be as complicated as you may think. Don’t think of it as morbid instead think about it as another insurance policy or as making provision for the future.
Workers who are aged18 and over are entitled to 3 types of break - rest breaks at work, daily rest and weekly rest.
The growing price of property has resulted in 1 in 6 newly divorced couples having to continue living in the same house – a figure that has increased since 2014 when it was 1 in 10.
A recent case that was heard at an Employment Law Tribunal awarded a former restaurant worker nearly £9,000 to compensate for the discrimination she faced at work and the lack of professionalism shown by management when she raised a grievance.
We recently had an enquiry from a client who is a 50% shareholder, director and employee with her business partner in a company. Although the relationship was good when the company was formed two years ago, it has since turned acrimonious, both parties have separate goals and aspirations for the business and are not on speaking terms.
Today (Monday 8th January) is the day coined ‘Divorce Day’ by the media. This essentially means that this is the day people are most likely to make the call to a law firm or carry out internet research in order to find out more about the process of divorcing or separating from their spouse or partner.
The revised Electronic Communications Code, now known as The Digital Economy Act, came into effect on the 28th December 2017, it changes the rights under the Telecommunications Act 1984.
As well as being disruptive, the passenger also reportedly breached the airlines terms. This case highlights the importance of reading the small print and making sure you fully understand any terms and conditions that you have entered into be it in a business transaction or social pursuits.
The amount of paternity pay new fathers are eligible to claim could change forever depending on the result of an Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case is being bought by a father who took paternity leave after his wife was advised to return to work after being diagnosed with postnatal depression after the birth of their daughter.
There is a story in the news today (19/12/17) that has revealed there are properties in certain UK cities and towns that require a fairly low deposit meaning it is easier for first time buyers to get on the property ladder – and one of these places is North West Leicestershire.
The Purpose of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is to give the legal authority to a person/s of your choice (called your Attorney(s)) allowing them to make important financial decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity and are unable to make these decisions yourself.
A Freedom of Information request to local authorities revealed child employment permit requests have dropped 1/5th in five years. 23,071 were issued in 2016 compared to 29,498 in 2010.
When the former dance partner of a 70 year old Berkshire woman passed away, she expected to receive a large pay out from his Will as they had lived together as ‘man and wife’ for over seven years.
Whether it's Christmas holidays, summer holidays or any other holiday time, for separated parents making arrangements to spend time with their children can prove to be very difficult. It is important to try and make these arrangements as soon as possible in the run up to any holiday period.
Finally the Chancellor spreads some of his pre-Christmas cheer on first time buyers! During yesterday’s 2017 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor Philip Hammond axed stamp duty for first time buyers who are purchasing properties up to £300,000.
Anyone buying a house needs the money to pay for it, however, for us as experienced Conveyancers, we have the important task of making sure we know exactly where the deposit is coming from when you are buying a property.
You’ve just had an offer accepted on your dream home which has taken months to pick. It can sometimes be even harder to select the best Conveyancer to complete your purchase or sale. At Lawson-West, we have offices in Leicester, Market Harborough and Wigston, meaning you have the benefit of instructing a Solicitor within your local area.
Adding to the Lawson-West catalogue of seminars and events, we ran a mock employment tribunal on November 9th at our Leicester office.
The meeting room area was set up to replicate a court room setting and three barristers from London firm The 36 Group were in attendance too, with one acting as a Judge.
Lawson-West Solicitors in Leicester, Market Harborough and Wigston prepare many Wills each year for clients. As part of our service we provide free Will registration with Certainty which is a national Will database endorsed by the Law Society.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that Uber’s appeal against the decision to class its drivers as workers rather than self employed has failed.
The Office of National Statistics has released figures for the amount of couples getting divorced in England and Wales in 2016 and recorded that rates have increased for the first time in a decade.
Here is something I guarantee you have not previously considered - what happens to your social media accounts when you pass away? Making your Will is an ideal time to think about your ‘online self’ alongside your ‘real’ assets and preparing for times when you are no longer around.
Recently, the charity Maternity Action have released a report on the impact of unfair redundancies on pregnant women and new mothers. The report calls on the Government to act urgently on its commitment to review redundancy protection, which was made in January 2017 but is yet to be acted upon.
I recently read an article entitled ‘you’d have to be mad to marry in later life’ where the author pointed out that marriage in your later years would most likely disinherit your children, cause family disputes and result in costly solicitor fees to sort out your estate. She cited ‘inheritance tax laws being so complicated’ as a reason not to remarry, and, after quoting all of these reasons, stated that later marriages are a ‘late-life lunacy’.
When thinking about our assets, most of us make a list of those things that we know are valuable: our homes, our bank accounts, perhaps our shares in companies and our pension pots, but do we think about those not so apparent assets?
The Supreme Court decision on 26th July 2017 declared Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal fees unlawful and abolished them with immediate effect but what does this mean practically for employers?
A former senior vice president is taking his employment discrimination case to the court of appeal after previous hearings at an Employment Tribunal and an Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case revolves around whether it is fair for an employee to be dismissed for refusing to co-operate in workplace discrimination against them.
Nearly three months after employment tribunal fees were abolished, the government has today revealed the scheme to refund those who were incorrectly charged.
When news about the collapse of the Monarch airline broke, it came out of the blue. Holiday makers were stranded; people waiting to go away had to make alternative arrangements and the issues did not stop there, what about the staff?
