Articles

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.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

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.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

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.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

Our team of Solicitors consists of dedicated specialists and lawyers who deal with Employment law, Family law, Wills and Probate, Residential Conveyancing, Commercial law and Dispute Resolution. Each team has vast experience collectively and have wide, in-depth knowledge of all possible matters and disputes.

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.

Lawson-West Solicitors successfully established that a ‘freelance personal trainer’ for a UK wide gym franchise, had been an ‘employee’ in a claim under the Equality Act 2010.
The claim for disability discrimination arose from the Respondent’s termination of our Clients contract on the grounds of absence from work, which our Client says was caused by a medical condition amounting to a disability.

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.
Our conveyancing team, received this wonderful poem from a grateful client, it’s so good we wanted to share it with you.

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?

Use of Mediation in Resolving Litigation
This week marks “Mediation Awareness Week”, and so we thought that we would share with you our own views about the process of mediation in the context of litigation matters.

There has been a recent increase of people going to court for family law matters without instructing, or at least visiting, a Solicitor to gain professional legal advice about their case.

There have been many stories in the press of late, concerning the gig economy, but were you aware that foster carers are not classified as employees but as workers? This means they do not receive the benefits that employees do.

The Low Pay Commission recently carried out a report which concluded that it is women who are routinely paid less than the national minimum wage, and the main rationale behind this is because they are less likely to complain about it

The recent furore regarding the gender pay gap at the BBC has highlighted that, even in the biggest and most reputable organisations, there is still a way to go. It was notable that the best paid male BBC star earned 5 times what the best paid female star earned and that two thirds of the on-air high earners were men.

The newspapers have been filled with stories about Ryanair’s cancellation of over 2,000 flights affecting over 400,000 travellers. And, quite rightly, the emphasis of these stories is on the poor people who have had their flights cancelled or those who are stranded in their holiday destinations and are struggling to arrange flights home.
After proving a case of maternity discrimination, Lawson-West obtained an award of £10,000 for the Claimant’s injury to feelings award, which then increased by more than 50% to £15,332.19 because of uplifts and interest.
Director Vicky Jones is nominated in the Businesswoman of the Year category and Trainee Solicitor Phoebe Tranter is up for the Apprentice of the Year award.

Fibromyalgia is a form of chronic pain syndrome, the symptoms of which leave people with overwhelming pain, headaches, sleeplessness and depression. Managing such a condition at work can be challenging but you should not be placed at a disadvantage if you are a sufferer.

It is widely acknowledged that the continual changes in employment law have made it tougher for employers to stay well informed of their obligations. This in turn with the already hard hitting tribulations which come with running a business, have meant that more and more employers are faced with situations which can lead to upset and disgruntled employees with potential for an increase in Employment Tribunal Claims.