Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
In a recent clampdown by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) 15 South West businesses were fined over £100,000 as a result of 28 illegal workers being discovered.
The latest tough action described above follows a significant number of prosecutions around the country, clearly signalling that the Border Agency will be active in pursuing these matters and that the amount of fines imposed will be significant.
Perhaps a small proportion of those employing illegal workers are unaware that the individuals are actually illegal workers but even in that circumstance, ignorance of the law will not constitute a defence which in turn means that it is vital to have good employer employment law advice. Do not take any chances in this area or regarding any other aspect of employment law, as the consequences, in both time, costs and stress for an employer facing an employment law problem are simply not worth it. We can advise and assist in this area, so please get in touch to discuss further.
Tags: employment law, employment lawyers
Posted June 7th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
What happens if your home is unoccupied and is burgled or you need to make a different kind of claim on your home insurance policy ?
It is also easy to forget in a period of emotional strain that when a loved one dies, a house can be left empty for significant periods after the death of the owner or prior to sale.
More and more of us are away from our homes for increasing amounts of time whether due to being away on work or for other reasons. We all know that insurers will rely on technicalities wherever possible to avoid paying out for insurance claims, so it is now important to check the terms of any insurance policy, they do vary and it is all too easy to assume that such policies are all completely standard.
Some insurance policies contain clauses which avoid cover if a property is not occupied for over 30 days, a period which can easily be exceeded. This may be extended by agreement with prior notice and extra cost.
The last thing you want is to become involved in any kind of protracted dispute with an insurance company and always be wary of going to court against an insurance company, they have deep pockets and tactics and economic strength will always be a significant feature of any court dispute.can also apply
Tags: insurance, insurance law, solicitors in manchester
Posted June 3rd, 2011 in Uncategorized |
As readers may know cookies from websites are a vital source of information and data about visitors and this is gold dust for marketeers who rarely if at all on any other media can get such in-depth data to assist and tailor marketing drive and spend. however, there is a downside since this can amount to an intrusion of privacy and result in annoying adverts and pop ups appearing on websites based on your previous browsing habits and many people using the internet are unaware all of this is happening.
So, the law is being changed throughout Europe by virtue of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) amendment) Regulations 2011 which is now in effect. As with any legal changes this huge, it will probably take several years to gauge the degree of compliance and the appetite for enforcement of this law.
We say this because the experience of data protection law is that the resources needed for meaningful investigation and enforcement are potentially so huge that most businesses have made a tactical decision that they won't be subject to enforcement.
We would obviously recommend that businesses do comply with this new law. If you need more information or advice about an intellectual property issue or commercial law generally, please do get in touch.
Tags: ecommerce law, ip law, lawyers, solicitors
Posted June 2nd, 2011 in Uncategorized |
Charity Trustees have been reminded of the need to be aware of the possibility that their charity may be used for financial crime, with the National Fraud Authority estimating that annual losses to charities due to financial crime amount to more than 2 per cent of total income.
As the Charity Commission points out, ‘trustees have a legal duty and responsibility under charity law to protect the funds and other property of their charity so that it can be applied for its intended beneficiaries. They must also comply with the general law (and overseas law where applicable) including in relation to the prevention of fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing.’
The Charity Commission has therefore prepared a list of ‘ten top tips’ for charity trustees to ensure they are aware of the possibility and take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of financial crime.
These are as follows.
- Review your financial controls at appropriate intervals and do so critically, keeping them up to date. Just because you have not been a victim of fraud, do not assume that it will never happen;
- Segregate duties – do not allow one or two people to be in charge of all aspects of your charity’s financial controls without any checks being made;
- Make sure all of the separate parts of the financial records agree with each other. Always ask for and keep receipts. Reconciling bank statements with invoices, receipts, purchase and payment authorisations will often help to identify fraud at an early stage, and may discourage potential fraudsters;
- Never weaken your financial security for the sake of short cutting or time saving. For example, do not pre-sign blank cheques, even if a second signature is required. Doing so reduces your cheque security by 50 per cent –or, to put it another way, doubles the risk;
- Keep lists or registers of valuable fixed assets and key charity property, and periodically inspect them;
- Ensure that electronic or online banking arrangements are secure and are protected with dual-level authorisation;
- When recruiting staff – especially those who handle the charity’s finances – make appropriate background checks and take up references;
- If your charity makes grants to beneficiaries or other organisations, carry out appropriate due diligence checks on applicants. Guidance on this can be found at ‘know your beneficiaries’;
- Ensure that as trustees you receive and consider regular reporting information about the charity’s finances. If you are a trustee or manager, make sure that you understand the financial summaries and reports that are presented to you, and if you do not, ASK for an explanation that you CAN understand; and
- If you suspect or become aware of fraud, make sure that you know what to do and who to inform. Make sure it is part of the culture of your charity. Prompt and appropriate action will help to protect your charity and limit any financial damage.
If you have concerns about how a charity of which you are the trustee is being run, contact us for advice or visit this other resource.
Tags: charity law, solicitors manchester, trustees
Posted May 24th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
A recent decision of the European Court of Justice will come as good news for hard-pressed hoteliers and has led to HM Revenue and Customs issuing new guidance on deposits.
The decision confirms that there is no relationship between a deposit taken and the supply of a standard-rated service. Accordingly, therefore, where a deposit has been taken for a hotel booking and retained because the person making the booking is a ‘no-show’, there is no need to account for VAT on the deposit.
However, if the deposit is made for a specific room which is therefore kept vacant, the supply remains one on which VAT is due.
Hotel owners can reclaim VAT overpaid as a result for the past four years only. In addition, hoteliers will want to consider their terms and conditions to ensure they are VAT efficient.
Tags: european law, solicitor, vat
Posted May 24th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
Time to get back into the buy-to-let market ?
With fewer and fewer individuals able to afford to buy a property and the cloud of economic uncertainty seemingly getting worse rather than better, this creates opportunities for landlords in the buy to let properties market and lenders can also see the opportunities so are lending a bit more, but the criteria adopted are still tight and borrowers generally need to have a sizable deposit to put down and to show a history and track record with some credibility.
Most lenders willing to make offers will only consider loaning a maximum of 75% for loan-to-value. So, it is worth getting the right team around you if you are a buy-to-let investor top demionstrate your track record and credibility and the right legal team and accountants can really help in this respect.
For advice on any aspect of commercial property law or residential property law and conveyancing, contact us and find out how we can assist.
Tags: buy to let, law firm manchester, property law
Posted May 22nd, 2011 in Uncategorized |
When a family is being housed, the provision of separate, self-cont
ained flats with no common living areas does not mean that accommodation had been made available such that the members of the applicant’s family could ‘reside together’ in the ordinary meaning of the phrase.
Tags: property law, property solicitors manchester
Posted May 19th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
It is important for company directors, even when it comes to small companies, to take company law responsibilities seriously and this can start with the small things such as keeping the shareholder register up-to-date because failing to do so can have consequences. There are other responsibilities for directors which are also important and director duties are now encoded in the Companies Act 2006.
Returning to the issue of the companies register, a failure to maintain the shareholder register cam mean that on a transfer og shares where the new shareholder is not recorded in the register, that person or legal entity, in law, will not have entitlements to vote at meetings or exercise other shareholder rights.
For additional corporate law assistance get in touch.
Tags: company law, corporate lawyers manchester, shareholders
Posted May 17th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
The number of businesses in the UK which are suffering from ‘significant’ or ‘critical’ financial problems on the first quarter of 2011 has risen to 186,000, according to a report by insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor. This is an increase of 26 per cent over the figure for the third quarter of 2010 and is 15 per cent more than the same quarter in 2010.
Another report shows a 4 per cent jump in the number of retail businesses at ‘high risk’ of insolvency and there has also been a 15 per cent increase in the number of retails using company voluntary arrangements compared with 2010.A
report by accountants PwC also revealed an increase of more than 12 per cent in corporate insolvencies with retailing the worst-hit sector.
Things are tough in retailing and the building industry was recently identified as having had a particularly bad winter.
For advice on managing your trade risk, contact us.
Tags: business problems, business risk, lawyers, solicitors
Posted May 16th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
There has, since its inception, been a great deal of confusion regarding the ‘double Inheritance Tax (IHT) nil rate band’ legislation – whereby the unused proportion of the IHT nil rate band of the first of a couple to die is passed to the second: this is termed the ‘transferable nil rate band’ (TRNB).
One of the problems stems from those cases in which the estate of the first deceased merely passed across to their spouse and the formal documentation relating to the estate was either not prepared or not retained.
HM Revenue and Customs have attempted to make the use of the TRNB simpler by issuing a new code of practice which allows an estate making use of a transferred TRNB to be an ‘excepted estate’ provided certain conditions are met.
In practice, this will simplify the administration of many estates. However, there are still conditions which may cause difficulties for many people, such as the conditions that the first deceased must have:
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been domiciled for IHT purposes in the UK at the date of death; and
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not have owned foreign assets (i.e. a holiday home) worth more than £100,000 at the date of death.
The guidance can be found at
Tags: iht, inheritance, solicitors in manchester, tax
Posted May 13th, 2011 in Uncategorized |
