Resources

At the end of April the Government published the Equality Bill. The bill’s most discussed provision, however, which would have required employers to publish the differences between male and female earnings, will only be enforced if too few firms with over 250 employees do not voluntarily publish such details by 2013.

As we all know, the Cabinet has agreed that the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29 April 2011 will be marked by a public holiday.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 contains procedures allowing people affected by high hedges to take action. However, a successful outcome isn’t a given. There are a variety of complex issues that will determine whether there is anything you can do.

If you are considering buying a property, do consider recent changes in the law in this area. For those buying a commercial lease a recent case of landlord who informed a tenant he intended to redevelop a property and then later changed his mind was liable for damages.

When is a company insolvent? This is not just as academic question. It can be illegal to trade whilst insolvent and in the current difficult economic times, this is a crucial question for many of our local clients.

The takeover of HBOS by Lloyds and nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley, as well as other well publicised institutions in financial difficulties, emphasise the importance of knowing your legal rights.

Many legal documents are not signed at all. Most terms of business are simply sent out and incorporated into a contract between the parties. However, sometimes a signature is required and here people can get into difficulties.

Plenty of employees get the law wrong and the employer picks up the tab in areas as far apart as health & safety and data protection. Companies can only operate through employees and are responsible in most cases for what employees do. In a ground breaking case, Safeway has sued personally former employees and directors for alleged breach of the competition rules.

In March, the court looked at termination of contracts in a case which could be very important in many other contract termination situations. Shell failed to recover $15 million as the termination of the agreement was not done in the matter in which the court felt it ought to have been done.

Local clients often find themselves badly treated by retailers. Now they might be in line for a better deal. The Office of Fair Trading has published guidelines for retailers. These come with an online tool to be used by retailers to ensure that they are dealing properly with consumers returning or buying goods.