Insights: Legal Updates - March 2016

Thekla Fellas and Wayne Clark review a case that exposed flaws in the Electronic Communications Code and examine the proposed new code It is agreed by both practitioners and judges who deal with the Electronic Communications Code (the code) that it is unclear and provides little or no certainty for landlords or operators. There is […]

The recent decisions in CGL Group Limited v RBS[1] and Holmcroft Properties[2] could suggest that claims against banks are now struggling.  However, these decisions are just the initial skirmishes; other battles remain to be decided and there is an undeniable appetite and scope to continue with such claims. The rise of claims against banks Since […]

How should employers treat overtime and commission payments when calculating a worker’s holiday pay? The recent decision of the EAT in the case of British Gas v Lock provides a steer (albeit not a complete answer) to a question which has been circling employers and their legal advisers ever since the Court of Justice of […]

From 6 April 2016, virtually all UK incorporated companies (and LLPs, but in this blog I’ll refer to companies only) will have to maintain a register of individuals or entities who control them. As a result, individuals who either own, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares or voting rights of such companies, […]

Two-stage tendering is often identified as a tool which can be used to drive procurement efficiency.  Used appropriately and correctly, it offers clients the opportunity to get value for money whilst improving ‘buildability’ by engaging contractors at an early stage in the process. Despite the virtues of two-stage tendering being often cited, for many years […]

It is not uncommon for professional consultants such as architects, engineers, project managers (and even lawyers) to provide services for friends, contacts and clients free of charge.  We do this for a number of reasons, often with a view to securing profitable, fee earning work in the future.  However, a recent decision of the Technology […]

On 6 April 2016, the new “persons with significant control” (PSC) regime comes into effect. It is being introduced by way of changes to the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). From that date, UK companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) will be required to: take steps to identify the persons who have significant control over […]

The English courts have for many years actively encouraged litigants to explore alternative methods of resolving their disputes. This support for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) was at the heart of the Woolf reforms in the late 1990s and is now enshrined in the Civil Procedure Rules and the Pre-Action Protocols, as well as the various […]

In 1624, John Donne wrote “….No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less….”. It is thus perhaps fair to infer that Donne would have been an enthusiastic supporter of […]

The taxation of dividends is set to change in the new UK tax year beginning 6 April 2016. The 10% dividend tax credit will go, replaced by a new £5,000 dividend allowance that permits the first £5,000 of an individual’s dividend income to be taxed at 0%. Dividends will still sit as the top slice […]

“In the past, we have typically paid employees a bonus of £1,000 in January as a “thank you” for their efforts the previous year.  Pay reviews are carried out at the same time.  2015 was a difficult year for our business and we need to make some cut backs.  Can we avoid paying an annual […]

When tenants first acquired the right to extend their flat leases under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (Act), there was a perception that this was not as attractive as the other right created by the Act, to collectively acquire the freehold title to the building in which the flats are situated.  […]