Insights: Legal Updates - July 2017

Neal Todd, a partner at Fladgate LLP, goes over what the Great Repeal Bill could mean for direct taxation, as the UK exits the EU Whatever aspects of life the electorate thought they were bringing back under control by voting to leave the European Union in last year’s referendum, it is hard to believe that […]

Following a number of recent high profile accidents, the issue of health and safety in the themed entertainment industry continues to be under close scrutiny. Indeed, there is recognition that work remains to be done to satisfy the high health and safety standards that the public clearly expects.  Unfortunately, there are some common, but avoidable, […]

Step-in rights can help to keep a project on the rails if it becomes distressed – but how effective are they? A common feature of collateral warranties or third-party rights is a right for the beneficiary (often a funder) to ‘step in’ and take over the developer’s rights as employer of a building contractor or […]

Given that most high-profile competition law actions tend to involve the decisions of large-scale regulators following heavily-protracted investigations (such as the recent seven-year EU commission investigation into Google’s online shopping offering), small businesses and consumers could be forgiven for thinking that redress in competition law is not a realistic proposition. It was, however, with this […]

Chester Zoo fell victim to a type of fraud called ‘invoice hijacking’, where fraudsters intercept correspondence between two parties that have an existing contractual relationship and invoice the target for services that have actually been rendered. Chester Zoo had engaged Laing O’Rourke to carry out construction works for a safari experience valued at approximately £17 […]

When a tenant decides to take a lease of new premises they are usually eager to get the deal “done and dusted”. Having been in contact with an agent throughout negotiations it’s usually second nature for the deal to be passed to a tenant’s lawyers with instructions “to get the deal done ASAP”. A well […]

The UK Court of Appeal has recently provided some limited guidance on the fine line between using a brand legitimately to explain to the public the service that a company provides, and using a brand as a means of misleading the public into believing it is somehow linked to, or authorised by, the brand in […]

Background The Prospectus Regulation (Regulation) was published in the EU Official Journal on 30 June 2017. This was the final step in a process, initiated in early 2015 by the EU Commission, of reviewing the existing prospectus regime with a view to helping smaller companies grow whilst at the same time protecting investors, as part […]

When the Civil Procedure Rules introduced cost budgeting requirements for all but the highest value claims in 2014, a certain amount of speculation arose as to whether parties might be able to use tactical figures in their own cost budgets to manoeuvre themselves into a more favourable costs position compared to their opponent. The significance […]

Cohabiting couples were the fastest growing family type between 1996 – 2016 in the UK, more than doubling in numbers from 1.5 million families to 3.3 million families[1]. This trend shows little sign of abating. Yet contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a “common law marriage”. Despite more and more people […]

Managing CIS obligations is essential for contractors – but the devil is in the detail. The Construction Industry Scheme regime was introduced under the Finance Act 2004 to regulate tax on payments between contractors and subcontractors for construction work. It requires subcontractors to be registered with HMRC to receive payments gross (ie without deduction of […]

The gender pay gap (i.e. the difference in pay received by women compared to men) has been monitored by the Office for National Statistics since 1997.  The 2016 results showed that women who worked full time were paid 9.4% less on average than their male counterparts.  The overall gender pay gap was 18.1% – though […]