As I was driving back home the other night I was listening to a debate between Jack Straw and a physiotherapist. An odd combination, I thought. As usual, the interviewer was keen to latch on sound-bites such as “There is no whiplash” and “that compensation culture” and so on. Between getting bored and frustrated with [...]
Comment and advice on the latest legal issues, and answers to some of the questions we are often asked…
Gas Servicing: Landlords be warned
Regulation 36(3) Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires a landlord to ensure that each gas appliance/flue be checked for safety within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months thereafter. Recently, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) successfully prosecuted a private landlord for failure to provide a [...]
Unfair dismissal qualifying period to increase – The law and my bathroom scales
I should have taken my own advice. Standing on the bathroom scales in the first week of the New Year, I had told myself, was not advisable in all the circumstances (those circumstances being a particularly merry Christmas indeed). The scales were not tipped in my favour. When employers find themselves embroiled in a dispute [...]
Time is running out for First Time Buyers
The clock is ticking for First Time Buyers who want to take advantage of the current exemption from stamp duty which was introduced in March 2010. At the moment, first time buyers have been exempt from paying any stamp duty on properties up to £250,000, but this will come to an end on 24th March [...]
Is a shared care arrangement best for children?
For years there have been arguments from different points of view; from individuals, parents groups, the judiciary and, not least, the Government. Not that the Government has one single view. Last week it was reported that ministers cannot agree on whether a law should be introduced to make shared care arrangements the norm when parents [...]
Accidents in the Workplace – The Good Old Days
According to HSE figures, 4.4 million working days were lost during 2010/2011 due to injuries in the workplace. Of course, in the good old days when most employees were members of a Trade Union, the local Trade Union Official would be notified and the Trade Union would pass on the details to the Trade Union-favoured [...]
