Archive for the: Blog Posts category

It was held that a tenant was not obliged to pay a service charge for heating, once a separate boiler had been installed. 

In the recent case of Saunderson v Cambridge Park Court Residents Association Limited Re: Cambridge Park Court [2018], the tenant (“T”) had a long lease in a block of flats, which had a communal heating system.

T had held the Lease since 1994 and had paid towards heating costs from that time.

The communal heating system was problematic and stopped altogether in 2008, when T’s flat ceased to have heating.

The Lease...

The case of Smith v Khan [2018] is a stark reminder to Landlords of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

The Landlord (K) in this case, granted an Assured Shorthold Tenancy to the Tenant (T) for a fixed term of 12 months commencing in June 2014. In March 2015, T, without telling anyone, travelled to Scotland to seek work leaving his wife (S) in occupation of the property. As K was concerned about the rent arrears, he gave S a letter purporting to give T notice to quit, on 1 April 2015.

S obtained advice that the notice was invalid, that she...

Barton v Wright Hassall LLP [2018], Reynard v Fox [2018] and Green v Mears [2018]

Three recent cases highlight that litigants in person are unlikely to be given any special allowances in litigation if they fail to comply with a rule or court order.

Baron v Wright Hassall LLP

Mr Barton brought a negligence claim against his former legal representatives as a litigant in person. He attempted to serve his claim form via email on the last day of a four month deadline. The defendant’s solicitors had not indicated that they would accept service via email and therefore service was invalid. The court...

An Employment Tribunal has awarded a Claimant £11,465.81 following the recent decision which found that the Respondent,  the optician chain ‘Scrivens’, unlawfully asked the Claimant to repay £11,000 in training fees incurred during her employment. The Employment Tribunal upheld claims for pregnancy and maternity discrimination, constructive dismissal, and unlawful deduction from wages.

The background to this case is that in 2010 the Claimant, Ms Walworth, entered into a Training Agreement with her Scrivens to allow her to gain the qualifications required to progress to a more senior role.

The Court of Appeal has held that a school was in breach of the Equality Act 2010 for dismissing a teacher who showed an inappropriate film (Halloween) to students as they believed that the error of judgment was unconnected to his disability. The teacher had cystic fibrosis, which did not affect his abilities as a teacher, but did require a significant exercise regime to help manage the condition. This was very time consuming for the teacher and meant he was less able to adapt to unforeseen increases in workload compared to others without the condition.

The case concerned a claim of...

A number of recent high profile cases has resulted in the issue of workplace dress codes being addressed by the Government.

The Government Equalities Office has published new non-statutory guidance for employers, who set dress codes, and employees and job applicants, who may have to abide by them: Dress Codes

The guidance is summarised as follows:

• A workplace dress code is a set of standards that employers develop about what is appropriate for employees to wear to work.

• Dress codes can be a legitimate part of an employer’s terms and conditions of employment.

• Dress policies for men and women...

What is a Shareholders Agreement?

A Shareholders Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Shareholders in a Company.

The Shareholders Agreement regulates how the Company is run, the relationship between the Shareholders and how the shares are to be held and protected.  Its purpose is to protect the Shareholder’s investment in the Company and establish a fair relationship between the Shareholders.

An agreement can provide for many eventualities and will contain specific important practical rules relating to the Company and the relationship between the Shareholders.

Why have a Shareholders Agreement?

When setting up a Company,...

1. Consider processing personal data in a way so that you can’t tell from looking at it which person it relates to. You would need additional information (a key or code) kept separately (and securely) to decode it. (Known as ‘pseudonymisation’.)
    
2. Think about whether some data can be anonymised. Do you really need to be able to identify the employee to use the data? For example, if you are processing information for research or statistics then you could probably anonymise it. We see this a lot in the public sector when data is collated for the purposes of equal opportunities.
    
3. Use...

There will be a relaxation of licensing hours on 18^th and 19^th May 2018 in recognition of the Royal Wedding.

The Home Secretary has permitted an extension of licensing hours of premises holding a licence for the sale of alcohol for sale on the premises only. The extension will run from :-

• 11pm Friday 18^th May until 1am Saturday 19^th May; and

• 11pm Saturday 19^th May until 1am on Sunday 20^th May 2018.

The relaxation also applies to late night refreshment but only where the premises is already licensed for the sale of alcohol and late night...