The complexity and length of the tendering process for government contracts has for many years operated as a significant deterrent for small businesses that might otherwise wish to compete for lucrative public sector contracts. Recognising this issue, the...
With an increasingly peripatetic workforce, more and more people are finding that the issue of their fiscal residence has a significant effect on their tax position. The response to this in the UK has been that tax legislation surrounding residence has been...
Employers are not currently required to give paid leave to grieving parents. Section 57A(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the right to take a reasonable amount of time off to take action which is necessary for dependants – for...
A great many companies depend on patents for their profitability, and doubts over ownership of intellectual property (IP) rights can put their very survival in jeopardy. This point was illustrated in a case that concerned a number of patents in respect of...
It has been revealed that the widely reported case last March in which a wife was not granted a divorce from her husband because she could not demonstrate that his behaviour had been unreasonable will be decided by the Supreme Court. Under English law,...
Although a worryingly high proportion of the population never make a will, a fairly large number of those who do make more than one. It is sensible to make a new will or add codicils to an existing will if your circumstances change significantly. However,...
The United Kingdom has very favourable Inheritance Tax (IHT) treatment for the owners of business assets used in a trade and, in general, the value of these will be outside the charge to IHT on death provided certain criteria are met. The IHT relief...
Giving away your assets to the next generation before your death can be an effective means of minimising Inheritance Tax (IHT) liabilities. However, as one tribunal case showed , such gifts have to be absolute and bring you no personal benefit in order to...
Making the right decisions in the immediate aftermath of a breach of contract is of critical importance and, at such knife-edge moments, legal advice is essential. That point could hardly have been more clearly made than by a High Court case concerning an...
There is a tendency to think that procedural matters are mere formalities and there is no need to be in a rush to dot the i's and cross the t's, but sometimes failing to deal with them promptly can cause significant problems, as a recent case involving a...
