Latest News

Tenant's Challenge to Service Charges Partly Successful

Tenants who are unhappy with the service charges they are asked to pay can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) for a determination of their liability to pay service charges. Recently, a tenant who made such an application succeeded in achieving...

Upper Tribunal Rules Doctor Was an Employee for Tax Purposes

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has concluded that a doctor who provided services to a hospital through a personal services company was an employee for tax purposes. The doctor had provided his services as a urologist to two hospitals through a company of which...

Taxpayer's Appeal Against Late Filing Penalties Rejected

Taxpayers should always ensure that they keep up to date with their tax affairs and obtain any assistance they need in meeting their obligations. This point was demonstrated in a recent case in which the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) dismissed a taxpayer's...

Family Court Revisits Periodical Payments Order Made in 2012

The Family Court recently ruled on a divorced couple's cross-applications for enforcement and variation of a periodical payments order originally made in 2012. The husband had been ordered to pay the wife £2,000 per month on a joint lives basis,...

Nurse Receives £41,000 Compensation for Constructive Dismissal

A nurse who was subjected to bullying behaviour by a colleague has succeeded in her claim of constructive unfair dismissal against the NHS trust she worked for ( Hamilton v Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust ). The nurse had begun working...

Deceased Man's Sons Granted Security for Costs in Estate Dispute

The courts have the power to order claimants to provide financial security to ensure that the defendants can recover their costs if the claim is unsuccessful. Recently, the sons of a deceased man sought security for costs from a woman from Thailand who...

Architectural Company Obtains Transfer of Similar Domain Name

If you discover that someone else has registered a UK domain name which is similar to your business's own name or trading style, you can make a complaint to Nominet UK through its Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). Recently, an architectural company succeeded...

Court of Appeal Authorises Child's Change of Name

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a 15-year-old child should be allowed to legally change their given name , overturning an earlier decision of the High Court. At the age of 12, the child had told their parents that they believed themselves to be...

Late Appeal Against Import Duty and VAT Demands Rejected

A case in which the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) refused a company permission to make a late appeal against demands for import duty and VAT serves as a warning to businesses to ensure they understand their potential liabilities and, if they wish to appeal a...

Supreme Court Rules on Meaning of Adverse Possession Condition

A person who is in adverse possession of registered land may apply to the Land Registry to be registered as its owner on the basis of ten years' adverse possession of it, ending on the date of the application. If the application is opposed by the existing...

EAT Rejects Unauthorised Deduction from Wages Claim

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has rejected an appeal against the dismissal of an employee's complaint that unauthorised deductions had been made from his wages because he did not receive an additional day's pay or a day off in lieu when he worked on...

Income Tax Rates and Allowances for 2025/26

The Income Tax rates and allowances for the 2025/26 tax year are largely unchanged from the 2024/25 year. The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you begin to pay Income Tax – remains at £12,570. It reduces by £1 for...

Landlord Granted Dispensation from Consultation Requirements

Under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 , where a landlord undertakes qualifying works with a cost of more than £250 per lease without consulting the leaseholders, the contribution from each leaseholder will be limited to that sum....

Court Grants Application to Recognise Indian Divorce

The Family Court has granted a husband's application for a divorce he obtained in India to be recognised by the English courts . The husband and wife were both Indian nationals who now had British citizenship. They had married in India in 2010 and had...

Court of Appeal Rules on 'Salaried Members' LLP Tax Case

The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in a case which clarifies how the test of whether members of a limited liability partnership (LLP) have significant influence over its affairs for the purpose of determining whether they are 'salaried...

Supermarket Chain Fails to Have Trade Mark Declared Invalid

The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has rejected a supermarket chain's application for summary judgment on its claim that a trade mark it was accused of infringing was invalid. A company claimed that the supermarket chain had infringed a trade mark...

Partner Battles Estranged Wife for Share of TV Producer's Estate

A TV producer's partner who was left nothing in his will has commenced High Court proceedings seeking financial provision from his estate. The producer passed away in 2019, at the age of 58. He had been in a long-term relationship with his partner and had...

HSE Encourages Employers to Tackle Workplace Stress

As part of its Working Minds campaign, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has called on employers to support workers' mental health during Stress Awareness Month. Employers are encouraged to focus on one of the campaign's five Rs for each week of April....

Court Authorises NHS Trusts to Carry Out Planned Caesarean

The Court of Protection recently granted an application by two NHS trusts for authorisation to carry out a planned caesarean in respect of a woman who was due to give birth. The 29-year-old woman had treatment resistant paranoid schizophrenia. She had...

Declaration of Non-Parentage Voided Parental Responsibility

In a case in which a man was named as a girl's father on her birth certificate but was subsequently discovered not to be her biological father, the High Court has ruled that the effect of a declaration of non-parentage was to render his acquisition of...
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