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The standby arrangements for Belgium’s volunteer firefighters are set to cause new headaches for employers with workers who are paid flat rates for time on-call or when sleeping in the workplace, with a judgement that will affect companies across the...

International payment processor Visa is launching a platform to allow banks to integrate biometric security that will use selfies, fingerprints or voice records to approve purchases in the drive against fraud. In the first six months of 2017, over...

When thinking of making a will, the idea of a Victorian lawyer taking down the last instructions at the bedside still springs to mind for many people.  And the 19th century lawyer would find things pretty much as they were if they time travelled to...

The BBC found itself in a media storm last month, following the publication of salaries paid to its highest-earning stars, which revealed that only one-third of its 96 top earners were women, and the top seven were all men. Since then, staff at the Financial...

Enthusiasm for small enterprise is seeing increasing numbers trying to make it as entrepreneurs and inventors, whether alongside the day job, bringing up children, or even school work.  Recently that’s included a five-year-old girl who was...

Businesses have new deadlines to comply with regulations around transparency of ownership from this month, under the so-called PSC regime.  The move is happening as part of the implementation of the EU Fourth Money Laundering Directive (4MLD) which must...

Understanding of mental health issues is high on the agenda, thanks to the involvement of the younger members of the Royal family in the Heads Together awareness campaign which has seen the # oktosay hashtag trending. Their activity gave an extra boost...

New regulations designed to help small businesses get paid on time came into force this month, with a requirement for larger companies to publish information about how long they take to pay suppliers.  The requirement affects companies and LLPs who...

Record numbers of inheritance disputes are going through the courts as modern family structures and rising house prices push more families to contest unfavourable outcomes.   Two recent cases which have seen families losing out after legal action...

Record numbers of inheritance disputes are going through the courts as modern family structures and rising house prices push more families to contest unfavourable outcomes.   Two recent cases which have seen families losing out after legal action...

The first steps towards preparing the UK for a post-Brexit future were announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his Spring Budget, which avoided headline-grabbing shake-ups and tax breaks in favour of economic stability.   In the run-up to the...

By tax / inheritance specialist Ella Nicholson with Nicholsons Solicitors: As the end of the tax year approaches, it’s a good time to make sure you’re maximising your opportunities for inheritance tax reliefs.  This year, as well as taking...

A landmark victory in the Supreme Court has seen a Northern Ireland woman win a share of her former partner’s pension, with commentators saying it’s likely to add impetus to the drive for greater rights for unmarried couples.  But, in the...

Constant changes and increasing complexity have helped make employment law a frontline challenge for business and this year looks set to continue the trend.  The first weeks of January saw Maggie Dewhurst, a bike courier with City Sprint, winning...

The family-focus of Christmas is often followed in January with news of unhappy couples who decide to call it quits, leading to so-called Divorce Day , as family lawyers receive a surge of enquiries when they re-open after the break.   And as...

The Bribery Act ushered in a stricter anti-corruption regime when it came into force in 2011 and although Christmas gifts and hospitality are not banned, it’s important that companies don’t splash out and end up in deep water with over-generous...

As the countdown to the festive season gets underway, employers juggling the pre-Christmas workload need to ensure workers are enabled to take their rest breaks. The warning comes after an employer was found to have failed to take the necessary steps to...

The first steps towards preparing the UK for a post-Brexit future were announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his Autumn Budget statement, with a focus on lower income households and business tax avoidance.   The new Chancellor announced a...

Experts across the world are focusing on property laws and how they will stand up to the shift to augmented reality gaming, following on from the global success of Pokémon Go.  Businesses who found themselves inadvertently hosting the...

In the same week that fashion entrepreneur Karen Millen was told she could not use her own name in business, Specsavers were given the green light to trademark the word should’ve on the grounds that it had become eponymously linked to the retailer...

The world is on track for the hottest year since records began according to NASA, and scorching temperatures look to set to return to the UK with 30°C forecasts for late August. For those heading to work, rather than the seaside, they may be asking...

Ride hailing app Uber has won attention for revolutionising the taxi business worldwide, but is now grabbing headlines for different reasons, following legal action by drivers claiming workers’ rights.  The GMB Union brought the action on...

A major milestone in EU data protection law was marked when the General Data Protection Regulation came into force just before the EU Referendum.  A huge piece of legislation that was set to replace the UK’s 1998 Data Protection Act...

Landlords looking to terminate a lease have received a blunt reminder of what it takes to serve a valid break notice after a legal battle reached the High Court.  The ruling in  Vanquish Properties (UK) Limited Partnership –v- Brook Street...

When celebrities divorce, it makes for big headlines. Since Johnny Depp and Amber Heard announced their intention to split a few weeks ago, the most private aspects of their life together has been played out in public and open for examination by the media...