Tougher regulation for banks and more protection for consumers: the crux of Alistair Darling’s crisis-preventing proposals for the reform of the financial system just announced early this month. So what’s involved in the Chancellor’s latest plans?
Well amongst other things, risk-taking and misconduct in banks and investment houses will be dealt with by reinforced FSA powers; consumer ‘risk alerts’ – like health warnings on tobacco and alcohol – will be slapped on financial products like pensions and mortgages; a bank-funded national money advice line for consumers will be on hand and there will be more rigid controls on small business overdraft charges. The Treasury, FSA and the Bank of England will form a ‘Council for Financial Stability’ to report on arising financial stability risks. Lots to take in for businesses and consumers alike. More info: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8138705.stm
Feeling better about the future yet? Perhaps these facts and figures will help swell the light at the end of the tunnel: a British Chambers of Commerce survey of 5,600 companies revealed "welcome progress" in confidence levels between April and June and for next year; UK top business lobby organisation the CBI has predicted a return to economical growth of 0.7% and the government has forecast the economy will grow by 1.25%. Getting better all the time? Let’s see.
Now on to this month's Firm news and reports from the legal world.
Firm News
On 29th June, team Neverland, being a mix of Landers the Accountants and Neves Solicitors, entered the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival. Unfortunately the Team peaked very early on, winning their first race, but failing to match this in subsequent heats. Team Neverland finally finished placed 44 out 57 entrants and being 7th out of the 13 mixed crews. A full report and photos of the days events can be found here. Thank you to all those that sponsored the team. Our current balance raised for the Keech Cottage Childrens Hospice is £255. We are pleased to update our sponsorship level for the MK Race for Life. The final total raised for Breast Cancer Charities was £1256. This month saw the passing of Stewart Matthews’ 10th Anniversary at Neves. Read Stewart’s account of 10 years as a local lawyer here. July seemed to be the month for exhibitions, with Neves being involved in two local initiatives. On Wednesday 15th July Peter Kelly, Stewart Matthews and James Harvey attended at the Luton Borough Council’s ‘Immunise your Business from the Recession’ event, where local banks, accountants and solicitors offered free advice to local businesses through short business clinics. Read more here. Further specialised seminars are being planned to take place after the summer. Dates and further information will be included on our website and in future newsletters. On Thursday 16 July Jane Joseph and a number of colleagues attended at the Harpenden House Hotel for the Harpenden Business Club’s Local Business Exhibition. The event ran from 11am until 8pm and produced a steady flow of visitors throughout the afternoon. It proved a good opportunity to meet and get to know local business owners and find out what they can all offer. Once again Beth Woodward and Mary McEvoy are involved in the Parenting after Parting initiatives being run by Relate. Further information on this scheme can be found here. Also Mary and Beth have recently attended a Collaborative Law Pod - find out more by clicking here! Neves have joined the online networking frenzy by opening a page in facebook. We also have pages on Twitter and LinkedIn!
Legal News
If you are considering the sensitive business of making redundancies then take some time to read through the various stories on our website. One in particular this month details a case concerning age discrimination when selecting candidates for redundancy. Rolls Royce plc argued that their trade union’s length of service criterion amounted to unlawful age discrimination against younger employees. However, the Court decided that the criterion respected the loyalty and experience of the older workforce and protected older employees from being forced onto the labour market at a time when they would find alternative employment hard to find. It’s an interesting read and one that proves the need for taking proper legal advice when contemplating redundancies. If you are, please contact us in strict confidence.
If temporary agency workers make up part of your workforce then it’s time for you to have your say on their equal treatment where basic working conditions are concerned. The Government is currently seeking opinion on the implementation of a new Directive on temporary agency work, which affords agency workers with 12 or more weeks service the same treatment as those who have been recruited directly. The article on our website provides further details together with a link to the consultation document. If you’d like to make your opinions known, you need to do so before 31 July 2009.
If your business deals with gypsum waste like plasterboard and plaster, then you’ll need to know about the changes to the law regarding its disposal which came in on 1 April 2009. Whereas before 1 April any waste containing less than 10% gypsum could be disposed of normally with biodegradable waste, now the rules have changed and anything containing gypsum that cannot be recycled must be deposited in a separate cell with non-biodegradable waste. More details can be found on our website this month.
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