Welcome to the February edition of our newsletter, keeping you up to date with all the latest legal news.
UK Economy Suffers from December Snow
Rather than continuing to grow, the shock news from the Office of National Statistics is that there was a 0.5% reduction in the UK economy in the last quarter of 2010. The dip is being blamed on the weather disruption that affected the whole country at the back end of last year. You can protect your business by putting initiatives in place to reduce the impact that unexpected events could have on your business. Talk to us for guidance on putting a plan together.
Spotlight on Executors
There is a spotlight this month on the role and importance of the executors that you appooint in your Will. See the below link to the story detailing what can happen if the wrong choice of executor is made. The story also provides advice as to how to assist your executors in making the right decisions. We also highlight the announcement that the big four banks have agreed voluntarily to review their procedures for selling will drafting and executor services, which can prove to be much more costly than customers initially think. Click here to read the full article.
Work Experience Scheme Launched
If your business is in need of extra staff, it may be worth looking into a new work experience matching scheme. The scheme will match your needs with unemployed 18-21 year olds who are in search of work experience. This could be a win-win situation for both employers and young people, but remember that this scheme of course comes with many employment law stipulations so make sure you speak to us to understand your obligations as an employer.
A number of interesting snippets of news are below as usual, all of which plus much more can be read in full on our website. Have a great month!
Neves News
Peter Kelly and James Harvey from our Dispute Resolution department hosted a seminar this month in Luton dealing with the issues concerning Resiential Tenancies from start to finish. It provided useful guidance on how best to create the tenancies and how to end them, including serving notices and issuing Court proceedings for possession. The seminar was well attended by individuals and professionals and from the feedback that we have received it seems that those who attended obtained a wealth of information and assistance from both the formal element of the seminar and also the discussions that ensued over drinks and nibbles at the end! Peter and James are planning to repeat the seminar in Milton Keynes so watch out for more information on our website and future newsletters. |
Building Owner Must Indemnify Neighbour Against Damage When the owner of a building intends to carry out work covered by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 , the owner of an adjoining building has the right to request security from the owner planning the work where this involves a risk to their property. This is so...  |
Divorce Settlement Overturned by Insolvency Financial problems are one of the most common factors in family relationship breakdown, so divorce cases are not uncommonly carried on against a background of insolvency. A recent case shows the sort of problems that can arise. It... |
OFT Draft Guidance on Complying With Competition Law The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published two draft documents, on which it has recently held a consultation, aimed at helping businesses and company directors comply with competition law. The first document, How Your Business Can... |
Family Pay Price for Executor Appointment When appointing an executor, it is vital that you make sure you choose someone who is trustworthy. Where co-executors are appointed, it is important that they will all oversee the estate administration. The wisdom of an assiduous approach when deciding who... |
Trade Samples - VAT Treatment Change Following a ruling from the European Court of Justice, HMRC have accepted that all trade samples supplied are VAT-free. Therefore, if your business has paid tax on supplies used for trade samples, the VAT is recoverable through the usual methods. Tax law is fraught with complexity in the commercial world so contact us for advice. Full details on the change can be found on our website. |
Funny Bit at the End - Choose your biscuits wisely!  Here's an article we found that shows client relationship management taken to the extreme: What's your firm's biscuit etiquette? Obviously, this article is written with "tongue firmly in cheek", but there are firms out there that do operate on this sort of level (not us of course!).
Next time you are at a meeting; inspect the biscuits supplied to gain an insight into how they really feel about you. If they don't give you any biscuits at all then perhaps they don't think much of you after all! |
