Tenant Fees Bill receives Royal Assent

On 12 February 2019, the Tenant Fees Bill 2017-19 received Royal Assent and became the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The Act will come into force on 1 June 2019 for new and renewal leases and Read more…

Pressure to use airspace builds up

A potential way of dealing with the lack of development land space in urban areas is not to build on land but its airspace. Anne Wright and Avi Barr discuss the construction and legal implications developers should Read more…

Property Law In-House Training

No area of law is static and businesses and individuals need to completely understand the latest legal developments and their implications in order to make the most of every opportunity. This week Lawrence Stephens brought Read more…

Lawrence Stephens in the Press

Lawrence Stephens team members have been featured in the press, demonstrating their decades of experience and expertise and their entrepreneurial, commercially aware approach. This month Partner Gregory Palos’ work was featured in Bridging & Commercial Read more…

January Employement Bulletin – National Minimum Wage and ‘Sleeping In’

Are care workers who ‘sleep in’ at work entitled to the national minimum wage for the whole of their shift? In Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake, care workers had to spend the night at or near their Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Should emailing whilst commuting count as work?

A study by the University of the West of England argues that the working day is extended during commutes by advancements in technology. The study looked at 5,000 passengers commuting into London. Many employees were Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Holiday Pay

The holiday season might have ended, but holiday pay remains a hot topic. In Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust, the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at whether voluntary overtime should be included in holiday Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps start-up break crowdfunding record

A Lawrence Stephens Partner has helped break a crowdfunding record in acting for UK savings app Chip. Partner Bradley Lee helped the UK start-up complete a record-breaking funding round on Crowdcube in December 2018, raising Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at MIPIM 2019

We are happy to announce that a team from Lawrence Stephens will be at MIPIM from Tuesday 12 March to Thursday 14 March.

Another problem with the government’s ‘death tax’?

The Ministry of Justice’s controversial proposal to radically increase fees for administering probate has hit another snag, as it has emerged that the government has not assessed the costs attached and the practical application of Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps Whitehall Capital complete bridging loan worth £750,000

21st January, London – Lawrence Stephens has helped Whitehall Capital complete a bridging loan worth three quarters of a million pounds for a portfolio of Birmingham flats, announced today. Lawrence Stephens helped the privately funded Read more…

Non-resident Investors – The Three-Month Property Supermarket Trolley Dash

The chimes at midnight this week meant more for UK non-resident investors than simply a new year – it marked the countdown to new rules coming into force on the payment of Capital Gains Tax Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Ambiguous notice

When is notice not notice? When it is ambiguous, said the Employment Appeal Tribunal in East Kent Hospitals v Levy. The employee worked in the records department and she had a poor sickness absence record. Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Post TUPE variation of contract

Mr Tabberer and his colleagues were electricians. They were originally employed by Birmingham City Council. Their employment transferred several times by way of TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) over the years. Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Agency Workers

Mr Matei was employed as a security guard by Brooknight Guarding. He usually worked at Mitie but had been sent elsewhere too. His zero hours contract included a flexibility clause which said that he could Read more…

Long-awaited probate simplification rules come into force

The government has removed several of the requirements around the probate process that would previously have led to contact with a solicitor or probate specialist. As part of an ongoing project to simplify the probate Read more…

Simplifying Inheritance Tax

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published its first report in response to its major Inheritance Tax (IHT) review and has identified a number of administrative formalities that could be reduced in order to Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – Disability discrimination

Is it disability discrimination if an employer deals with an ill health retirement procedure badly? Not necessarily, the Court of Appeal has said. Mr Dunn was employed by the Ministry of Justice and he had Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – Limiting discrimination claims

Can a tribunal make an employee choose their ‘best ten’ allegations in a discrimination claim? Not usually, said the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Tarn v Hughes. Dr Tarn was a GP who brought claims for Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – Establishing disability

Is every medical condition a disability? And if an employee mentions a medical condition, does that mean the employer knew that the employee was disabled? Not necessarily, said the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Mutombo-Mpania v Read more…

What is happening in relation to the Inheritance Tax treatment of trusts?

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have announced the opening of a consultation on the taxation of trusts first touted by the Chancellor last year. The consultation includes scrutiny of the way in which trusts can Read more…

Increase in probate fees back on the agenda

This week, it was announced that an increase in probate fees was back on the agenda following the shelving of initial proposals before the 2017 general election. New legislation would see a flat rate system Read more…

Autumn Budget 2018

In what might be the final Budget before Brexit, Chancellor Hammond announced an end to austerity.  Certainly the Budget appears to give more than it takes. However, given that it presumes a favourable Brexit deal, Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – ACAS guidance on overtime

Most employers use overtime at some point, to satisfy increased demands such as a large order or an unexpected increase in work. The new ACAS guidance explains the difference between voluntary and compulsory overtime. It Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Constructive dismissal: the last straw

The law on constructive dismissal has been under the spotlight recently. Sometimes, employees claim constructive dismissal because of a ‘last straw’ which pushes them over the edge. The courts have recently considered whether a fair Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Pay freezes

How easy is it for an employer to impose a pay freeze? In Abrahall v Nottingham City Council, the Court of Appeal decided that a group of employees had not ‘agreed’ to a pay freeze Read more…

Israel-Britain Chamber of Commerce: Eighth Annual Real Estate Event

Our Partner Avi Barr is currently in Tel Aviv and last night attended the Israel-Britain Chamber of Commerce’s Eighth Annual Real Estate Event. The evening focused on the UK real estate market and how to Read more…

Streamlining private sector development lending

Whilst there is no lack of interest in the funding of property and engineering developments in the UK, many developers are finding it much harder to progress deals with their funding parties. To an extent, Read more…

Reforming Leasehold Enfranchisement: Law Commission publishes consultation paper

Last month, the Law Commission published a consultation paper on proposals to reform the law relating to leasehold enfranchisement. The deadline to respond to the consultation is the 20 November 2018.   Why was the Read more…

Macmillan Coffee Morning 2018

Lawrence Stephens took part today in the national Macmillan Coffee Morning, raising money in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support to help in their vital work. Since launching almost thirty years ago, Macmillan’s coffee mornings have been Read more…

September Employment Bulletin – Whistleblowing: Protected Disclosures

Sections 43A-43L of the Employment Rights Act 1996 protect workers who report malpractice (a ‘disclosure’) by their employer and are then treated badly. For a disclosure to be protected it must contain ‘information’ which the Read more…

September Employment Bulletin – Discrimination arising from disability

An employer will not be liable for disability discrimination unless it knew about the employee’s disability (or should have known about it). But what if an employer disciplines someone for misconduct that they don’t know Read more…

September Employment Bulletin – Disciplinary action for high sickness absence

High sickness absence can place huge pressure on a business. How easy is it to take disciplinary action against a disabled employee for high sickness absence? The Employment Appeal Tribunal has looked at this issue Read more…

New Service Charge Code for commercial property transactions

This month, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (“RICS”) published a professional statement, titled “Service Charges in Commercial Property (1st edition)”, which set out a new Service Charge Code for commercial property transactions.   This Read more…

August Employment Bulletin – Itemised Payslips

The catchily named Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2018 requires businesses to provide all ‘workers’ with an itemised pay slip. Previously, only employees were entitled to receive itemised statements. Workers Read more…

August Employment Bulletin – Employee status and ‘umbrella contracts’

Can an individual who is employed as ‘bank staff’, with no guaranteed hours, be an ’employee’? Ms Lane-Angell worked for Hafal assisting vulnerable adults in police detention. Her contract said there were ‘no guaranteed hours‘ Read more…

August Employment Bulletin – Worker Status: Pimlico Plumbers

There has been a lot of publicity lately about the employment status of individuals working in the gig economy. Employees and workers have more rights than the genuinely self-employed, so individuals are pushing for this Read more…

Planning permission: when a house isn’t a home

How hard are planning permission conditions to lift? Recently, a planning inspector was asked to consider a request to remove a planning condition which restricted the use of a dwelling to holiday accommodation. The inspector Read more…

What happens if you die without a Will?

Quite simply, if you do not have a Will in place, intestacy rules will determine where your assets pass upon death. The rules, which are contained in the Inheritance & Trustees Powers Act 2014, highlight Read more…

July Employment Bulletin – Knowledge of Disability

Do you have a duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 for an employee who believes he has a disability when you have no such evidence? Mr Toy worked as a probationery Read more…