News - Lawrence Stephens Solicitors

March Employment Bulletin – Criminal conviction for failure to give pension

All UK employers have to put workers meeting certain criteria into a workplace pension scheme and pay minimum employer pension contributions. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’ because the employer has to do it without any Read more…

March Employment Bulletin – Weekly rest periods

All employers have to allow workers to have a 24-hour rest period every seven days under European Law. But what does that actually mean? Slightly strangely, the European Court has held that it can actually Read more…

March Employment Bulletin – Right to work documents

Employers need to stay on the right side of the immigration rules. A failure to carry out the right to work document checks on employees can result in a penalty of up to £20,000 per Read more…

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES): basic guide for landlords and tenants

Why is it important to consider MEES now? Well, from 1 April 2018 it will be unlawful for a landlord of a relevant residential or commercial property to grant a new tenancy if that property Read more…

Lessons of Carillion: protecting yourself from insolvent contractors

Carillion’s collapse has caused many sub-contractors to worry over their future. The construction company outsourced work to around 30,000 small companies, the majority of which will not receive any of the payment they are owed. Sub-contractors are now Read more…

Lawrence Stephens supports Metro Bank to provide £14 million funding solution for property group

26th February, London – Lawrence Stephens has supported valued client Metro Bank in their provision of a £14m funding package to Brookway LP and Southgate Views Limited, which was announced on February 15th 2018. Managed by Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – Can investigations be too thorough?

Usually employers are worried about their investigations not being detailed enough. However, in the case of NHS 24 v Pillar the question was whether the investigation was too thorough Ms Pillar was a nurse practitioner Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – Whistleblowing

A worker is protected from detriment or dismissal under UK whistleblowing laws if he or she discloses information in the reasonable belief that it is made in the public interest and that it shows certain Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – White lies – a false reason for dismissal

Many of us have told a white lie or two at some stage – a fib designed to spare someone’s feelings. However, in the case of Rawlinson v Brightside Group Ltd the lie tied the Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Free movement rights

It remains unclear what immigration rules will look like after Brexit, but the recent European case of Toufik Lounes v Secretary of State for the Home Department is relevant right now to UK employers and Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Vicarious liability for data breaches

In the first ever class action for a data breach in the UK, the High Court has found that WM Morrisons Supermarkets PLC was vicariously liable for a deliberate disclosure of personal data by a Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Worker status and holiday pay

Worker status and rights are rarely out of the press at present. The recent EU holiday pay case of King v Sash Window Workshop adds another dimension and could have massive implications if you hire Read more…

Landmark leasehold case could have huge impact for millions of leaseholders

16th January 2018 – Today, the Court of Appeal will rule on Mundy v the Sloane Stanley Estate – a longstanding legal conflict which challenges the way in which the valuation of a freehold and the cost Read more…

Lawrence Stephens Wins Continued Membership Of Metro Bank’s Lending Panel

10th January, London – Metro Bank has announced the outcome of their lending and securities panel review, and we’ve had our place on the prestigious roster renewed. We were first appointed to Metro Bank’s commercial property Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – General Data Protection Regulation

With next year just around the corner, employers are being urged to make preparations for one major shake-up that will take effect in May 2018. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) looks set to change Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Fees no more

R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor A four-year challenge to the introduction of tribunal fees has ended in victory for UNISON and, the union says, for employees everywhere. As it stands, people Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Helping parents of premature or sick babies

According to ACAS more than 95,000 premature or sick babies are born in the UK every year. The organisation has published best practice guidance for employers on supporting employees who become parents in these difficult Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Monitoring communications

Barbulescu v Romania Back in 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that a worker in Romania who had been dismissed for his personal use of the internet at work had not been Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Do’s and don’ts of the office Christmas party – an employment lawyer’s perspective

While the Christmas office party might be the most anticipated event of the work social calendar for some, the free-flowing alcohol and potential for unsavoury incidents might make you want to spare a thought for Read more…

Landlord breaks in commercial leases – not as clever as they look

I often see Landlords on commercial leases counter a request for a Tenant break with a request of their own: for a landlord or mutual break. Yet, this is not always as clever as it seems. The Read more…

Relief from the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax due following Autumn Budget

By Stephen Messias and Charlotte Hamilton In addition to relaxing the Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) regime for first-time buyers, the Autumn Budget 2017 also made changes to grant relief from tax due under the Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – OMG! Emoji!

You know those buttons at places like airports and service stations that customers can press to show that they feel happy, unhappy, or indifferent about the service they have received? Well, it seems that Sports Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – Supermarket takes stock of equal pay decision

Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others Thousands of Asda employees will have waited with bated breath for the latest development in their equal pay claims. That development was in the form of the Employment Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – Race Discrimination

Kansal v Tullett Prebon Plc Mr Kansal was northern Indian, Punjabi in origin and a UK national. He brought nine specific complaints of direct discrimination against his employer. Two of those complaints made it to Read more…

November Employment Bulletin – More protection for pregnant workers?

Guisado v Bankia SA Pregnant workers in the UK are protected by the Equality Act. The legislation makes pregnancy and maternity discrimination unlawful, the relevant period being the start of the worker’s pregnancy to the Read more…

Tenant Fees Bill 2017

Gregory Palos explains the details of the draft Tenant Fees Bill that was introduced into Parliament in early November. On the 1st November 2017, the government published a response to its consultation on banning letting Read more…

Government Consultation on the Home Buying Process

Lawrence Stephens Solicitor Andreas Panteli looks at what the recently announced Department for Communities and Local Government enquiry could mean for the home buying process, the areas which it will focus on, and who should consider submitting evidence. Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Location, location, location

Aziz v The Freemantle Trust Ms Aziz was a care worker who had relocated to the Trust’s Dell Field Court site. Issues arose between her and two other workers, and this triggered a period of Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Half the pay for half the work?

British Airways v Pinaud People who work part-time are protected from being treated less favourably than their comparable full-time colleagues. The question in Ms Pinaud’s case was whether working more than 50% of full-time hours Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Transfers of undertakings overseas

Xerox Business Services Philippines Inc Ltd v Zeb The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, known as TUPE, maintain an employee’s right to the same terms and conditions of employment when some part or Read more…

October Employment Bulletin – Is voluntary overtime part of ‘normal pay’?

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts and others Holiday pay calculations continue to cause difficulties for employers, with uncertainty still existing over the question of which elements of workers’ pay should and should not be Read more…

Injunctions are discretionary, and dependent on context – Lea v Ward (2017)

An injunction is defined as a judicial order restraining a person from beginning or continuing an action that threatens or invades the legal right of another, or compelling a person to carry out a certain Read more…

Statutory Books – Why Keeping a Record Matters For Your Company

Statutory books are a company’s official records relating to all statutory and legal matters. The process of keeping a statutory record might sound innocuous, but they are a recurring source of challenges for us here Read more…

Employment Law Bulletin July 2017

Welcome to the July edition of the Employment Law bulletin. This month we look at the cost of taking a firm approach where workers step out of line. The key is to be clear about what is expected, and about what the consequences of rule breaches might be.

What is reasonable for estranged adult children to expect to receive from a deceased’s estate?

On 15 March 2017, the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal to re-instate the award of the District Judge in the case of Ilott v The Blue Cross and others [2017] UKSC 17.

Employment Law Bulletin May 2017

Welcome to the May edition of the Employment Law bulletin. This month we summarise a few of the most interesting recent employment cases. We also provide you with a fingertip reminder of the most often used employment law rates.

Our trainee, Charlotte, completes her third London Marathon

Charlotte and her fiancé, Ben, raised over £3,000.00 for their chosen charities.

Multiple hire from Manchester firm boosts Property team

Lawrence Stephens is delighted to announce the hire of Avi Barr, Craig Mullen and Rachel Coulthard who have joined the firm from Read Roper and Read in Manchester.