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Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 , organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information have to pay a data protection fee, unless they are exempt. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides...
The courts are often called upon to make difficult decisions about what is in the best interests of patients who cannot express their wishes for themselves. In a tragic case, the High Court recently ruled that it was not in the best interests of a young boy...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed a woman's appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal (ET) that her complaints of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination had been brought out of time, finding that the ET had not erred in...
At the third time of asking, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has granted an application to modify a restrictive covenant to permit a second dwelling to be built on a plot of land. The land, on which a small partly thatched cottage had originally stood, had been...
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a number of hospitality companies against a decision that furlough payments they received during the COVID-19 pandemic served to reduce the amounts payable to them under their business interruption cover. The...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled that 'Mega Marshmallows' are not confectionery and are therefore zero-rated for VAT , in a case that reached the Court of Appeal. A wholesaler of American sweets and treats which supplied Mega Marshmallows was issued...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against an order of the High Court that a 14-year-old boy who had remained in England after visiting his father should return to live in South Africa. The boy's parents, both South African nationals, had married...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has allowed a taxpayer's appeal against late filing penalties where he had not received a notice to file a tax return, after reviewing an earlier decision in which it had upheld most of the penalties. HM Revenue and Customs...
A cleaner at a university who was dismissed from her job has been awarded substantial damages after an Employment Tribunal (ET) upheld her complaints of unfair dismissal and victimisation ( Ong v Aberystwyth University ). The woman had commenced her...
A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from a deceased person's estate must be brought within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration being issued, unless the...
Landlords would be well advised to check the terms of their leases before undertaking any projects that may cause problems with issuing service charge demands. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that a local authority landlord must wait to collect...
Disputes over ownership of land all too often become protracted and lead to costs out of proportion to the value of the land involved. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled on a dispute over a strip of land with an area of just 2.2 square metres. The...
A marriage is generally recognised in English law if it is valid under the law of the country in which it takes place, a legal principle known as lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place of the celebration). That principle was central to a recent...
The drafting of an offer of employment can be crucial in determining whether its acceptance leads to the creation of a legally binding contract. Recently, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that a man's acceptance of a job offer had created a binding...
When savers deposit money in a fixed-term account or an account that requires notice of withdrawals, they may well assume that, if they incur a penalty for early withdrawal, they will only have to pay tax on the net amount of interest received. However, such...
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected a challenge by a descendant of the artist Pablo Picasso to an application to register the word 'Picasso' as a trade mark . A company had applied to register 'Picasso' as a trade mark in respect of whiskey...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed its compensation scheme for car buyers who were not given important information when taking out motor finance. The scheme covers motor finance loans taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024....
Dependants who have not been adequately provided for in a deceased person's will may be able to make a claim for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 . Recently, the High Court considered such a claim by...
Companies intending to raise funds through schemes that offer tax relief to investors should always obtain expert advice to ensure they comply fully with the rules applying to those schemes. Recently, two companies that had issued shares under the Enterprise...
Where a mortgage lender claims possession of a property that has been let without the lender's permission, the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 gives tenants the right to apply to the courts to postpone the date for delivery of...
