Gill Laing

Like all relationships, the relationship between an employer and employee won’t always work out. But how much time do you need to know if there’s been a failed match? At the moment, as long as the employee in question has less than one year’s service, employers are able to terminate the employment relationship without risking an unfair dismissal claim. We often see this referred to as a “statutory probationary period”, which is used by many employers as an opportunity to gauge whether a new employee’s performance is up to scratch and, crucially, whether the employee is a “good fit” within…

The long awaited Family Justice Review (FJR) has been published.  The FJR panel recommends legal reforms to the family justice system. The report has not gone as far as some commentators thought it would, in terms of changing the law (the Children Act 1989) so that there was a presumption or principle that there was a need  for the child to have a meaningful relationship with both parents.  The report recommends: “No legislation should be introduced that creates or risks creating the perception that there is a parental right to substantially shared or equal time for both parents.” There is…

The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) released today is the outcome expected, but may have far reaching consequences comments Michael Forrester of Ralli’s iSolicitors team. These cases concerned the screening of live premier league football matches in pubs through foreign decoder cards, issued by a Greek broadcaster to subscribers resident in Greece, to access Premier League matches. The pubs buy a card and a decoder box from a dealer at prices lower than those of Sky, the holder of the broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom. The first case concerns a civil action brought…

Would you know your rights at work if you suddenly found yourself in the throws of redundancy proceedings, discovered you were pregnant or quite simply thought you were working too many hours or traveling more than you thought you should be? There have been some big changes to Employment Law this April, which every employee should be aware of, in order to know their statutory employment law rights at work.   Recent legal changes include: phasing out of the default retirement age of 65 abolition of the statutory retirement procedure an increase to statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay additional…

So you read the news that Alexander McQueen left £50,000 to his pet dog and thought ‘only in the celebrity world’ – however leaving a cash inheritance to your pet is actually quite common. A survey conducted by More Than Pet Insurance found that British pet owners plan to bequeath a staggering  £26 billion to their pets and many will do so without telling their family or friends, research suggests. The new findings also reveal 35% of pet owners plan to leave their pets more than £10,000 in their wills, with a further 37% admitting they intend to leave more to their pets than…

The High Court has rejected a doctor’s claim that his dismissal was a determination of his civil rights thus entitling him to an independent and impartial tribunal under Article 6? Mattu v University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. By an agreement made in writing on 3 February 1998[1] Dr Raj Mattu, the Claimant, was employed by the Defendant, the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, as a consultant in non-invasive cardiology and general medicine. Mr John Hendy QC on behalf of Dr Mattu argued that important procedural safeguards incorporated, into the agreement were not met enabling the…

When a couple separate there can be a lot of different concerns and anxieties. The following tips on divorce are a guide to help focus on some obvious but often forgotten points: 1. Communicate Communication is often the key to unlocking problems and finding a solution. Every case is capable of being resolved but the most difficult ones are where there is no communication at all. 2. Remember the children All too often children become involved in the adult dispute. Don’t involve them. They will not thank you for it in later years! 3. Aggression is a sign of weakness…

In April, the court lifted an automatic suspension imposed under Regulation 47G of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (the “Regulations”), finding that, if the suspension remained in place, the resultant “prejudice” that the contracting authority would suffer would outweigh the potential difficulties in quantifying the aggrieved economic operator’s damages (Metropolitan Resources North West Ltd v Secretary of State for the Home Department). In this case, the United Kingdom Borders Agency (UKBA) entered into contracts with a local authority and Company A for the provision of asylum accommodation and related services.  The local authority used Company B as one of its…

With thousands of people already stranded, the ash cloud is set to return to cause even more disruption to holidaymakers. Many questions are being raised as to where employers and employees stand in relation to absences from their workplace due to this ‘act of god’. So, just where do you stand? Our employment team has prepared a useful Legal Update covering some points you need to be aware of. Withholding pay Generally speaking, employees are obliged to attend work and employers are obliged to provide work and pay the employee for the work they do. Therefore, if employees fail to…

Judgment was today handed down in the Patents County Court in the wasted and third party costs actions brought by a number of defendants against ACS: Law and the sole principle of that firm, Andrew Crossley. National law firm Ralli represented a number of Defendants in these actions. Ralli represented a number of defendants in these matters. Michael Forrester of the Intellectual Property and IT law team commented on the Judgment: “We have considered from an early stage that these actions against our clients were not brought correctly. This Judgment supports our view in all material respects.” “We are dealing…

Well its all change in Employment Law today, one of those changes is the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 coming into force which will affect the PAYE treatment of termination payments made to ex-employees after a P45 has been issued. Previously, if a taxable termination payment was made after the P45 has been issued, then the employer will deduct tax at the basic rate (20%) using code BR. The employee is then responsible for declaring the amount of the termination payment in their tax return for the relevant tax year and paying any further tax due.…

The sacking of Andy Gray is unlikely to mean the end of this increasingly heated debate, especially so for Mr Gray who has now appointed Lawyers over the termination of his contract. Unacceptable sexism or just ‘blokey banter’? Could Sky have really been seen to condone such behaviour by keeping him on the payroll? Peter and Hazelmary Bull are to lodge an appeal against the ruling last week that found their guest house policies to be discriminatory, another case which itself has prompted much debate and comment especially as to what should be a proportionate response in all the circumstances.…

Ralli are advising hundreds of consumers in relation to a group action for harassment following letters from ACS:Law accusing those individuals of illegal filesharing and copyright infringement. Ralli have been contacted by hundreds of consumers who wish to discuss whether letters sent to them alleging copyright infringement over “peer to peer” networks amount to harassment. The latest development in this long running matter was the hearing yesterday at the Patents County Court of 27 “peer to peer” test cases filed by ACS:Law for its client, Media CAT Limited. At the hearing, the Claimant, Media CAT Ltd tried through its lawyers,…