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HMRC to educate traders

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Following widespread criticism of the 'Business Record Checks (BRC)' regime, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has discontinued it and is designing a new approach based on helping traders keep better records.

After carrying out 2,500 BRC visits, HMRC found that 40 per cent of traders had inadequacies and 11 per cent serious inadequacies in their record-keeping.

The new approach will concentrate on helping traders improve their record-keeping through education and will institute follow-up visits for traders who are identified as having poor records to ensure that they comply in future. Those that still do not may face a sanction of up to £3,000 under the BRC regime.

HMRC originally claimed that the BRC regime would raise £600 million in tax, but it is now thought unlikely to raise more than a quarter of that sum.

Millions is Cost of Bus Injury Settlement

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A man who was severely injured when he was hit by a bus has won a compensation settlement worth millions of pounds.

The man, from West London, was 43 years old when the accident happened in 2007. The bus, which was travelling at 50mph in a 30mph zone, hit him as he was crossing the road.

The man suffered severe brain and spinal injuries. He was treated in hospital for 12 months and will require around-the-clock care and assistance for the rest of his life.

While the final claim was being negotiated, he was given an interim payment which was used for his care and support.

When the case came before the High Court, a settlement made up of a lump sum of £1.8 million plus index-linked annual payments was agreed. The settlement will enable the man to move into a specially adapted house with his brother and mother, who will provide him with day-to-day support. It will also allow him to obtain help from specialist therapists to provide him with the best possible quality of life.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident, whether as a pedestrian, cyclist or other road user, you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you have suffered. Contact us to discuss your claim.

Form and Function Not Copyright

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to a claim of breach of copyright of a software package has confirmed that:

creation of software that emulates the functionality or 'look and feel' of another software package is not a breach of copyright;
the observation or testing of a program to ascertain principles of operation behind it without deconstructing the code used is not a breach of copyright; but
copying sections of the user manual of a piece of software is a breach of copyright.

If you have concerns about the protection of your intellectual property, contact us.

Problem upon problem

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A recent case shows how important it can be when providing a service to make sure that best practice is followed.Proble

The case was brought after a pigeon nest was removed from outside a council flat by a contractor. The nest was on top of a locked cupboard and, when it was removed, the contractors did not try to spray into the cupboard or to get it unlocked.

As a result, mites that had been in the pigeon nest migrated into the flat beside it. The tenants of the flat claimed against the council for the nuisance caused by the mites.

After expert evidence was given that the migration of the mites into the flat was foreseeable, the Court of Appeal ruled that the council's contractors had been negligent

It is not uncommon in circumstances such as this that the action taken in getting rid of one source of a nuisance to create another. When that is caused by the negligent performance of the original work, a claim may be possible.

Mandatory retirement - age discrimination?

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Supreme Court has provided useful guidance on the circumstances in which a mandatory retirement age will be justified.

The case involved a solicitor whose partnership agreement provided that he would retire at age 65, but he wanted to continue working. He claimed the relevant clause in the partnership agreement discriminated directly against him on the ground of age. This resulted in legal action against his former firm which he took all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Court ruled that it was not discriminatory to require him to retire at 65 provided that the firm could show that the provision for compulsory retirement was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

To defeat a claim of direct discrimination, the employer must show that the treatment stems from an aim that can be objectively and reasonably justified as pursuing a legitimate social policy derived from the EC Equal Treatment Directive, such as those related to employment policy, the labour market or vocational training.

Such aims are of a public interest nature as distinct from those which relate to the individual needs of a particular business, such as cost reduction and improving competitiveness. The European Courts have identified two different kinds of legitimate objective, which can be summed up as inter-generational fairness and dignity.

The focus must then turn to whether the identified aim is legitimate in the particular circumstances of the case and is actually being pursued. Finally, the means of achieving that aim must be both appropriate and necessary. The means must be carefully scrutinised in the context of the particular business in order to see whether they do meet the objective and there are not other, less discriminatory means that would achieve the same result.

In this case, the Supreme Court concluded that the firm’s action was capable of justification by the needs to retain staff, plan the structure of the workforce and limit the requirement to 'performance manage' partners. These objectives met the test of being based on legitimate social policy aims.

The case was still sent back to the employment tribunal to consider whether the choice of 65 as the specific age at which partners were required to retire was a proportionate means of achieving the aims in this case.