Williamsons Solicitors News Stories
Tax return deadline – extended (or not?)
Because of internal disruption caused by staff taking industrial action today, HM Revenue and Customs have announced that taxpayers submitting their returns on 1 or 2 February will not be ‘unfairly… Read More
New tax investigation regime
The Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) is a system by which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will contact a taxpayer in writing to inform them that they are suspected of serious tax fraud and will… Read More
A brief guide to TUPE
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) were enacted to protect employees’ terms and conditions of employment in the event that the business they are working… Read More
HS2 on track!
Now that approval for the ‘HS2’ high-speed train line between London and Birmingham has been formally announced, the next exercise the Government will be undertaking is a review of the property… Read More
TUPE does apply to ‘pre-packs’
Regulation 8(7) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) provides that where the transferor is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings or any analogous… Read More
Unfair dismissal update
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has reportedly issued welcome clarification of the proposed application of the new two year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims… Read More
Flat-Rate Subsistence Allowance Scheme Produces £158 Million Tax Headache
eing (strictly) outwith tax law. Clearances are often obtained for the treatment of small expense claims. Reed is set to appeal the decision. Read More
Dogs and the Law
The recent sad case of a six-year-old girl who was attacked and seriously injured by a bull terrier has thrown the spotlight once again on the laws governing the control of dogs, with some people… Read More
Corby Castle dispute to go to Supreme Court
A bitter dispute over an inheritance is set to run still further after Philip Howard, son of Sir John Howard-Lawson, announced his intention to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal to the… Read More
Mesothelioma settlement
A retired plumber who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos at work has won £115,000 in damages. The man had worked almost exclusively for the same building firm between… Read More
HMRC tax scheme victory
HM Revenue and Customs have achieved a victory in the Court of Appeal over a scheme intended to pay bonuses to employees without the payments being liable to National Insurance contributions (NICs)… Read More
£164,000 for roof fall
An engineer who was seriously injured when he fell through a roof has won more than £164,000 in compensation. The 66-year-old man worked for electronics and electrical engineering company Siemens… Read More
Tax lottery
The Government has floated the wacky idea of running a lottery – with a £100,000 prize – for taxpayers who submit their tax returns on time. Given that penalties of up to £1,600 can accrue for late… Read More
Supreme Court clarifies approach to property disputes
There have been many cases over the years which have involved the entitlement to shares in a property when an unmarried couple have split up and wished to dispose of it, but there has been no formal… Read More
Don’t take It out on the wife
Under Section 3 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) workers are protected from less favourable treatment on the ground that they are married or in a civil partnership. Under the Equality Act… Read More
Business splitting - VAT
Where a business has different facets and ownership, it is normally possible for the legal identities to be kept separate. This can have advantages where one part of the business supplies goods or… Read More
E-mail defamation
When a person’s reputation is attacked publicly, a claim for damages for defamation may result. Over the years, the courts have repeatedly had to consider the issue of what constitutes ‘publication’… Read More
Tax fraudsters jailed
A businessman and his wife have been sent to prison for four years and 16 months respectively after their business failed to disclose more than £5 million in profits. The couple’s three daughters… Read More
Accounts clerk jailed for £150,000 fraud
An accounts clerk who created an elaborate scheme and used it to steal more than £150,000 from her employers was jailed for 18 months at Exeter Crown Court this week. Isobel Ravensworth, 33, was… Read More
HMRC warn of fraudulent emails
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have issued a warning to taxpayers to be on their guard against fraudulent emails as the self-assessment deadline of 31 January approaches. The typical ‘phishing’ email… Read More
HMRC To challenge penalty setback
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are to challenge a ruling that their practice of ‘storing up’ penalties before issuing demands for them was unfair. The sole employee of a one-man company ceased being… Read More
Shopper wins compensation
A shopper who was injured when he tried to lift a faulty box containing flat-pack furniture has won £11,000 in damages. The man was shopping at a major supermarket when the accident happened. He… Read More
High street jobs purge starts
The expected purge of jobs in the High Street after the Christmas rush has begun with a bang. Deloitte, the administrators of struggling shoe sellers Barratts, have announced more than 1,600 job… Read More
New cohabitee rights proposed
The Government has announced plans to introduce legislation to give legal rights of inheritance to long-term cohabitees. There are currently more than two million couples living together who are not… Read More
Employment rights – ministers of religion
For many years, it was accepted law that ministers of religion did not normally come within the definition of ‘employee’ for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) because they were… Read More
Government to limit card fees
Following a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) by consumers’ champion ‘Which?’, the Government has announced that it is to take action to prohibit excessive charges being levied on… Read More