The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has taken steps to support hand sanitiser manufacturers as UK production increases to tackle the coronavirus. Spurred by unprecedented demand for biocidal hand sanitiser products during the coronavirus outbreak, the HSE...
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Many insurance policies state that amounts payable in the event of loss or damage to property will be calculated on a reinstatement basis – but what exactly does that mean? The Court of Appeal considered that fundamental issue in the context of a...
The consequences of discrimination in the workplace can be truly devastating and compensation awards to victims can be very substantial. In one case, a disabled bank worker who was stricken by a severe depressive disorder after suffering disability...
If you are on the receiving end of a legal claim, sitting on your hands is simply not an option and you should seek advice straight away. In a case on point, a property company which signally failed to engage in court proceedings was hit with a very...
Are adjacent commercial properties in common occupation, but divided by a service area, to be treated as one unit or two for business rates purposes? The Upper Tribunal (UT) has tackled that thorny issue in a case that clarified the law and will have...
Anyone who induces an employee to breach his or her contract is guilty of a civil wrong and can expect financial consequences – but what amounts to a state of mind sufficient to make a person liable for such a wrong? The Court of Appeal tackled that...
Works of artistic craftsmanship are, if original, entitled to copyright protection – but what exactly does the phrase mean? In a ruling that clarified the law , the High Court found that a clothing fabric featuring a woven 'wave' design fitted the...
Directors who are complicit in dishonest tax evasion cannot use the corporate veil to escape the consequences of their wrongdoing. The point was powerfully made by a case in which the boss of an engineering company was ruled personally liable to pay a...
Many commercial leases ban tenants from subletting the premises and breaching such embargoes can have severe consequences. In one case, tenants of a local authority-owned café sacrificed their rights by subletting it to a company. The tenants, who...
Utility providers are subject to tight regulation in order to ensure free competition and fair dealing with the public, and if they break the rules – even inadvertently – they can expect heavy financial penalties. In one case, a communications...
Ascertaining exactly why an employee has been dismissed can be a complicated process. In a case on point, a supermarket chain defeated a worker's claim that his wish to opt out of working on Sundays was the trigger for his unfair dismissal ( Ikejiuba v WM...
Companies that spend millions on establishing their brands in the public mind have the comfort of knowing that the law will protect their investments. In a case on point, vehicle manufacturer BMW came down hard on a small businessman who set up a company...
The burgeoning demand for rented accommodation has encouraged some landlords to create flats which are not large enough to swing a proverbial cat. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) strikingly showed, local authorities have the power to...
If you have bought goods that turn out to be unfit for purpose, the general rule is that you are entitled not only to your money back but also to compensation for additional losses arising. A case on point concerned a refrigeration unit which failed,...
UK equality watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new technical guidance for employers, to help them protect staff from sexual harassment and victimisation at work. Launching the guidance, EHRC chief executive Rebecca...
The government has launched a review into the implementation of forthcoming changes to the off-payroll working rules. Intended to address concerns from businesses about the changes, the review will consider whether any additional steps can be taken to...
If you receive notice that your commercial property is to be compulsorily purchased to make way for a public infrastructure project, the only wise course is to take legal advice immediately. A Court of Appeal case concerning the HS2 railway project ...
If you are paid less than a colleague of the opposite sex for doing like work or work of equal value, there is absolutely no reason why you should put up with it. In a case on point, an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that the difference between a female...
The ever-increasing dominance of the internet as a sales medium was the focus of a landmark Court of Appeal case in which a bespoke golf club manufacturer that banned its authorised dealers from selling its products online was fined over £1 million...
Do landlords of commercial premises continue to be occupiers of the premises, thus owing a duty of care to tenants' visitors? In a guideline case concerning an outbreak of carbon monoxide poisoning at a beauty school, the High Court has answered that...
Managing a sick employee's return to work can be tricky and employers who fail to act fairly risk serious financial and reputational consequences. In a case on point, a company which replaced a driver while he was on sick leave and refused to allow him back...
Deliberate infringement of others' trade marks is a crime and perpetrators can expect severe punishment. In one case, a businessman who rode roughshod over a former trading partner's goodwill received a suspended prison sentence and a five-year...
Directors are obliged to put their own interests to one side in making decisions for the benefit of the companies they serve. The Court of Appeal emphasised that point in the case of a businessman who executed an unauthorised transfer of a company's...
Commercial tenants whose rights are trampled upon by their landlords are far from powerless and should seek legal advice right away. A shopkeeper who did just that after his lease was unlawfully forfeited and his stock seized won the right to substantial...
Workplace practices that result in employees being treated less favourably because of their age may be justified if they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. However, as an important Employment Tribunal (ET) case showed, establishing such...