Despite the limited rights afforded to cohabiting couples, the myth of ‘common law marriage’ persists. Simon Brown and his partner Dragana split in 2008 after 15 years together. They lived together in a £500,000 house bought by Simon and owned in his sole name, had a son together (now aged 15) and Dragana shared Simon’s surname. The only thing the couple did not do was get married. At a High Court hearing, Dragana’s barrister said that her client had thought that after living with Simon for so long and having a child with him, she would have rights as his…
With business travel and more complicated employment arrangements ever on the rise, the territorial scope of employment rights has become harder to define. The two main pieces of employment legislation exhibit a pronounced (and unhelpful) lack of clarity as to the territorial scope of their application. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) used to exclude employees who ordinarily worked outside the UK from bringing claims under ERA 1996. However, the relevant provisions were repealed by the Employment Relations Act 1999, without any replacement wording being introduced, rendering ERA 1996 silent as to its territorial scope. When the Equality Act…
The Court of Appeal has told a self-represented litigant that his lack of legal understanding does not entitle him to ‘extra indulgence’. Peter Elliott succeeded earlier this year in convincing a High Court judge that he was at a significant disadvantage because of mental health problems combined with the fact he was acting for himself. However the Court of Appeal, said the judge had had gone ‘too far’ in being sensitive to the difficulties faced by a litigant in person. He said: ‘It seems to me that, on any view, the fact that a litigant in person “did not really…
It is becoming increasingly common for an individual to establish themselves in multiple countries during their lifetime. The result is that for many people, the country of birth can differ from country of employment and, in turn, differ from country of retirement and death. Along the way, that same person may be acquire various notions of domicile, residence and citizenship. The rules dealing with an individual’s assets on death can be complicated, but there are some general rules of thumb and issues to be aware of. Establishing domicile An individual who moves abroad may well lose his domicile of origin…
I am the former joint partner of a family business with my brother. We completed a management buy-out (MBO) and very quickly afterwards my brother died. This has now had some adverse tax consequences for the family and we wish to mediate with the accountants who advised us on the MBO, but did not advise on other potential consequences, such as her death. However, they are refusing to mediate and say if we wish to contest their advice we will have to go to court. It was my understanding that commercial disputes should at least attempt mediation first – is…
I recently married and my wife and I want her to become involved and be part of my business. What issues should I consider, and how do I protect myself and the company in the event of divorce? You need to consider the motivation for making your wife part of the business. Do you simply want the business to be a joint venture, or does she have specialist skills or knowledge within the industry? Are you just intending to maximise your combined income based on tax rates or allowances? Do you intend her to be a shareholder, a director or…
I run a small business and employees work remotely using laptops provided by the company. I have been following the introduction of the Digital Economy Act. How can I protect my business against the risk of breaches of copyright law? If an employee is caught breaking copyright law who is deemed responsible – the employer or the employee? The Digital Economy Act seeks to prevent the infringement of copyrighted material. Copyright holders are able to track down persistent infringers and take legal action against them which could result in their internet access becoming restricted or totally disconnected. The main issue…
If you want to dismiss employees when they reach a certain age, e.g. 65, you must be able to justify this on grounds of social/business policy. However, this approach carries a risk of claims for age discrimination Assuming you do not want to run the risks associated with retirement dismissals, you should ensure that your performance management processes are robust and that any underperformance is addressed promptly and consistently, irrespective of employees’ ages. Assumptions that older employees are likely to perform less ably due to their age should be avoided, but where a formal process indicates that an older worker’s…
I am the owner of a business with a number of employees who have access to my servers through their own devices. I am concerned that there may be intellectual property theft. How do I ensure that my employees understand that all information, including sales-led business leads are owned by the business? I am worried that any employees who leave or are made redundant may use company information to start their own business or help them get a new job. Is there any way I can prevent this from happening? Employees should have a dated employment contract which they read…
Introduction Statutory demands are a popular mechanism for creditors to recover debts due by limited companies. If correctly used they may prove to be quicker and cheaper than taking court action. A statutory demand is a formal written notice through a debt exceeding £750, demanding payment of the debt due by a limited company to a creditor. Service of the demand indicates the creditor intends to present a petition to wind up the company if the debt remains unpaid. There is a presumption, by law, that if the debtor company does not satisfy the demand within three weeks after its…
