Should I fire employee for his criminal past? I have discovered that an employee has a criminal record. While the employee is a very good worker, he did not reveal his convictions at interview. I am also concerned that a client became aware of this and I do not want this to affect the reputation of my company. Can and should we take any action against him? You are not required to take action, but if you did, there are legal risks. Even if your employee was asked about his criminal record, “spent” convictions would not usually need to be…
Protect your family interests My father runs a very successful company and as he nears retirement I am to take over the running of the business with profits going into a trust to be shared by the family. However, given that I will be taking over the company, can I be the beneficiary of the trust or must I be the trustee? And does my standing with regards to the trust affect my children and their entitlement to be beneficiaries? As your father’s successor, you can still be a trustee of the family trust. You can also still be a…
Protect your family interests My father runs a very successful company and as he nears retirement I am to take over the running of the business with profits going into a trust to be shared by the family. However, given that I will be taking over the company, can I be the beneficiary of the trust or must I be the trustee? And does my standing with regards to the trust affect my children and their entitlement to be beneficiaries? As your father’s successor, you can still be a trustee of the family trust. You can also still be a…
Accountant’s shock late bill Our chartered accountant invoices us each year for £2,000 or £3,000. This year he has sent us an invoice for £8,000 for work going back three years, with no previous warning. As we are a partnership we divide the profits regularly, and have not budgeted for this and are a small company and feel that it is unfair to be billed so late. On being challenged, our accountant has apologised and suggested we pay in installments. Do we have to pay this bill? Assuming that this is purely a question of late charging rather than overcharging,…
Accountant’s shock late bill Our chartered accountant invoices us each year for £2,000 or £3,000. This year he has sent us an invoice for £8,000 for work going back three years, with no previous warning. As we are a partnership we divide the profits regularly, and have not budgeted for this and are a small company and feel that it is unfair to be billed so late. On being challenged, our accountant has apologised and suggested we pay in installments. Do we have to pay this bill? Assuming that this is purely a question of late charging rather than overcharging,…
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…
