Director banned for paying herself while failing to pay creditors
June 30th 2021A broker who traded while insolvent and took money from her company for herself while failing to pay creditors £140,000 has been disqualified for seven years. Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution reports. Kathleen Shepherd, aged 58, from Southampton, was the sole director of Shepherd Site Services Limited, a company which acted as a broker to provide waste management services to the construction industry. The company went into administration…
Boss told cancer patient she was ‘lucky to get a free boob job’
June 23rd 2021A woman with breast cancer who was told by her boss that she was lucky to get a free boob job from the NHS, has won her claim of harassment. Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. Aggie Kownacka was a recruitment manager for Textbook Teachers from June 2017 until December 2018. In May 2018, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was required to undergo…
Directors who dissolve their businesses unfairly face new sanctions
June 21st 2021The government is introducing new legislation to target company directors who dissolve their businesses for their own gain and leave staff or taxpayers out of pocket. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial provides an update. The Insolvency Service will be given powers to investigate directors of companies that have been dissolved, closing a legal loophole and acting as a strong deterrent against the misuse of the dissolution process. The…
Court allows company to search employee’s personal computer
June 14th 2021A company has been granted permission to search an employee’s personal computer and other devices as part of its investigation into the potential misuse of confidential information. Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. The case involvedDigital Realty Trust Inc and its senior director of acquisitions, Mr Coogan. The nature of his role meant that he had access to commercially sensitive and confidential information central…
Protection for tenants continues with 4-month notice periods
June 10th 2021The government is continuing its support for tenants to protect them from being evicted during the Covid-19 pandemic, even though lockdown restrictions have now been eased. Natalie Tatton, Solicitor provides an update. As part of a phased approach back to normality, notice periods – previously extended to 6 months as an emergency measure during the pandemic – are now set at four months, dated from 1 June. Subject to the…
Financial services directors disqualified for trading while insolvent
June 9th 2021Two financial services directors have been disqualified for continuing to trade and take money from clients while their company was insolvent. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports. Paul Rossi was a director of Independent Derivative Traders Ltd. The company traded as ‘Futex’ and provided access to a financial markets trading platform for sub-contracted independent traders. He was joined in the management of the company by his brother Mark and…
Businesses urged to monitor cash flow as Covid restrictions ease
June 7th 2021Businesses are being urged to monitor their cash flow as corporate insolvencies look set to rise despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. Carly Davies Debt Recovery Manager provides an update. The insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 says that government support such as the furlough scheme have masked the difficulties some companies are facing. There were 2,384 seasonally adjusted corporate insolvencies in the first quarter of this year, a reduction of…
Company loses $3m because of conflicting contract terms
June 3rd 2021A company has lost $3m dollars because it had agreed to contradictory contract terms when entering into a purchase agreement. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports on this recent case. The case involved Septo Trading Inc, which contracted to import fuel oil supplied by Tintrade Ltd. The terms were recorded in an email confirmation (the Recap). A clause in the Recap stated that a quality certificate issued by…
Changes to the laws on Agricultural Holdings
May 27th 2021Changes to the laws on Agricultural Holdings come into force on 21 June 2021, allowing tenants to demand changes to their tenancy or consent from their landlord, where the landlord will not agree. Jonathan Carroll Director and Head of Agriculture provides an update. Agricultural Holdings Act The snappily titled “Agricultural Holdings (Requests for Landlord’s Consent or Variation of Terms and the Suitability Test) (England) Regulations 2021” allow a tenant of an…
Sleep-in care workers lose final appeal over minimum wage
May 24th 2021Care workers who slept overnight at their workplace were “available for work” rather than “working” and so were not entitled to be paid the national minimum wage for the whole of their sleep-in shift. Joanne Stronach Director & Head of Employment and HR reports on this recent case. That was the decision of the Supreme Court in two cases that have major implications for residential care homes. Care workers who…
