Surveyors must pay £50,000 for their negligence over knotweed
June 24th 2019A man who is almost blind was awarded £50,000 after his North London property became overrun with Japanese knotweed. Paul Ryb, who represented Great Britain and won the International Blind Tennis tournament, lost his central vision after suffering from a macular disease. Before purchasing the £1.2m property, on the ground floor of a big Victorian house, the former tennis champion hired Conways Chartered Surveyors to perform a comprehensive survey. He…
Getting contact with your grandchildren if their parents say no
June 20th 2019By Laura Ousby Solicitor Grandparents are playing an ever-increasing role in the lives of their grandchildren, often providing free childcare to enable parents to go out to work. Most of these relationships run smoothly to everyone’s benefit but occasionally, problems arise that break that family bond. The most likely cause is an acrimonious divorce or separation, in which children can become ‘weapons’ in the disputes between parents. This can spill…
Refuse collector awarded £20,000 after unfair dismissal
June 19th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR A council worker has been awarded £20,000 and reinstated in his role after the Employment Tribunal decided he had been unfairly dismissed. The case involved Colin Hart, a refuse collector working for Glasgow City Council. He was a member of a team based at the St Rollox Depot. There was an equivalent team based at the city’s Western Depot. They generally carried…
Landlord was wrong to apply service charge for clearing rubbish
June 17th 2019By Laura Bright Solicitor A tenant has successfully appealed a service charge he incurred after his landlord removed rubbish from the car park of the property. The tenancy agreement included the rent payable as well as the right of the landlord to add a variable service charge to cover services specified in the agreement, such as garden maintenance and lighting. It also stated that the tenant would not leave personal…
Npower failed to make adjustments for autistic employee
June 14th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR An analyst who suffered with autism was discriminated against by Npower after it failed to make changes to his working environment to allow him to work in comfort. Tom Sherbourne began working for the energy giant in October 2017. He was positioned in an open-plan setting with a busy walkway behind him, and there were also building works going on around him.…
House prices show slight annual rise despite monthly fall
June 13th 2019By Linsey Hayes Conveyancer House prices rose slightly over the year to March, but there was a fall in the latest monthly figures. The UK House Price Index shows that prices fell by an average of 0.2% between February and March. However, there was an annual rise of 1.4%. The average house in the UK is now valued at £226,798. In England, the March data shows a fall of 0.5%…
Pregnant worker unfairly dismissed after director’s ‘panic about HR issues’
June 10th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR An office worker was subjected to a ‘hostile, humiliating and offensive environment’ after she informed her employers that she was pregnant shortly after joining the company. Eilise Walker started working for Arco Environmental in November 2017, taking over the role of office manager. After three weeks, Walker informed her bosses that she was pregnant. Walker claimed that the company’s financial director and…
Woman with diabetes was ‘humiliated’ by her employers
June 7th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR A woman who suffers from diabetes has been awarded £14,000 after being humiliated at work. Holly Carr, who had type 1 diabetes, worked as a fleet administrator at Weston Homes for two months. She told her line manager, Lauren Goodwin, and events co-ordinator Gaynor Impiazza, about her condition at a staff lunch to welcome her. She said she wouldn’t be drinking alcohol…
Government issues new guide on how to sell your home
June 6th 2019By Sam Bulman Conveyancer The government has issued a new set of guidelines to help people preparing to sell their home. The document, How to Sell, was produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and covers everything from ensuring your home has ‘kerb appeal’ to making sure you get good legal advice from a qualified solicitor. People who haven’t sold a property for many years may notice…
Landlords insist a specialist housing court is needed
June 3rd 2019By Mark Aspin Director Landlord groups have called on the government to establish a dedicated specialist housing court to speed up the process of legitimate evictions. The move comes after the Ministry of Justice published figures showing that it is now taking longer for private landlords to evict problem tenants. The average time between a landlord making a claim to the courts to repossess a property, and it actually happening,…
