Removing Children from their ‘habitual residence’
April 26th 2021Many clients don’t realise that children cannot be removed from the country they habitually reside in without both parents’ consent. Not only can it amount to child abduction (a crime) but the child is most likely to be returned to the home country. Taylor Chanter Solicitor reports on this recent case. Yet another case highlights that children should not be removed without consent or a court order. The wishes of…
Law firm invests in its staff with raft of promotions to key positions
April 21st 2021A LEADING legal firm has recognised the achievements of its team by promoting several members of staff to key positions. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors has made the appointments as part of its expansion plans which have continued throughout the pandemic. The 11 internal promotions include the appointment of Katherine Pretswell-Walker to the firm’s board of directors. Six new Senior Associates have also been created, along with four Associate Solicitors. Peter Stafford,…
Engineer too late to claim holiday pay from Pimlico Plumbers
April 21st 2021An engineer who won a landmark case that he should be classed as a worker at Pimlico Plumbers has lost his claim for backdated holiday pay. Joanne Stronach Director & Head of Employment and HR reports on this recent case. Gary Smith had worked for Pimlico as a heating engineer from 2005 to 2011. Throughout that period Pimlico regarded him as a self-employed independent contractor, without entitlement to paid annual…
Builders told to remove leasehold terms that trap homeowners
April 19th 2021Two major home builders have been told to remove contract terms that mean leaseholders have to pay ground rents that double every 10 or 15 years. Elizabeth Crouch Associate Solicitor & Head of Residential provides an update. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched enforcement action against 4 housing developers in September 2020. These included Countryside Properties and Taylor Wimpey, for using possibly unfair contract terms, and Barratt Developments and Persimmon…
Driver’s dismissal for not wearing a facemask ‘was not unfair’
April 15th 2021A delivery driver has lost a claim of unfair dismissal after he was fired for refusing to wear a facemask while on duty during lockdown. Joanne Stronach Director & Head of Employment and HR reports on this recent case. The case involved Deimantas Kubilius who had worked as a driver for Kent Foods Limited for four years. Most of his work involved driving to and from their supplier Tate &…
Night club director ordered to pay £200k for company law breach
April 14th 2021A director who had conducted the affairs of a night club in a way that had unfairly prejudiced a minority shareholder has been ordered to make an interim payment to her of £200,000. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports. The figure could be much higher once a further hearing takes place. A judge had found that the company’s affairs had been conducted by the director in a manner that…
Abolish sexual abuse case time limit
April 13th 2021Thinking it over with Carol Fish Director & Head of Serious and Catastrophic Injury… Children being subjected to sexual abuse is too horrific for many of us to contemplate. Yet, as has been highlighted in the media recently, it can be taking place in schools, religious, sporting or other institutions, as well as within families. Understandably the trauma means it can take many survivors a number of years to come forward. Yet,…
Divorcing wife ‘wrong to access husband’s private information’
April 12th 2021Many clients don’t realise that there are significant restrictions on what information they should be accessing in relation to their spouse’s finances. Indeed, some anticipate that you will want them to have done some ‘digging’. In fact, the opposite is true. A recent case highlights the difficulties which develop if one party takes the search for financial information into their own hands. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of…
Solicitor takes on latest challenge to support local charity
April 8th 2021A solicitor at a leading legal firm is embarking on the latest in a series of challenges to raise vital funds for a local charity. Zoe Calway, who is a director at Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, has been a committed supporter for Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland since 2015, raising funds through sponsored runs, walks and cycles. After various charity challenges including cycling Coast-to-Coast and taking part in duathlons,…
Inheritance tax ‘too complex and needs to be simplified’
April 6th 2021The Treasury has agreed to make changes to the administration of Inheritance Tax following complaints from the public that it is too complex, old fashioned and needs to be simplified. Sarah Heal Private Client Executive provides an update. The announcement comes after more than 3,500 people responded to a public consultation carried out by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) on behalf of the government. Many of those who responded…
