Healthcare
Summary of changes to employment law
On 29 July 2013, a number of changes to employment law came into effect. These include the introduction of fees in employment tribunals, a cap on compensation for unfair dismissal…
How new whistleblowing rules affect businesses
Major changes to legislation protecting workplace whistleblowers have significant implications for employers. Harrison Drury's Employment law team, discusses the main issues for businesses need to be aware of. Whistleblowing is…
Keeping your business staffed over summer
With summer in full swing and the school holidays right around the corner, many employees will be planning to use some of their annual leave. As employers, this can result…
The future of commercial litigation funding post…
The brave new world of litigation funding ushered in by the Jackson Reforms on 1 April 2013, has created great uncertainty over the funding of commercial disputes. As a result,…
Employee-Shareholder contracts move a step closer
The government’s controversial employee-shareholder status looks to be a step closer after the House of Lords voted through proposals on April 24 2013. The legislation was twice rejected by the…
Five top tips for avoiding employment tribunals
They say prevention is better than the cure and it seems that rarely is this clichéd statement truer than in the area of employment law. It’s hard for me to…
Defending claims of medical misconduct
The recent exposure of serious failings within the NHS following the Stafford Hospital scandal has put medical professionals under increased scrutiny from industry regulators. The General Medical Council (GMC) and…
Directors’ loans to companies and securities
It is increasingly common for directors who are also shareholders of companies to lend money to those companies. Usually this is to facilitate cash flow for the company where, perhaps,…
Harrison Drury advises on care home acquisition
A Blackpool care home is to expand its range of services after it was acquired by a professional care manager. This particular care home acquisition was by Cheryl Holden who…
Time is running out for pursuing commercial…
The much publicised Jackson Review into civil litigation costs is due to be implemented in April 2013, bringing with it significant changes to the current costs regime. While focused primarily…
Auto-enrolment pensions advice for employers
On October 1 2012 the auto-enrolment process for pensions started and now all UK employers will have to automatically enrol any eligible workers into a pension scheme. The enrolment scheme…
Do I buy the shares or assets…
This is one of the first questions to consider when looking at how to structure a business acquisition. Essentially, a share sale is where the purchaser acquires the company itself…
A new type of Employment Contract
George Osbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced on October 8 that the government intends on introducing a completely new type of employment contract called owner-employee contracts. This new contract…
Will protected conversations proposal backfire?
Employers should beware of government plans to introduce ‘protected conversations’ to encourage settlement agreements (also known as compromise agreements). The initiative is part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill,…
Dealing with requests for flexible working
The Employment Act 2002 gave employees the right to request flexible working. Employers can turn down specific flexible working requests for legitimate business reasons set out in the legislation. However,…
What is a company reorganisation and what…
Reorganising your business’ ownership, operational structure, and legal constitution can result in many business benefits such as improved profitability, greater productivity, or better use of assets. Reasons for restructuring include…
What is due diligence and why is…
What does due diligence mean to you? To some people it is the legal equivalent of kicking the tyres or looking under the bonnet of a used car. To some,…
Are you aware of changes to unfair…
Employers need to take note of a change to unfair dismissal laws, coming into effect from April 6 2012, which extends the qualifying service period for employees wanting to bring…