Employment Law in 2017

Posted on by Ilinca Mardarescu

Employment Law in 2017 – Important Changes

2017 is expected to bring about a few important changes to employment law.

The most anticipated will be the Supreme Court’s decision on Brexit which is due soon. Whilst no immediate employment law changes will happen on the back of this, there will undoubtedly be much speculation as to how Brexit will affect employment law generally in the future.

Similarly, the 2016 Budget and thereafter the Autumn statement both confirmed that changes would be introduced to the tax treatment of termination payments.  The government are consulting on the draft bill now with the changes expected to be implemented at a later date, namely in April 2018.

More immediate changes for employment law in 2017 expected are:

  • The current weekly rate of statutory maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental leave pay (which is currently £139.58, or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate) is being increased to £140.98. This will take affect from 2nd April 2017.
  • The minimum wage for workers over 25 will increase to £7.50 in April, an increase of 30p on the rate introduced last year. There will be smaller increases for 18-20 and 21-24 year olds, to £5.60 and £7.05 respectively.
  • From 6th April, statutory sick pay (SSP) is also increasing from £88.45 to £89.35. This is, as usual, subject to minimum eligibility requirements.
  • Gender pay gap reporting. Employers with 250 or more employees will be required to produce gender pay gap reports by April 2018 for the financial period 2016/2017.
  • Large employers (with an annual payroll of more than £3 million) will be required to pay a 0.5% levy on their total pay bill, by 6th April 2017. Larger employers will then be able to access the fund (plus a 10% top-up from the government) to fund accredited apprenticeships within their business. Different rules will apply to smaller employers who are not required to pay the levy – in which case the government will fund the cost of apprenticeships if they contribute 10%.
  • Salary-sacrifice schemes will start to be phased out with no new schemes to be introduced from April 2017 and the ones set up prior to this date will be protected until anywhere between 2018-2021 depending on the type of scheme in place.

– Ilinca Mardarescu

For any advice on implementing the changes or any other employment-law related enquiry, contact us here or call us on 01753 486 777.

New Year’s Resolution: Writing a Will

Posted on by Jenna Dunstall

Writing a Will for your New Year’s Resolution…

Happy New Year one and all!  We hope you enjoyed the festivities and that you are now focused on the year ahead and the New Year resolutions are underway!

2016 was a year to remember for many people around the world:  The UK voted to leave the European Union, Britain smashed the Rio Olympics and brought home 67 medals (27 golds!), Donald Trump won the Presidential Election, the Queen turned 90 and much more.

One thing that 2016 will also be remembered for, is the shocking amount of celebrity deaths that took place; some great people and legends that will be truly missed, including David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Sir Terry Wogan, Paul Daniels, Ronnie Corbett, David Gest, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Pete Burns, George Michael, Andrew Sachs, Liz Smith, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and sadly many more.  Our thoughts go out to all their loved ones.

When we hear about so many deaths, we tend to reflect.  We cannot avoid death, but when it comes it is helpful if we can be as prepared as possible.  One thing that we can do to help us prepare is put a Will in place. This will ensure that when we are gone and no longer have a voice, that our wishes are carried out and our loved ones are well looked after.  Not having a Will can create uncertainty and confusion for our loved ones, which is completely avoidable. So make a resolution to get your Will done this year.

Should you wish to discuss your situation and would like to put a Will in place, or simply wish to review your Will, then we shall be pleased to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact Jenna Dunstall, the head of our Wills and Probate Department, to arrange a convenient appointment.

Interpretations of Exclusion Clauses

Posted on by Gurpreet Dhillon

Contracts: Update on Interpretations of Exclusion Clauses between Commercial Parties

Exclusion clauses are contractual provisions restricting or excluding liability for a specific event. The Court of Appeal has recently deliberated on the construction of exclusion clauses and more particularly how the principal of ‘contra proferentem’ should apply. Contra proferentem is the principle were ambiguous clauses in a contract should be interpreted against the interests of the party seeking the clause to be included in the contract.

Background

In the case of Transocean Drilling UK –v- Providence Resources PLC [2016] EWCA Civ 372, Transocean hired a semi-submersible drilling rig to Providence. After initiating the work, it came to Providence attention that the rig was faulty, namely a misalignment of part of a blowout preventer. As a result of the faulty rig, work was suspended for a period of five weeks.  Providence refused to pay the hiring fees of the rig, Transocean brought an action for the hire costs, and consequently Providence sought to set off the hire costs against their losses plus $10,000,000.00 paid for goods and services which were wasted (spread costs). The contract between the parties had various exclusion and indemnity clauses. The main clause in dispute in this case, was the clause excluding ‘consequential losses’. The consequential losses in this matter referred to the spread costs. The High Court Judge, Popplewell J, took the view that contra proferentem should apply to the construction of the exclusion clause at the first instance, therefore, deciding with Providence. Transocean appealed the matter, and the Court overruled the Judge’s decision and applied three distinct principles.

New Principles

  1. Contra proferentem should only be used as a last method and only apply to cases dealing with ambiguous clauses.
  2. Secondly, that this is a separate principle to the principle that there is a presumption that neither party intends to abandon any remedies for its breach in the absence of clear words [Gilbert-Ash (Northern) Ltd v Modern Engineering (Bristol) Ltd [1974] AC 689]. Therefore, parties if they wish to do so can abandon remedies, but the language used in the construction of the clause must be clear and unambiguous.
  3. Contra proferentem principle has no part to play if the clause affects both parties equally and more importantly were both parties have equal bargaining power. Therefore, the Court will place weight to the individual facts of each case depending on how the clause affects the parties and how much bargaining power the parties have.

The findings of the above case place extra burden on the parties to agree to robust exclusion clauses, as the Court are minded to take the literal meaning of the clause rather than use their own interpretation for commercial purposes. Therefore, it is imperative that the each and every exclusion clause is constructed carefully and precisely to demonstrate each party’s intentions, as it will be difficult to escape from liability if any unfavourable exclusion clause is agreed.

– Gurpreet Dhillon

Feel free to contact us and get in touch with our experienced dispute resolution department today. Our dynamic team think outside the box to assist you in finding the best solution based on your needs and circumstances.

Break Clauses and Vacant Possession

Posted on by Sumeet Shangari

Break Clauses  –  When is vacant possession not considered to be vacant possession for the purposes of a break clause in a business lease?

Break clauses can be a useful tool which can allow a tenant to end a lease before the contractual term provided that any pre-conditions noted in the lease are satisfied. When negotiating a break clause, a landlord may try to impose a condition which provides that the tenant must give vacant possession on the break date. Tenants should be cautious of agreeing to such a pre-condition, as satisfying this pre-condition can cause difficulty.  In the case of NYK Logistics (UK) Ltd v Ibrend Estates BV [2011], it was held that vacant possession is not as simple as just leaving the property. In the event that a tenant was to leave chattels or goods or demountable partitioning at the property, this could lead to a potential argument that the property is not being left with vacant possession even though the tenant, and its sub-tenants and licensees (if applicable), may have physically left the property itself.

The landlord could argue that the pre-condition has not been satisfied, and therefore prevent the tenant from exercising the break clause, which in turn could then have significant implications for the tenant and its business. The break clause needs to be carefully drafted to ensure that the tenant does not find themselves in difficulty when trying to exercise this, and therefore advice needs to be taken before any such clauses are agreed.

For any assistance in dealing with break clauses in business leases, whether this is in terms of drafting a break clause, or reviewing it, then please feel free to contact our commercial property department.

Sumeet Shangari – Director – Commercial Property

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Aston Bond’s Christmas Fundraiser

Posted on by Andrew Sargood

Aston Bond’s Christmas Fundraiser was an amazing success and we had great fun taking part. We hope you enjoy looking at some of the snaps from our events below the blog.

Here at Aston Bond we like to make the most out of the Christmas period. We had our tree up nice and early as we were eager to get into the festive spirit; we took part in Xmas jumper day on the 16th December and held a secret Santa event amongst the team.

During the Christmas period, we also think it is important to get involved in our own fundraisers to help out the community. This year we held a Christmas Bake Sale between the 19th and 22nd of December to help raise money and awareness for Slough Homeless Our Concern (SHOC), an amazing local charity which focuses on supporting the homeless. We baked cakes, brought in food and mulled wine and even had an amazing cake donated to us from Creams the dessert restaurant.

Before it all took place, we went down to SHOC to let them know about our event and get more of an idea of what they get up to there, we really wanted to get a feel for what they do. After our visit we were even more eager to get started and raise money and awareness for them. During the last day of the bake sale we set up a stall in the Queensmere shopping centre by the Christmas tree with two people from the team dressed as Santa and a Reindeer. It was a great chance for Aston Bond to help Slough get into the Christmas spirit!

Once the bake sale had finished, there was a Santa parade where we were giving out free goody bags to children in Slough. The response from this was amazing! The children were excited to see Santa, his reindeer and Elf, and the parents were filled with gratitude.

Over the week we raised £250 (and counting) and have 3 boxes full of donations ranging from tinned food, clothes, shoes, toiletries and more!

We are very proud that we can help give back during Christmas; it is a strong belief of Aston Bond’s to be able to help support the community. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the team!

Divorce Do’s And Don’ts

Posted on by Lynette A'Court

Divorce Do’s and Don’ts

Divorce is often a traumatic and stressful time for families. Here is a list of our top five divorce do’s and don’ts.

Do’s

  1. Make absolutely sure you wish to Divorce. Consider attending a marriage guidance counsellor or a mediator to discuss your marital problems.
  2. If you decide to proceed with divorce it is very important that you obtain expert legal advice from a specialist family solicitor.
  3. Prepare a schedule of your income, outgoings, assets and debts. Try and encourage your spouse to do likewise so that you are aware of the matrimonial assets and your financial situation.
  4. Do at all times put your children first. It is of paramount importance that you both continue to co-parent your children at all times. Keep the family lifestyle at home as normal as possible.
  5. Keep a diary of major events that occur during the proceedings, if any.

Don’ts

  1. Do not argue over what is to go into the Divorce Petition. Your solicitor will advise you on this aspect. The ground for divorce is “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage. This is proven by one of five facts; adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years separation by consent or five years separation. The usual facts used are unreasonable behaviour, adultery or two years separation. With two years separation the other spouse must consent to the divorce otherwise you cannot use this ground.
  2. Do not criticise your spouse in front of the children or try to make the children take sides. Avoid using the children as messengers between yourself and your spouse.
  3. Do not prevent your spouse from visiting the children if you are living separately. Try and agree a schedule in respect of your spouse’s visits, holidays contact etc.  If necessary obtain your solicitor’s assistance with this.
  4. Do not introduce a new partner to your children during the early stages of divorce.
  5. Do not under any circumstances, argue over the proceedings in front of the children or cause harm to your spouse.

– Lynette A’Court

For any legal assistance or advice with divorce, separation or child access issues, contact our family law specialists here or call 01753 486 777.

Child Arrangements During Christmas

Posted on by Lynette A'Court

Child arrangements during Christmas can be tricky, it’s a magical time for children but when parents are in the midst of a separation or divorce, and this can often be a particularly emotional or lonely time of year for all concerned. In order to ease the transition for children at this difficult time, parents are encouraged to find ways to ensure children are able to spend quality time at Christmas with both parents and their families, either separately or, in certain cases where both parents agree, with both parents together.

Despite the breakdown in their relationship both parents too owe it to themselves to work together to experience the joy of seeing their children’s faces light up when they open the presents they have received from Santa at Christmas. Unless there are issues of domestic violence or other compelling reasons, children should not be deprived of seeing each parent at this joyous time of the year and enjoying the excitement of the festive season with their parents. Arranging child arrangements during Christmas is important to think of leading up to the holidays.

Situations such as where a father is only permitted by the mother to deliver the children’s sack of presents and he is deprived of seeing his children or indeed ensuring that they will ever receive the presents, should be avoided where possible. Similarly, where the resident parent books a holiday abroad throughout the Christmas holiday period (and informs the other parent that they will not see their children until their children’s arrangements visit in the New Year) tensions can arise which can quickly escalate at this time of year. Conversely, gestures such as parents purchasing or encouraging children to purchase a present for the other parent (or simply make a Christmas card for the other parent) can ultimately lead to a more harmonious and peaceful Christmas experience for all concerned.

When parents separate they should agree a children’s arrangements schedule to include all of the holiday periods throughout the year, to include, Easter holidays, summer holidays, Christmas holidays, New Years Eve, New Year’s Day and half term holidays as well as children’s arrangements generally.

We set out below some examples of child arrangements during Christmas:-

  • Year 1: The children stay Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their mother and stay Boxing Day and the following Day with their father. Year 2: The children stay Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their father and stay Boxing Day and the following day with their mother. Thereafter this arrangement to continue to alternate each year.
  • The children spend Christmas Day with both parents at the family home and the children spend Boxing Day with their mother during Year 1 and Boxing Day with their father during Year 2. This arrangement to continue on alternative Boxing Days.
  • Year 1: The children stay with their mother on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and they stay with their father on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Year 2: The children stay with their father on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and stay with their mother on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. This arrangement to continue on alternative years.

In the event that children’s arrangements cannot be agreed by the parents (or through mediation or collaborative law) then parents should consult a solicitor and make an application to court; whose main goal will be the welfare of the children.

Our experienced team at Aston Bond are always available to assist you in respect of children issues.

The Autumn Statement: Employment Affects

Posted on by Ilinca Mardarescu

How will the Autumn Statement affect Employment?

Salary Sacrifice schemes

There were a number of employment related implications in this year’s Autumn Statement. The most controversial of these was perhaps the removal of tax-free incentives on “salary sacrifice” schemes. The schemes allowed employees to “buy” a certain number of employment perks by agreeing to a cut in their wages in return for certain benefits. The schemes would often be used to provide tax-free benefits such as medical insurance, free gym membership, health checks and mobile phone contracts.

The advantage to employees was that any tax and NI would be calculated on their lower, agreed wage discounting the “sacrifice” they have made in lieu of these perks. This could mean substantial savings and even meant some employees who would have been classed as higher earners could sacrifice enough of their wages for these perks thereby taking them into the lower tax bracket. For employers too, the salary sacrifice schemes meant they would benefit by being able to discount the portion of the salary which had been sacrificed when calculating national insurance payments. The more employees a company had, the more beneficial the scheme was and substantial NI savings could be made by larger companies offering a salary sacrifice scheme.

These schemes were never formally part of any Government policy however. The method grew organically some years ago and HMRC allowed the practice to continue unhindered. Recently, the Treasury has looked at the practice and has concluded that it is losing out on tax revenue as a result. The changes to the salary sacrifice scheme have been expected.  However, keeping in line with policy, enhanced employer pension contributions (to registered pension schemes), childcare benefits, cycles and the cycle to work scheme and ultra-low emission cars will be exempt from these new changes.

National and Living wage

Increases were announced, effective from April 2017, as follows:

The National Living Wage for those aged 25 and over will increase from £7.20 per hour to £7.50 per hour.

The National Minimum Wage will also increase:

  • for 21 to 24 year olds – from £6.95 per hour to £7.05
  • for 18 to 20 year olds – from £5.55 per hour to £5.60
  • for 16 to 17 year olds – from £4.00 per hour to £4.05
  • for apprentices – from £3.40 per hour to £3.50

And the Chancellor confirmed that he will spend £4.3 million on helping small businesses to understand the rules and on cracking down on employers who are breaking the law by not paying the minimum wage.

Raising the tax-free personal allowance

The Chancellor confirmed that the tax-free personal allowance will be raised to £11,500 in April 2017.  He further confirmed that ‘despite challenging fiscal forecasts” they will continue to raise the personal tax-free allowance to £12,500 by the end of the parliament.

The Chancellor also confirmed that the point at which the higher rate of income tax will kick in will increase from £43,000 this year, to £45,000 in 2017-18

Employee Shareholder Status

‘Employee shareholder’ status (ESS) was introduced in September 2013 as a new category of worker status. Employee shareholders could forgo a number of employment protections, such as the right to a redundancy payment and protection from unfair dismissal, in return for a minimum of £2,000 of shares in the employer’s business. There were various tax benefits to these schemes and employers used them to reward those in management or other employees who have contributed to the growth of a business. These schemes will now be abolished in situations where parties enter into the agreements on or after 1 December 2016. For ESS arrangements entered into before 1 December 2016, the tax advantages will continue to apply. The removal of this benefit is largely in response to evidence that ESS was being used for tax planning.

Termination Payments

The Autumn Statement has confirmed that the first £30,000 of a termination payment will remain exempt from income tax and National Insurance. However, from April 2018 termination payments over £30,000, which are subject to income tax, will also be subject to employer NIC. Following a technical consultation, tax will only be applied to the equivalent of an employee’s basic pay if their notice is not worked, making it simpler to apply the new rules. This means that certain post-employment and/or bonus payments will not be classed as earnings. However, the government has said it will monitor this change and address any further manipulation.

Leave a comment below…

The Best Christmas Advert Of 2016 – Watch and Vote

Posted on by Andrew Sargood

Watch the best Christmas adverts right here and vote for your favourite below…

Solicitors are not famed for their heart-warming Christmas adverts, but here at Aston Bond, we love everything Christmas! John Lewis has always been known for having the best Christmas advert each year, but this time round there are a lot of worthy competitors battling for the title. From Buster The Boxer, to Kevin The Carrot and Mrs. Claus all making an appearance on our screens, we want you to vote on which you think is the best Christmas advert of 2016.

We will be getting into the festive spirit with our very own Christmas events coming soon, so keep an eye out for more information!

If you haven’t seen them already (or just fancy watching them again) check out the adverts below the poll, and feel free to let us know what you think in the comment section.

[interaction id=”5834693a67075ce64999b76d”]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6lr_VRsEo

  • Aldi: Kevin The Carrot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZrWFrRgbQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtKYdG9r0Pk

Leave a comment below…

Don’t have a Will? Intestacy Rules explained

Posted on by Jenna Dunstall

What happens if I do not make a Will?

It is so important to have a Will in place to ensure that your estate passes to the people that you want it to go to.

Some people wrongly assume that if they do not have a Will their estate will pass to the Crown, however this is not always the case. There are rules dictated by law, known as the Intestacy Rules, and these rules set out who should inherit your estate if you do not have a Will.

If you are married/in a Civil Partnership and have children:

If your estate is worth less than £250,000 then your spouse will inherit everything.

If your estate is worth more than £250,000 then your spouse will inherit all of your personal belongings, the first £250,000 of the estate and half of the remaining estate.  The other half of the remainder will pass to the children equally.

If there are no children then your spouse would inherit the entire estate.

If there is no spouse then the order for those in line to inherit is as follows:

  1. Children (if any have predeceased, then their children will take their share i.e. the deceased’s grandchildren)
  2. Parents
  3. Siblings (if any have predeceased, then their children will take their share)
  4. Half-siblings
  5. Grandparents
  6. Aunts and Uncles (if any have predeceased, then their children will take their share)
  7. The Crown

It is worth noting that if your estate is worth more than £250,000 and you are married with children, that your spouse will not inherit everything, which most people probably would not intend to happen and this is not always the best outcome from an Inheritance Tax planning point of view.

You will see that the Crown will only inherit if you have no surviving blood relatives.

People that cannot inherit under the Intestacy Rules include carers, friends, partners (unmarried/not in civil partnership) and relations via marriage such as a brother-in-law.

It is therefore imperative that you have a Will in place stating exactly what you want to happen to your assets on your death, as the Intestacy Rules can sometimes have unintended consequences.

Should you wish to discuss your own personal situation with us then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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