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The 12th edition of the Absence Survey management report has been produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), in conjunction with healthcare provider Simplyhealth.
As one might expect, the findings reflect the pressures associated with living and working in the current economic climate. Stress is now the most common cause of long-term absence from work,...
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Although most people know that gifts will normally not be subject to Inheritance Tax if the donor survives for seven years after they are made, it is less well known that there is another tax which can be triggered by a gift: Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
CGT taxes the disposal of assets, not just the sale of assets. So, when an asset is gifted (unless to a spouse or civil partner), CGT may...
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A case brought against a local council to preserve the right of two elderly persons to appropriate social care, rather than just the provision of care that met their basic needs at a level necessary to keep a vulnerable person safe, has recently been heard by the High Court. The claimants were severely disabled adults, both of whom received considerable support from the council and one of whom...
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As the law currently stands, when a person is provided with sleeping facilities at their place of work but remains ‘on call’ throughout their shift, the entire time spent at work will normally count as working time for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). Different rules apply, however, when determining whether or not a worker is entitled to be paid the National...
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Since 2007, when the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force, Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) have taken the place of Enduring Powers of Attorney. A power of attorney allows someone else to make decisions on your behalf if you lack the capacity to do so yourself.
When setting up an LPA, you must nominate at least one attorney, but you can have more if you wish. If you do have more...
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When first introduced, the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 prohibited direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment in the workplace by reason of any ‘religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief’. The wording was subsequently amended by the Equality Act 2006, which removed the word ‘similar’ so that...
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A recent case (Whitham v Club 24 Ltd. t/a Ventura) sheds further light on how an employer should respond if an employee makes derogatory remarks concerning the workplace on a social networking site.
Mrs Whitham worked as a team leader at Club 24 Ltd., which provides customer services for the Volkswagen group. The workforce comprises employees of Club 24 and of Volkswagen.
After...
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So-called ‘discounted gift schemes’ have been used in Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning for many years. The basic idea behind them is that a gift is made by a person whose estate is likely to be subject to IHT and the gift is so structured (usually using an insurance product) that the value of the gift for IHT purposes is much less than the practical value of the assets passing out of...
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When legal fees of £105 million were claimed in respect of a claim for injury to more than 30,000 people resulting from the dumping of toxic materials that was settled for £30 million, the dispute was inevitably going to drag on. The claim for legal costs was the largest in history.
After the legal fees claim was slashed in the High Court, the costs ruling was appealed to...
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When a woman updated her will in 2003, she had no way of knowing that a simple change of precedent document could cause problems for her executors several years later. There was no intention to change one of the main provisions of the will, which was that if her spouse failed to survive her for 28 days, the family home should pass to her daughter.
Under the terms of the original will,...
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A Practical Guide to Lasting Powers of Attorney
[13/01/12]
Dismissal for Comments on Facebook Unfair
[13/01/12]
HMRC Attack on Discounted Gift Scheme Succeeds
[13/01/12]