Couples who are just finding out now that they are expecting a baby will be the first to benefit from new rules on shared parental leave. Eligible women who are due to give birth on or after 5 April 2015 may be able to share their maternity leave with their partner, allowing them to return… Read more »
On 22 April 2014 the Children and Families Act came into force. The Act followed a review of the whole family justice system in 2012 when it was decided everything was too complicated and slow. Basically the government decided children and families were not getting the service they deserved. The review panel spent a year… Read more »
The amount of compensation paid out to certain Mesothelioma victims is due to increase in line with inflation under new draft legislation. Under the draft Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, compensation payments under the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme – which provides for lump sum compensation payments to be paid to… Read more »
Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, will be stepping down from the post after refusing a request from the justice secretary to reapply for the job. Mr Hardwick has held the job since 2010, which is an independent position tasked with advising the Ministry of Justice on the state of UK prisons. His regular… Read more »
For anyone still fortunate enough to receive them this is often the time of year when bonuses are paid. But what if the person due to get the bonus has separated from their spouse but is not divorced? Unfortunately bonuses can be a source of problems for two main reasons in a situation like this…. Read more »
Equal pay claims against local government and the NHS (large public sector employers) have dominated the headlines for a long time. The basis of these claims was that women who were doing like work to male colleagues were paid less. As the roles were similar, the only reason for the difference in pay appeared to… Read more »
A Judicial Review Judgement handed down today in the Royal Courts of Justice has halted Government plans to increase legal costs for the victims of the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma. This is an extremely aggressive disease usually affecting the pleura around the lungs, life expectancy after diagnosis is approximately nine months and the only known… Read more »
You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that the festive period can have its highs and lows. There are pressures to buy presents that are ‘the perfect gifts’ and pressures to have a ‘great time’. When the clock strikes midnight to mark the start of the new year, supposedly bringing with it a… Read more »
Attending University can be an expensive time, especially with tuition fees rising – so are you getting what you’ve paid for? Information released by the BBC today indicates that student complaints and appeals have increased and that this may be directly linked to the rise in tuition fees. With students and their families paying up… Read more »
The economy may be looking a little healthier according to some, but many people are yet to feel the effect. Many of us have endured a period of reduced or stagnated income as businesses try to reduce their expenditure in order to survive this period of austerity. Against this background, it is not surprising that… Read more »
Overtime payments should be included in holiday pay following a landmark ruling, which could affect thousands of workers across the North East. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that, for workers who regularly receive additional payments like overtime, commission or bonuses, these must be included in the pay they receive when they take annual leave… Read more »
Judges have ruled that a lorry driver who died of mesothelioma was entitled to compensation, even though he did not work directly with the asbestos that caused his illness. Percy McDonald collected waste products from Battersea Power Station between 1954 and 1958. Although he was not working directly with asbestos, he was exposed to the… Read more »
