Commercial Client Library

  • Disputes in the EU - Rules on Applicable Law

    Where a dispute has a foreign element, one of the common problems is deciding under what jurisdiction legal action should be taken. This is avoided in many commercial contracts by specifying the applicable law in the contract, but in consumer contracts there...

  • Administration of Troncs

    The long-running series of disputes between employers in the hospitality industry and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) concerning the taxation of employees’ tips and their National Insurance (NI) status seems to have been concluded by the issue of ...

  • Advice on Acquisitions Deductible

    One common area of dispute between companies and the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is that of deductibility of expenses. One of the hottest areas of dispute is often whether an expense is a trading expense (deductible as part of the day-to-day running costs...

  • Are You Data Friendly

    Many businesses regard the Data Protection Act 1998 as something that merely requires a lot of form filling and the payment of fees, but there is a lot more to it than that. The purpose of the Act is to protect a person's right to privacy with regard to...

  • Bank Deposit Protection Rules for Businesses

    In December 2010, new limits were announced for the levels of protection available for different investments underwritten by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protects the deposits of small companies, which are those which meet...

  • Bribery Act Guidance

    The Government provides guidance for businesses on complying with the Bribery Act 2010 , which came into force on 1 July 2011. The Act was originally scheduled to take effect in April 2011, but its implementation was delayed to allow the final version of...

  • Business Relief - Traps for the Unwary

    Most business people know that for family businesses there are generous Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs, which generally operate to make assets used in the business exempt or partially exempt from IHT. The reliefs take various forms, but are  have been...

  • Buying from an Administrator - Take Care

    With businesses becoming insolvent in large numbers, opportunities abound to acquire assets from their administrators. However, the low prices sought for the assets are due, at least in part, to the additional risk to the purchaser. Here are some of the...

  • Companies Act 2006 Overview

    The Companies Act 2006 became fully effective from October 1st 2009. Here are some useful sources of information on the Act. For more information and advice on your circumstances, contact us. Companies House Overview . Changes which came into...

  • Companies Act Model Articles - Think First

    Since the Companies Act 2006  came into effect, the incorporation of a company has been straightforward as the Act provides an easy to use set of model articles of incorporation. However, before you rush off and buy an ‘off the...

  • Company Name Rules

    You cannot incorporate a company using any name you like. Some names are prohibited (for example, those which suggest a connection with the Government or the Crown) and names will not be allowed if they are too similar to the names of existing companies. It...

  • Company Disclosure Rules

    The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 set out the the requirements as to where and when company trading names, names of directors etc. need to be shown. The Statutory Instrument implementing the changes is both short and straightforward. In...

  • Company Formation Checklist

    You may have come across advertisements which make forming a company sound very easy, but before you go ahead there are some serious issues to think through. If you have decided that a company is the best vehicle for your new venture then here is a...

  • Company Late Filing Fees

    Companies filing their accounts after the due date are subject to late filing penalties which were last changed in February 2009. Private companies are required to file their accounts within 10 months of the end of the accounting period. Those that file...

  • Compensation for Loss of Light

    Following a recent case in which a dispute regarding a property owner’s right to light was unexpectedly dealt with by the granting of an injunction against a developer, a more recent case has offered guidance on how much compensation might be payable...

  • Considering Outsourcing

    These days more and more processes are being outsourced (run by external contractors under a service agreement) by more and more businesses. It is particularly common to outsource IT functions and telephone call management. Outsourcing can offer many...

  • Contractors Are Your Responsibility

    A handbook  produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) outlines the responsibilities of both the contractor and the client in situations in which work is carried out by contractors rather then employees. It does not apply to circumstances in...

  • Data Loss - What to Do

    The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued guidance for organisations that lose personal data, having reported that it has been notified of nearly 100 such incidents to date. One of the less intuitively obvious suggestions is to think...

  • Data Protection Guidance for Landlords

    The Information Commissioner's best practice guide for landlords - written to to assist them in complying with the Data Protection Act can be downloaded from the Information Commissioner’s website . The guide includes a checklist which is intended to...

  • Dealing With Breach of Patent

    When you discover that a business has breached your patent, what should you do? The answer to this question has two elements. The first is based on what you can do in law and the second is based on business strategy. Firstly, before picking a fight with...

  • Dealing With Subject Access Requests

    The Data Protection Act 1998 gives individuals the right to access information held about them by organisations. The Act governs how organisations can use the personal information they hold – including how they acquire, store, share or dispose of it....

  • Direct Marketing Via E-mail - Regulations

    UK law relating to the sending of unsolicited direct marketing material by electronic means are based on the EC Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications . A major aim of the Directive was to cut down on the amount of ‘spam’ that...

  • E-Commerce Law - Do You Comply?

    The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations introduced specific legislation to underpin e-commerce. If your business has an Internet presence then you need to make sure that you are not falling foul of these new rules. The Regulations do not just...

  • Electronic Filing of End of Year Returns

    All employers will be required to file their end of year PAYE returns electronically by 2010. E-filing means sending in the end of year forms P35 and P14 by either: Internet service for PAYE; or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) service; or ...

  • Employed or Self-Employed?

    Whether you are employed or self-employed makes a substantial difference to how you are taxed and the income tax liabilities of an employed person can be very different from those of a self-employed person with similar levels of gross income. The National...
Print pagePrintable Version

Ask a free legal question

Complete this simple form if you
would like to ask us a
free legal question
 

What Our Clients Say

We would like to thank you for the superb work and attention to detail that has gone into our dispute with the council so far! 

Our Architect put together a very professional document which was further enhanced and polished by your very professional input. 

You are in fact unique in my personal experience of the legal profession in that you take your duty of care very seriously. It is obvious that the outcome concerns you greatly and your determination to win is much appreciated!

Thank you from us both. 

Best Regards
 
Mr and Mrs X, Surrey