Electrical equipment is the fastest growing category of rubbish across the European Union, with around 20kg per person produced every year. The UK alone now generates around 1m tonnes of waste electrical equipment annually. The Government has now published draft regulations, guidance and its...
One of the final acts of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, before it became the Department for Communities and Local Government, was to issue a guidance document for local authorities on how successfully to pursue prosecutions for unauthorised building works to listed buildings, the aim...
As regards divorce, recent press coverage has tended to concentrate on the financial settlements awarded following the divorces of very rich couples. One might therefore be forgiven for thinking that the conduct of the parties during the marriage is irrelevant to the settlement made.
Sydney Mitchell Solicitors will be revolutionising the local property market with an exciting venture aimed at making moving home more simple for buyers and sellers alike.
No longer will buyers and sellers have to find and then liase with estate agents and solicitors, a time consuming...
Solihull residents in danger from unauthorised will writers.
Solihull residents are being warned of the dangers of using unregulated will writers. Solihull solicitors Sydney Mitchell are citing a number of instances where people have suffered dire financial consequences...
Under the law of England and Wales you can either make a Will or if you do not then your estate will be divided in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy. These rules do not accord with the principles of Shari'a Law.
If you make a Will under the law of England and Wales then there are...
If you are subject to a long delay or the cancellation of your flight when on holiday, the airline is required to give you a leaflet outlining your right to compensation. If the delay or cancellation means that you must rearrange your holiday or incur significant extra cost, make sure you get an...
There are currently 20 million people aged 50 and over in the UK and the figure is expected to reach 27 million by 2030.
On 1 October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations come into effect. This new legislation makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age in...
The Work and Families Bill provides the power to introduce measures intended to give more choice to families trying to balance work and caring responsibilities.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the practice whereby an employer provides pay in lieu of minimum paid holiday leave not taken is unlawful, even if the holiday year in question has expired and the allowance was carried forward to the next year.
Most arguments about covenants placed on land have to do with property developments which are opposed by the owners of neighbouring land.
A recent case involved land which had been split into four plots in the 1950s. The owner of the land sold three of the plots and retained the fourth...
A judge who failed to explain how he had reached his decision as to the amount that should be awarded to a widow from her late husband's estate, in order to allow her to meet her future financial needs, recently found his decision overturned by the Court of Appeal. The widow in question had made a...
West Midlands law firm, Sydney Mitchell, delighted to announce the appointment of Derek Cook as Trusts and Probate Practitioner at its Birmingham City Centre office.
If you have highway cases involving flooding, beware the very recent (judgment given on 11th April 2006) High Court case of The Department for Transport v Mott MacDonald Limited (as yet unreported)
The Judge held that a Highway Authority was not liable for blocked drains / inadequate...
West Midlands law firm, Sydney Mitchell, is delighted to welcome two new fee earners to its Family Law department.
Solicitor Kelly Round read Law at the University of Huddersfield and the College of Law in York. After training at a Nottingham City Centre firm, Kelly qualified in 2004...
No one likes to think that an accident could happen whilst on holiday, but sometimes the worst does happen. Craig Dickson from Sydney Mitchell Solicitors looks at some of sensible steps to take before travelling.
We all look forward to, and save hard for our holiday each...
The Government has issued a consultation document in which it is proposed that the filing date for company accounts and corporation tax returns be made contiguous, the ultimate plan being for there to be a single filing service. Under the proposals, the date for filing accounts with HM Revenue and...
The loss of the original of a will does not always mean that the will cannot be accepted for probate, as is illustrated by a case involving a gay couple, Mark Rowe and Barrie Clarke, who had lived together for several years.
Under Inheritance Tax (IHT) law, in order for a gift to be effective for IHT purposes, it is necessary that the person making the gift does not have an 'interest in possession' of the gifted asset after the gift is made. This basic rule means, for example, that a person who gifts a property to his...
A judge who failed to explain how he had reached his decision as to the amount that should be awarded to a widow from her late husband's estate, in order to allow her to meet her future financial needs, recently found his decision overturned by the Court of Appeal. The widow in question had made a...
For more than a decade, commercial agents have been entitled to seek compensation for the losses they suffer when an agency agreement is terminated by the principal. Recently, a case was heard in the Court of Appeal concerning the definition of what constitutes a loss and, in particular, whether...
The new Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 come into force on 6 April 2006. The Regulations repeal and replace existing laws on the control of exposure to asbestos and implement amendments to the European Asbestos Worker Protection Directive (AWPD). They aim to provide greater protection for...
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, which will outlaw age discrimination in the workplace, have now been published by the Department of Trade and Industry. The regulations will come into force on 1 October 2006 and can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality/draft_regs.doc. ...
Subscribe: