Contracts, Human Resources HR, Employment and legal advice for owners and managers of SME small and medium sized business owners.
The majority of employees in England and Wales will be looking forward to the additional day’s holiday this year to celebrate 60 years of the Queen’s reign. However, for some employers the additional holiday, Susan Evans, Partner at Lester Aldridge explains what to do if you think that will bring you a contractual headache.
The draft Patent Box legislation remained intact at its first reading in Parliament, with just some minor tinkering at the edges according to a leading firm of patent attorneys.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills today launched a consultation on proposals to make it easier for Trading Standards officers to tackle rogue traders across local authority boundaries.
Twitter can be a fantastic marketing tool, but you need to be aware of the legal implications. Let me explain how to not fall into some of the pitfalls.
A relative new kid on the social media block, Pinterest is growing quickly, with rating figures suggesting that UK traffic increased almost 50% between December and January alone.
For hard-pressed business owners who have poured blood, sweat and tears into building up a successful company, the stakes are particularly high when it comes to marriage. While it might not be romantic, a pre-nup agreement is a sensible – some would say vital – solution to safeguard everything you have worked so hard for.
The Government is too concerned with cutting the costs of the Employment Tribunal service, and this may have negative consequences for businesses, claims a leading UK lawyer.
With most of England preoccupied who should succeed Fabio Capello as manager of the England Football Team. There appears to be a growing majority of opinion that the person who is appointed should be English or at least British. Can the FA just seek to hire an English man? Can your business do similar? Bellamy Forde investigates.
A new, two-year pilot scheme, has been launched that is set to help businesses speed up the process of patent applications in the UK and Canada.
The latest security breach from mobile provider O2 is a sign of cyber threats to come according to a panel of security experts.
When the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions published its report Revitalizing Health and Safety Strategy Statement in 2000, it revealed the shocking news that the cost to the UK of work-related ill health and accidents stood at £18 billion per annum.
For husband and wife teams running companies, the pressures of the economic climate can be further compounded by the challenges of working and living together.
The revised Bribery Act was passed over six months ago in an attempt by the Government to clamp down on perceived business corruption. Companies and their business advisors have been tasked with ensuring the relevant procedures are now in place to prevent bribery but how many have actually taken steps to minimise the risk?
The Star Wars ruling last month was one of the highest profile intellectual property cases of recent years and, although at the time it was widely reported as a triumphant David and Goliath story, IP lawyer Rob Lucas from law firm Shulmans is warning that the detail of the judgment in fact makes it far easier to sue UK companies which infringe copyright laws overseas.
With over half of the entire UK population having a Facebook account, it is claimed that employers are losing £14 billion per year as a direct result of employees accessing social media sites during work hours, yet their hands are tied when it comes to disciplinary action resulting in a minefield for employers and the rules of what is acceptable and what is not are very hazy.
