Business Leases - A Summary of Recent Changes - Summer 2004

Significant reforms to the law affecting business leases came into force on 1 June 2004. The following is a summary of the changes which all landlords and tenants should be aware of. Read Full Article

Companies and the New Pension Rules - Summer 2004

One of the interesting things to come out of the proposed legislation to simplify pensions, is how it will affect companies and the higher earners within them. Employers will still be able to run schemes as they did before, however, the tax status of these schemes will change considerably for a number of people. Some people will need to act sharply if they or their companies are not to be adversely affected. ?A-Day? will be in April 2006. Read Full Article

For Those Involved in Agriculture: Mid-term Review Entitlement and your Will - Summer 2004

There can be few in or connected with the agriculture industry who do not know ? to a greater or lesser extent ? of the Single Income Payment Entitlement arising out of the Mid-Term Review. Read Full Article

New Guidance on Protection of Trading Names - Summer 2004

Protection of a trading name should be a paramount concern for businesses. Many people are often surprised to learn that (generally speaking) the Companies House register, the Trade Mark register and the Domain Name registers are mutually exclusive ? just because your name is registered in one or two of the registers, it doesn?t mean that you are protected in all three. For example, you may have registered your business at Companies House as a limited company and you may have domain names with all the standard URLs (.co.uk .com etc.) but this will not give you the right to apply for a trade mark if the same or a similar name is already registered. Similarly, if you have a registered trade mark, it does not automatically entitle you to register either in the company?s registry or on the domain name register. Read Full Article

Website Access - Do You Comply? - Summer 2004

All websites will shortly have to comply with rules making them accessible for disabled users. The Disability Discrimination Act [DDA] 1995 Section III which refers to accessible websites, came into force on 1st October 1999 and the Code of Practice was published on 27th May 2002. Read Full Article

Case Law Round Up - Employment Law News Summer 2004

To bring you up to date here is a brief overview of some recent, key cases. Read Full Article

Comment - Employment Law News Summer 2004

In recent issues, we have reported extensively on new legislation. This summer, with one noteworthy exception, a relative dearth of new regulation allows us to review some interesting case law development, to consider employer issues arising from EU enlargement and, as the pensions regulator shows his teeth for the first time, to reflect on the impact of the stakeholder pension regime since its introduction at the tail end of 2001. Read Full Article

EU Accession: New Worker Registration Scheme - Employment Law News Summer 2004

On 1 May 2004 changes were made to the documentary checks to be made by employers, under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, of every person they intend to employ. The checks are intended to ensure that prospective employees can work legally in the UK. Failure to follow these requirements could amount to a criminal offence. Read Full Article

New Dispute Resolution Procedures - Employment Law News Summer 2004

With the benefit of the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004, we can now highlight some of the key elements of the new statutory regime which will be in force from 1 October 2004. Read Full Article

Stakeholder Pensions: OPRA Targets Defaulters - Employment Law News Summer 2004

The introduction in October 2001 of stakeholder pension requirements, potentially affecting any organisation with five or more employees, saw an initial surge of scheme set-ups. However, it is plain that many employers have ignored the regulations. This is despite the ability of OPRA (the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority) to impose fines of up to £50,000. Read Full Article

Stakeholder Pensions: OPRA Targets Defaulters - Employment Law News Summer 2004

The introduction in October 2001 of stakeholder pension requirements, potentially affecting any organisation with five or more employees, saw an initial surge of scheme set-ups. However, it is plain that many employers have ignored the regulations. This is despite the ability of OPRA (the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority) to impose fines of up to £50,000. Read Full Article

Fund Supermarkets - Financial News Summer 2004

Fund supermarkets are investment platforms whose purpose is to improve the process of investment for advisers and their clients. They offer a wide range of products and services and have access to large numbers of funds. Read Full Article

Pension Simplification - Financial News Summer 2004

After a consultation period, the Chancellor is now pressing ahead with the simplification of pensions. The intention is to achieve a transparent, consistent and flexible system, which can be easily understood. One tax regime will replace the eight currently applicable to different pension types. Read Full Article

Planning in Order to Save Inheritance Tax - Financial News Summer 2004

There has been much speculation prior to the budget regarding the possible closure of tax loopholes and some of these have indeed now been closed. As a result it is of the utmost importance that the few opportunities that remain are exploited in order to reduce the amount of inheritance tax payable on one?s estate. Read Full Article

Community Design Right - Spring 2004

Two new pieces of EU Legislation (one having direct effect in all member states and the other requiring national legislation) have established a new community wide design right. We covered the new laws in detail in an earlier issue of this newsletter, but we now have the results of what is thought to be the first case based on the new community unregistered design. Read Full Article

Data Protection - Accessing Personal Data - Spring 2004

As a new piece of legislation which has not been in force long, the Data Protection Act 1998 has been a source of anxiety for businesses and employers due to the lack of clarity surrounding obligations under the Act. Not many cases have made it to court and so there is a dearth of legal precedent on which to base best practice. Read Full Article

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - Impact on Commercial Property - Spring 2004

Businesses which provide a service to the general public will need to be aware of the latest sections of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 coming into force on 1st October 2004. Read Full Article

Pensions - The New Regime - Spring 2004

After a considerable wait, the Inland Revenue has published a consultation document alongside the Department of Work and Pensions' Green Paper proposing a single tax regime for pensions, as opposed to the eight currently in operation. Read Full Article

Senior Commercial Lawyer Joins Furley Page - Spring 2004

Furley Page Commercial Team has expanded following the appointment of Solicitor, Richard Horton. Read Full Article

Stamp Duty Land Tax - Impact on Commercial Leases - Spring 2004

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) replaced Stamp Duty (SD) on land transactions on 1st December 2003. SDLT taxes the transaction itself. SD taxed the document effecting the transaction. SDLT has its greatest impact on Commercial Leases. Read Full Article