Recent Posts
Nicola Gooch
The controversies of infrastructure: Is there a North /South funding gap? or are roads simply winning over railways?
Given that July and August are supposed to be the 'silly season' there has been a remarkable amount of news generated this summer. In...
10/08/17
Irwin Mitchell
Don't just follow the Spec
Construction colleague Mike Plews has digested and summarised the high profile LSE glass failure case. People may remember stories about...
09/08/17
Nicola Gooch
Mayor of London seeks power to both have cake and eat it by 'maximising' both Mayoral CIL and Affordable Housing provision
The provision of affordable housing in London is rather a contentious topic at the moment. This is not that surprising given that London...
02/08/17
Irwin Mitchell
Southern first time buyers coasting along...
Post Office Money have released research looking at the affordability of homes in the 15 biggest UK cities. They considered average house...
02/08/17
Joanne Moseley
New work Tzar wants tougher penalties for businesses failing to pay NMW
The new work Tzar, Sir David Metcalf has said that he wants tougher action against employers who underpay workers. His suggestions...
02/08/17
Joanne Moseley
Voluntary overtime must be included in holiday pay
The EAT has today ruled that voluntary overtime must be included in holiday pay. In the case of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v...
01/08/17
Nicola Gooch
The Secretary of State and his Inspector disagree on 5 Year Housing Land Supply issues.
If you were ever in any doubt that a standardised approach to assessing a local authority's housing land supply was a good idea, at least...
31/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Employment Tribunal Fees have been abolished - what happens now?
Yesterday the Supreme Court abolished ET fees and Employment Appeal Tribunal fees and ruled that the fee regime is unlawful. This means...
27/07/17
Nicola Gooch
Retirement Living: Adopted planning policies rarely plan for an ageing population
It is both well known, and widely documented, that the UK is getting older. According to the Office of National Statistics, by 2026 a...
21/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Manager claims discrimination following dismissal for calling Prince George a symbol of "white privilege"
According to a report in the HR Director, a former British Council manager was dismissed after calling Prince George a symbol of ‘white...
19/07/17
Nicola Gooch
The Community Infrastructure Levy: funds raised does not equal infrastructure delivered
It has been a busy old week in the world of planning. The Repeal Bill has been published, albeit under a new name; St Albans lost its...
14/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Is your employee sick or skiving?
New statistics released today by the ELAS Group identify the dates in the first half of the year with the highest absence rates. Mondays...
13/07/17
Joanne Moseley
The Taylor Review: what employers need to know
Matthew Taylor has now published his review into modern workplace practices which is over 100 pages in length. Its scope is wide ranging...
12/07/17
Irwin Mitchell
Financial Penalties for Employers
Since 6 April 2014, Employment Judges have had the power to issue a fine (in addition to any compensation awarded to the employee) where...
11/07/17
Irwin Mitchell
Council investment in Commercial Property
The Times has reported that local authorities are investing heavily in commercial property in an attempt to replace lost revenue from...
11/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Do we really need another category of worker?
Deliveroo has called for the Government to overhaul workers’ rights legislation to allow it to give its delivery riders benefits without...
07/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Are you one of the 18% of employers who don't know how the apprenticeship levy works?
From 6 April 2017 employers with a payroll of over £3 million have been required to pay 0.5% of their payroll costs to HMRC to fund the...
06/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Gig workers already have rights - all we have to do is enforce them
That is the message from the General Secretary of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain. His point is that many of these so...
06/07/17
Joanne Moseley
More self employed drivers claim worker status
An Employment Tribunal will start to hear the latest in a long of cases where so called self employed drivers (in this case from the taxi...
05/07/17
Nicola Gooch
It's the start of consultation season ... and we need to talk about Mayoral CIL
It has long been a pet theory of mine that government departments deliberately time their public consultations to coincide with the...
05/07/17
Irwin Mitchell
It's not just about Polar Bears.....
Paul Fisher, former MPC member, and former deputy head of the PRA, writes in IPE "If the financial crisis taught us anything, it is that...
03/07/17
Joanne Moseley
Dept for Education is the first government department to publish gender pay gap
All organisations employing 250 employees or more are required to publish the raw data setting out their gender pay gap by 4 April 2018...
29/06/17
Nicola Gooch
The Minister's Dilemma: Build Up or Build Out
It is probably an understatement to say that Alok Sharma began his tenure as Housing Minister in extremely difficult circumstances. The...
29/06/17
Irwin Mitchell
Too hot to work?
Our clients are often surprised that there is no legal guidance on maximum workplace temperature. The Workplace (Health, Safety and...
20/06/17
Joanne Moseley
UK workers are cheated out of at least £1.5bn a year
According to a research group at Middlesex University business school in a report called Unpaid Britain one in 20 workers say that they...
20/06/17
Nicola Gooch
The Joy of Festivals: There is a lot of red-tape behind the revelry
The 2017 festival season is now, officially, well under way. The Isle of Wight and Download have already taken place. This week,...
19/06/17
Irwin Mitchell
Are we talking about the same sector?
Those of us with memories will recall the nursing home crisis of the recession. And, indeed, earlier this year, the Guardian, at...
15/06/17
Nicola Gooch
And now for something completely different - Let's take a break from politics and talk PropTech
This morning, whilst listening to Radio 4, I heard: "There has been an awful lot of politics lately". This single sentence neatly sums...
15/06/17
Irwin Mitchell
"Let's understand each other" - a grown up conversation between surveyors and banks
Well, that's good then. The BBA and the RICS have entered into a joint "Memorandum of Understanding" about valuations, showing their...
09/06/17
Nicola Gooch
Election 2017: Planning Policy and Possible Compromise
Whilst the Conservatives remain the largest party in parliament, by a significant margin, they have fallen short of an overall majority...
09/06/17