David Harper (pictured left) is an associate director at CBRE who specifically advises on capital allowances matters in the North of England. He spends his time meeting clients and reviewing their expenditure to assess the potential tax relief whether they are purchasing/disposing, refurbishing or developing a property. David also advises on the best strategy when there is planned expenditure with a view to achieve the maximum amount of tax relief. During his career David has saved his clients tens of millions of pounds which he always tries to explain in the clearest way possible.
Manchester Graduate Talent (MGT) is the free recruitment service offered by The University of Manchester giving local Manchester businesses access to high quality graduate talent. Local companies can advertise their entry level vacancies for free through the university jobs board and the MGT team will promote the opportunities to a targeted group of students who want to stay and work in Manchester. The scheme was designed for Manchester-based recruiters to specially target final year students/graduates and also supports with help in writing job descriptions, advertising, receiving applications, first sifting and help arranging interviews. Roles advertised can be permanent, short-term or internships. Here are a couple of testimonials from businesses that used MGT in 2017:
You should all by now be into the final stages of implementing plans for the impending new legislation on GDPR which comes into effect on Friday 25th May 2018.
There has been much written in the media and we are sure you will have been bombarded with information from various providers seeking to offer solutions.
The first thing to remember in all of this is the fundamentals have not really changed. The regulations are a consolidation and update of existing laws. There are some rights which are now requirements but the main difference is that firms need to demonstrate that they are taking steps to protect personal client, employee and supplier data that will avoid the now punitive fines that The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can levy.
A recent case in the High Court contains some interesting comments on the extent to which an obligation to provide equipment on hire of satisfactory quality and/or fit for purpose extends beyond the initial point of delivery.
Over the last 20 years, changing social attitudes have led to a shift away from traditional familial relationships towards more informal arrangements. As of November 2017, the unmarried cohabiting couple was the fastest growing type of family in the UK with over 3.3 million cohabiting couples in 2017 in comparison with 1.7 million in 1997 (1). Over a third of cohabiting couples also had dependent children in 2017 (2). Unfortunately, an increasing number of people are taking the decision not to marry without understanding that the relationship between unmarried cohabitants has no legal status in the UK. If the relationship were to break down, there is no body of law upon which the cohabitants can rely for their rights to be protected, unlike when a marriage ends.
We met up with Elaine Kinsella (pictured left with husband Peter Kinsella ), co-founder of Lunya, a Catalonian Restaurant, Bar and Deli with restaurants in Liverpool and Manchester, for our latest client focus Q&A.
You know those buttons at places like airports and service stations that customers can press to show that they feel happy, unhappy, or indifferent about the service they have received? Well, it seems that Sports Direct has implemented something similar to discover how staff feel about the working conditions at one of its warehouses.
The organisation has come in for some criticism in recent times, and this idea is reported to be one of a number of measures put in place. According to the Guardian, workers are asked to use a touchpad to select a ‘happy’ or a ‘sad’ emoji. Sad emojis trigger an invitation to discuss the problem.
Ms Aziz was a care worker who had relocated to the Trust’s Dell Field Court site. Issues arose between her and two other workers, and this triggered a period of difficulties, complaints, suspensions, absences and grievances.
The situation was deemed to be dysfunctional, and the Trust decided that Ms Aziz should be moved to another site. She was given three weeks’ notice and confirmation that she would be paid her additional travel expenses in line with the employer’s relocation policy. But Ms Aziz didn’t take up what she said was her employer’s offer to move to a different location. This led to her dismissal for unauthorised absence, failure to engage with the Trust and, ultimately, a fundamental breakdown in trust and confidence.
Pregnant workers in the UK are protected by the Equality Act. The legislation makes pregnancy and maternity discrimination unlawful, the relevant period being the start of the worker’s pregnancy to the end of their maternity leave or when they return to work (if earlier).
It is also automatically unfair to dismiss a worker, or to select her for redundancy, when the reason or main reason is connected to her pregnancy or statutory maternity leave. This doesn’t mean that a pregnant woman or a new mum cannot be dismissed, but employers must be careful to ensure that the reason for this is not pregnancy/maternity-related.
People who work part-time are protected from being treated less favourably than their comparable full-time colleagues. The question in Ms Pinaud’s case was whether working more than 50% of full-time hours but not being paid more than 50% of a full-time salary was less favourable treatment.
Ms Pinaud’s part-time working pattern, described as a 50% contract, was 14 days on and 14 days off. Over the course of a year, she was required to be available for 130 days. Compare that with the full-time position, which required workers to be available for 243 days in a year.
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