Natural Dangers and A Duty of Care
The tragic death of two young men at Prestonhill Quarry, Inverkeithing in the last year has left people asking questions about the duty of…
Is Travelling Time Working Time?
Does the time that peripatetic workers (i.e. workers who are not assigned to a fixed or habitual place of work) spend travelling from home…
Legal Highs and the Psychoactive Substances Bill
Psychoactive drugs, much more commonly known as 'legal highs', are at the heart of an industry which the Home Office recently estimated…
The 40 Year Itch
Divorce rate for the over 65's has doubled in the last decade. This week, the headlines caught our attention following the publication…
Care or Contempt?
On 27 March 2015 two social workers previously found in contempt of Court for failing to allow contact between a mother and her children…
Could Motorists Face Financial Penalties for Parking Vehicles on the Pavements?
A bill has been proposed to the Scottish Parliament whereby motorists would face a financial penalty for parking vehicles on pavements, in…
Compensation Payouts by NHS Tayside on the Increase
A recent local report indicates that the amount of money paid out in compensation claims by NHS Tayside has more than quadrupled in under…
Mobile Phone Use at Wheel - as Dangerous as Drink Driving?
Drivers continue to use mobile phones at the wheel.
I was disappointed to read in The Nottingham Post this week that there has…
Expenses and Funding of Civil Litigation in Scotland
The Scottish Government's recent consultation on Expenses and the Funding of Civil Litigation in Scotland certainly provided food for…
Establishing Parentage and the Implications
In a recent landmark case, a university lecturer, who was deceived by his wife into thinking that he was the father of the son she gave…
Stepping Out Pedestrian Road Traffic Accidents
New statistics show a 1% increase in pedestrians killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads compared to the previous year.
I was…
When is a disclosure in the public interest?
Whistleblowing remains a high profile topic and with the need for two years' service before an employee can raise an unfair dismissal case…
Shared Parental Leave - delivering flexibility for working parents?
The Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 (“the SPL Regulations”) came into force on 1 December 2014 and introduce a new system that…
New Drink Driving Limits - An Economic Hangover
Last year, Scotland was introduced to new legislation lowering the legal drink-drive limit from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.…
What is a Deed of Variation?
In his recent Budget statement George Osborne announced Government plans to review the use of Deeds of Variation for Inheritance Tax (IHT)…
Whistleblowing what is it and what does it mean for employers?
Our recent mock tribunal centred on whether an employee had "blown the whistle" by making a qualifying disclosure. What exactly is a…
Pension Freedom and Divorce
From 6 April 2015, new pension reforms were introduced in the UK, which gave some pension holders greater freedom over how they…
Zero Hours Contract: A key manifesto battleground in the 2015 General Election
One of the battlegrounds for the forthcoming General Election focuses on the use of zero hours contracts. Are they the scourge of society…
The 1D effect and Compassionate Leave for Employees
The Independent reported last week that employees have been requesting compassionate leave to cope with the news Zayn Malik has left One…
Ex-wife makes financial claim 23 years after divorce is finalised
This week, many were shocked to read the Supreme Court Judgment in the case of Wyatt v Vince. Where the Supreme Court, by unanimous…
Don't be a Nuisance
With effect from the 6 April 2015, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) will no longer require to prove “substantial damage or…