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Landlord ‘didn’t have to consult tenants again’ over service charges

Landlords must consult tenants over service charges for work carried out on their homes but how far does that obligation go? The Court of Appeal provided a useful insight in a recent case involving property company Reedbase Ltd and some of its tenants. An asphalt roof needed to be repaired, which involved removing tiles. Some of the tiles were in poor condition and the landlord proposed to replace them all. …Read More

Engineer wins appeal against employer monitoring his emails

An engineer who was dismissed after his employer monitored his emails has won his appeal that his right to privacy had been breached. The case involved a Romanian company that set up an IT system and Yahoo messenger account to enable employees to send work-related emails. It was against company policy to use the systems for private correspondence. However, one engineer, Mr Barbelescu, regularly shared private messages with his friends, …Read More

Overtime ruling in Veolia case could impact all employers

A group of refuse collectors have won an overtime claim that could have an impact on employers across the UK. The workers were employed in the Bromley and Camden council areas by the French owned company, Veolia Environmental Services. Their union, Unite, brought a test case relating to overtime payments. The Employment Tribunal found that voluntary overtime worked by the refuse collectors was part of their normal pay because there …Read More

More than a million people have opened Help to Buy ISAs

More than a million people have opened a Help to Buy ISA, the government savings account designed to enable first time buyers to get on the property ladder. The scheme was launched on 1 December 2015 to provide potential buyers with the opportunity to save up to £200 a month with the government topping up their contributions by 25%, up to a maximum of £3,000. First-time house buyers across the …Read More

Three sisters win dispute over their father’s will

Three sisters have won a dispute with their father’s widow over the validity his will, which he made shortly before he died. The case involved a man who lived in Grenada with his second wife. In 2014, he had visited England to see his three daughters from his previous marriage. While he was there he executed a will. He then returned to Grenada where he died aged 74, leaving property …Read More