The headline on the front of one of today’s newspapers is that only 1 in 10 workers made it into work yesterday. 14 out of my team of 28 actually made it into the office, with a further 3 managing to work from home, so I think we did...
As a mum of two boys, both of whom spent many a happy hour being pushed around in their Maclaren buggies, I was very distressed to read about problems relating to these buggies with children losing bits of their fingers. I was also...
So the new Supreme Court flexes its muscles, and the banks win on charges. Interesting; some consumers are laughing - it is estimated that hundreds of millions of bank charges were refunded before the test case. Others, who got in...
So the negotiations with the EU are done, and Lloyds has to sell 600 branches. So do you fancy running a bank? Several brands are looking at the market - how about "Virgin Finance" on your doorstep. Would they bring music and...
It’s a hard question. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has just revised their forecast from 75,000 down to 48,000. Whilst this is better, its not exactly good news is it? They also add the caveat that this number depends on interest...
Apparently better than expected unemployment figures came out yesterday - analysts are now revising forecasts that unemployment will hit three million in 2010. Thankfully it looks like the speed at which people are losing their jobs is...
A recent survey on 1,000 young girls worryingly reveals that nearly 50% of teenagers would consider undergoing invasive surgery to improve their looks. Whilst the figures are not altogether surprising given today’s unrealistic...
Two articles in the Independent struck me over the weekend. Firstly the frightening figures from the Insolvency Service - there were 35,242 personal insolvencies in the 3 months to September. Up 28% on last year. Just...
Recently, the European Commission in Brussels accepted a new proposal to simplify dealing with a person’s assets in a country that is not their main residence. At the moment, if you own a holiday home in Malaga, but live in England,...
According to statistics released by the High Court, the number of will and inheritance disputes rose by a staggering 486% between 2006 and 2007. This may be connected to the massive rise in the value of estates over recent years. As people...
A recent case involving Stadium Capital Holdings (No.2) Ltd v St. Marylebone Property Company Plc (2009) illustrates the difficulties faced by those claiming ‘squatters’ rights’, also known as adverse possession. The case...
Unlike the Scottish legal system, it has been the case in England and Wales that if a person accused of an offence successfully defended themselves they would be entitled to recoup their reasonable expenses from the Court. In the past it...
Any business that has it's own vehicles on the road or expects employees to make work related journeys in their own vehicles (‘Grey Fleet’) must remember that they can be held criminally liable for ‘permitting’ their...
Jonathan Chadwick, Commercial Litigation Partner at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, provides his top ten tips for business owners struggling to stay secure in the current financial climate: 1. Treat Cash as King This is your first priority....
The NHS has reportedly turned to Conditional Fee Agreements (No Win No Fee) despite being a strong critique of the system in the past. The NHS has reported a large rise in cases against them which are being funded by Conditional Fee...
With marriage levels at an all time low and the Office for National statistics stating that the number of Civil Partnerships decreased by 18% between 2007 and 2008, it appears that growing numbers of people are choosing to simply co-habit rather than...
I was extremely saddened to hear about the tragic death of a 14 year old school girl in Coventry on Monday, only a few hours after she had been provided with a jab to protect her against cervical cancer. A number of...
It is reported this morning that many women have suffered delays in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer at the hands of East Lancashire NHS Hospitals Trust. Problems with the breast screening process at the Trust were identified as a result of...
The already tarnished reputation of the NHS and specifically its nurses suffered yet another hammer blow last week. The Patient Association published a damning report entitled ‘Patients Not Numbers, People Not Statistics’ which...
The NHS has recently announced the launch of the national swine flu helpline. The helpline aims to relieve the burden on NHS staff by diagnosing swine flu over the telephone, based solely on a patient’s description of their symptoms. ...
Are they worth the paper they are written on? Unlike many other countries pre-nuptial agreements are not binding in England and Wales but is all this set to change? A pre-nuptial agreement is a pre marital agreement setting out how the...
I was shocked but not surprised to learn that, over the last few years, the number of surgical mistakes made within the NHS has increased dramatically. Indeed, there was a 47% increase in patients suffering an “unintentional cut,...
I hear that injured miners have successfully sued their former solicitors for under settling their personal injury claims. But how easy is it to value a personal injury claim and how can someone be sure that they are receiving the right level of...
Once again the NHS is in the news this week, this time for incorrectly diagnosing cancer. Mr Collins is set to sue the NHS following the incorrect diagnosis which he claims has now ruined his life. The ordeal started in 2008...
It’s been almost a year and a half since Local Housing Allowance was rolled out to the whole country. This was quite a big change to the Housing Benefit system in relation to the private sector, which changed the focus of deciding reasonable rents...
