New evidence set to reignite tabloid phone hacking row August 16, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch must have been “confused or misinformed” over the role of Harbottle & Lewis in the phone hacking investigation, the law firm claimed yesterday in an intervention that looks set to reignite the row. The firm dismissed Murdoch’s claims that a 2007 report it carried out suggested phone hacking was not widespread at News [...]
Firms attack changes to paternity law January 17, 2011 DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg was accused of risking a bureaucratic nightmare yesterday, after outlining plans to expand impending paternity leave regulations. Clegg wants to “transform” paternity leave so that fathers can take regular chunks of their wives’ or partners’ maternity leave – yet the policy was attacked as unworkable by business groups and employment [...]
It is always the perfect time to start a business September 21, 2011 WHY would now be a good time to start your own business, when the economy is weak and all around is pessimism? Well the truth is that plenty of great companies were started in downturns. In the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Walt Disney launched his eponymous animation company, now almost the [...]
Netiquette: how to get it right at work August 10, 2011 AS NEW Zealand accountant Vicki Walker found out, emails can be treacherous when used improperly. Fired for using all caps in her messages, she is a perfect example of why old-fashioned etiquette has a place in the digital age. There are rules to apply to emails, just as you would to a handwritten letter. 1 [...]
Tribunals cost firms £8,500 each, says BCC January 5, 2011 EMPLOYERS face costs of thousands of pounds from spurious employment claims, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) claimed yesterday. Tribunals are “overwhelmingly weighted in favour of the employee,” causing companies to pay large settlements even for claims with no substance, the BCC’s report said. The average cost for an employer to defend themselves at tribunal [...]
Clarke plans no win no fee legal reform March 29, 2011 JUSTICE minister Ken Clarke yesterday announced plans to reform the UK’s no-win-no-fee system, lifting the ban on contingency fees that lawyers can claim for the work. Instead of taking a so-called success fee solely from the losing side, lawyers will now be able to claim an agreed percentage of any damages won – sharing the [...]
CITY OF LONDON CHIEF HITS OUT AT PAY RULES December 12, 2010 CITY of London policy chief Stuart Fraser has slammed new EU laws regulating bonus payments as “political point scoring” that will drive business out of Europe and destroy London’s status as a global financial capital. In his column for City A.M. today, Fraser, the chairman of the policy and resources committee at the City of [...]
CITY OF LONDON CHIEF HITS OUT AT PAY RULES December 12, 2010 CITY of London policy chief Stuart Fraser has slammed new EU laws regulating bonus payments as “political point scoring” that will drive business out of Europe and destroy London’s status as a global financial capital. In his column for City A.M. today, Fraser, the chairman of the policy and resources committee at the City of [...]
Why jet-setting employees are a legal headache March 29, 2011 SUPPOSE an employee – let’s call her Snow White – works in Paris but lives in London. How much “home” or “train” work does White need to do to be covered by English laws? In the recent case of British Airways v Mak, the Court of Appeal decided that English tribunals have jurisdiction to hear [...]
The dos and don’ts of being headhunted November 24, 2010 YOU may be forgiven if the case of Lonmar Global Risks v West & Others, which came to a conclusion in the High Court earlier this month, passed you by. But the verdict may well have a significant impact on you if you are in one of those City jobs where you work in a team, [...]