Possible Implications Of Brexit For UK Employment Law

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Much of the employment law with have in this country comes from the EU, including:- discrimination rights, collective consultation obligations, transfer of undertakings regulations, family leave, working time regulations and duties to agency workers.

Whilst it would now be possible for the UK government to repeal this it is unlikely to do so and in fact EU law will probably continue to significantly influence employment law in this country.

There are various reasons for this:

  • Some employment law was implemented in the UK before the EU made it law. For example, UK equal pay, race and disability discrimination laws, right of return after maternity leave – all UK law.  It is highly unlikely therefore that the government will suddenly decide to reverse this.
  • Some employment law provides for rights that go further than what the EU requires.  For example, UK family leave rights.
  • Many of the employment rights that exist are generally considered to be a good thing and therefore even if it is solely based on EU law it is unlikely that the government would repeal these.
  • The government is likely to determine that there is a requirement to continue to observe EU law even though we are not in the EU.  This will be due to a need to stay in some sort of relationship with the EU. Any trade agreement negotiated with the EU is likely to be dependent on it.

It is much more likely that the government will gradually modify EU derived employment law to make it more applicable to UK employers and employees than repeal it altogether.  As leaving the EU is a two year process nothing will happen quickly.

Once we have left the EU the European Courts of Justice (ECJ) will no longer have jurisdiction over UK courts and decisions made by the ECJ will not be binding on courts in this country.  The decisions however already made by UK courts, taking into account EU law and ECJ decisions will remain binding unless it can be shown that the facts in any particular case are materially different.  It is likely, however that UK courts will continue to at least consider ECJ decisions where relevant to cases being determined here.

So, in summary nothing drastic is going to happen to employment law as a result of Brexit and certainly not in the short term.

 

Jenny Carpenter
Solicitor
Employment law specialist

Can Attorneys And Deputies Make Gifts?

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Does a Lasting Power of Attorney or a Deputyship Order provide an attorney or deputy with the authority to give away surplus assets of the donor in the hope of achieving an Inheritance Tax saving? In short, the answer is ‘no’.

A recent case in the Court of Protection has highlighted the issue of gifts made by a deputy acting under a Deputyship Order. The case concerned a widow of 92 years, (‘P’), who lived in a care home.  Her only daughter had predeceased her and P had inherited the whole of her daughter’s estate.  Two relatives were appointed as deputies to manage P’s property and financial affairs.

The deputies applied to the Court of Protection for retrospective authority for various gifts the deputies had made to themselves, their family, and friends.  It was found that over £230,000 had been given away (which amounted to 44% of the widow’s estate.)

The Court refused to grant authority for the majority of gifts and the deputies were held to be personally liable to P’s estate for the unauthorised gifts.  The deputies’ appointments were also revoked.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out the powers of an attorney acting under a Lasting Power in relation to gifts. The attorney can only make gifts:

  • ‘on customary occasions’ to persons (including themselves) who are related to or connected with the donor, or
  • to any charity to whom the donor made or might have been expected to make gifts,
  • and only if the value of each such gift is not unreasonable having regard to all the circumstances and, in particular, the size of the donor’s estate.

‘Customary occasion’ is defined as:-

(a) the occasion or anniversary of a birth, a marriage or the formation of a civil partnership, or

(b) any other occasion on which presents are customarily given within families or among friends or associates.

Deputies and attorneys should therefore understand that they only have very limited authority to make gifts.An attorney who wants to make gifts for purposes not authorised in the circumstances outlined above must apply to the court for permission.

For further information about Lasting Powers of Attorney please contact us on for expert and professional advice.

National Living Wage

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Be aware that a new National Living Wage will come into force on 1st April this year.  Make sure that your staff that are eligible are being paid appropriately.

For workers aged 25 years and over (and not in the first year of an apprenticeship) the National Living Wage this year will be £7.20 per hour, higher than the current minimum wage.

There will be penalties for employers that do not comply.

For advice on this and other employment law related matters please contact us

Adams Harrison Employment Law News for Employers Winter 2015

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Our latest employment law newsletter includes the following:

  • Early Conciliation
  • Holiday Pay
  • Minimum Wage
  • Automatically Unfair Dismissals
  • Settlement Agreements
  • Work Life Balance

Please click on this link to download a copy of the Employment Law Newsletter Winter 2015

 

Criminal Court Charge Review

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Today the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Michael Gove has announced that the criminal court charge that was only imposed as recently as April this year will be abolished with effect from 24th December.  He stated:

“The courts take money from offenders in a number of ways, including fines, the victim surcharge, compensation orders, prosecution costs and the Criminal Courts Charge.

This array of penalties, fines and charges is complex and confusing. I have therefore asked my department to review the entire structure, and purpose, of court-ordered financial impositions for offenders, in order to bring greater simplicity and clarity to the system.”

He has requested a review of the system regarding financial penalties with the basic principle being that those who have broken the law should bear some of the costs of running the criminal courts.  He expressed concern that the Criminal Court Charge had not necessarily achieved this fairly.

HMRC Cash Seizure

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The Finance Bill currently in Parliament will authorise HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with the right to seize money directly from the bank accounts of taxpayers who have failed to pay their taxes.

Under the rules, HMRC will be able to take money, but must leave the taxpayer with a minimum of £5,000 in their bank or building society accounts, and can only remove money from accounts containing a minimum £5,000. HMRC will be able to exercise ‘direct enforcement’ to collect tax debts of more than £1,000. It is estimated that this will generate about £100 million a year for the Treasury.

The changes do give the taxpayer the right to object to the County Court, although this may be of little use after the money has been seized.

Changes To The Law On Wills And Intestacy

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The Inheritance and Trustees Powers Act 2014 came into force in October 2014 and made a number of changes to the law on wills and intestacy.

Intestacy arises when somebody dies without having made a Will. If you die intestate then the law will state what will happen to your Estate rather than you.

If your circumstances are not straightforward, for example, you may have children from a previous marriage, it is all the more important to make a Will.  If you do not have a Will in place, you should consider whether you would be happy for your estate to be distributed in line with the new Intestacy Rules.

In many cases, a Will is needed to restore balance between competing obligations and responsibilities for which a person is often seeking to provide when they write a Will.

For more information, please contact our Private Client department for expert and professional advice.

Inheritance Tax; Budget Changes

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The Chancellor has outlined a promise he says he could not fulfil in coalition. From April 2017, parents can pass £1m on to their children free of inheritance tax. A “family home allowance” worth £175,000 per person will be added to the existing £325,000 tax free allowance from April 6, 2017.

This means that individuals can pass on assets worth up to £500,000, including a home, without paying any Inheritance tax at all. The full benefit of the relief, however, will not be felt until the tax year 2020/21, owing to the fact that there will be a phasing in period of the additional relief from 2017/18.

George Osborne said: “The wish to pass something onto your children is the most basic, human and natural aspiration there is”.

Please follow this link to view the UK government’s latest document

Please contact us for further expert advice regarding.

Problem With Transferring Property To Family Members

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For many people their home is their only or main asset and such people are often concerned about that asset having to be sold in order to meet the costs of care. Often people seek to transfer their homes to third parties (usually their children) to avoid them being brought into assessment, and perhaps not surprisingly there are anti-avoidance rules to prevent such an arrangement being abused.

One businessman has recently found out the risks of transferring his property to his son the hard way when his son’s bankruptcy left the family’s substantial buy-to-let property portfolio exposed to his son’s creditors.

The son’s name appeared on the title deeds of numerous properties for which his father had largely paid. When the son was declared bankrupt, his creditors focused on the portfolio as a potential means of recovering what they were owed.

A judge found that a purported declaration of trust had been post-dated and that both father and son had given unreliable evidence in an attempt to protect what they viewed as family assets. The ruling meant that the portfolio formed part of the son’s property in bankruptcy and was available to his creditors.

If you would like further information about this topic, please contact us today for expert and professional advice.

Standard Form Letters Not Sufficient To Properly Advise Client In Relation To A Personal Injury Claim

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In Procter v Raleys Solicitors (A Firm) [2015] EWCA Civ 400, the Court of Appeal considered an appeal against a finding that a solicitors’ firm had failed to properly advise its client about his claim.

In dismissing an appeal against a decision that a firm of solicitors (R), had failed to properly advise its client (P), the Court of Appeal has confirmed the need for standard form letters of advice to be sufficiently clear to ensure that clients properly understand the nature of the advice.

With Adams Harrison you can be sure that you will receive a personal service, taking you through each step of the claim for your injury.

We always make the time to discuss your position with you in detail and to answer any queries you may have. We do not rely on standard form letters to advise you – The Court of Appeal was critical of Raleys Solicitors for doing just that.