Senior executive departure - tips for a smooth exit

03 August 2021 Employment advice

Despite all your best efforts to recruit and retain the right key executives, sometimes things just do not work out as planned and it becomes evident that it will be necessary to part company. ‘Managing the departure of a senior executive carefully, and within the law, will reduce the risk of a tribunal claim, protect your business’s customers and reputation, and should ensure as little disruption as possible’, says Gillian Reid, a Solicitor in the employment team with Ware & Kay who looks at the main areas for employers to address when it is time to say goodbye. First step: check the agreements Collect the suite of documents that set out the executive’s rights and obligations on departure. These may include: the contract of employment or service agreement; commission or bonus agreements; and corporate documents…

What is vacant possession?

28 July 2021 Commercial property

The Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court’s decision in the case of Capitol Park Leeds plc v Global Radio Services Ltd which considered whether a tenant had given ‘vacant possession’ of a commercial building. The case concerned a three storey commercial unit in Tingley Leeds. By a Lease dated 4 March 2002 the property was let to Real Radio (Yorkshire) Limited for a term of 24 years. In June 2014 the Lease was assigned to Global Radio Services Limited (the tenant). The assignment was part of a corporate acquisition by Global of The Guardian Media Group, which included provisions for the transfer to Global of all properties owned by the Group. This resulted in Global acquiring more properties than it needed, and from the date of the assignment the property was surplus to requirements. The Lease…

Giving away an inheritance

21 July 2021 Wills and estates

Have you recently inherited assets from a family member or a friend who has recently passed away? We appreciate that there are circumstances where you might not necessarily wish to receive a legacy and may wish to re-direct it elsewhere. Some of the common reasons why are as follows: You know/suspect that the deceased’s wishes had changed since they made their Will some years prior and you wish to honour what you believe to be their final wishes. You would like to help out other family members/friends/charitable organisations by passing on wealth to them. You expect that Inheritance Tax will be payable on your death due to the size of your estate before receiving the legacy. You therefore do not wish to increase your net worth further. The substitute beneficiaries on…

Furlough & Redundancy – understanding your rights

12 July 2021 Employment advice

The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that currently 1 in 8 workers is furloughed, that’s 3.4 million jobs, at a cost of £2.2 billion to the government. The furlough scheme is due to be entirely phased out by the end September 2021, and with that we anticipate a rise in the number of redundancies as businesses assess the impact of the pandemic. It is very likely this will lead to an increase in the amount of cases brought to the Employment Tribunal, particularly for claims such as unfair dismissal. Furloughed workers have the same redundancy rights as any other employee, including in relation to protection from unfair dismissal (for those with 2 or more years’ service) and discrimination and so it’s vital that employers select and dismiss for redundancy correctly in accordance with the law (that…

Does bad behaviour affect the financial settlement in a divorce?

05 July 2021 Family Matters

Within a marriage or civil partnership, the concept of bad behaviour can cover a multitude of activities, from leaving the top off the toothpaste to serious or criminal activities. One option when applying for a divorce is to claim that your relationship has broken down irretrievably. One way of proving this is to show that your partner has behaved ‘unreasonably’. Following the case of Owens v Owens, unreasonable behaviour must be more than the run-of-the-mill type of annoyances to be expected in a long marriage. You must show that the behaviour was such that it would be unreasonable to expect you to stay with your spouse. If you succeed with an unreasonable behaviour divorce it is normal that the courts will order your spouse to pay for the legal costs. For many, allocation of the legal…

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