Consent To Lease Assignment Quick Guide For Commercial Landlords

A sensible landlord will take great care when picking an initial tenant and should exercise the same caution when deciding whether that tenant should be allowed to assign their lease to someone else. The difficulty with an assignment is that the circumstances in which consent can be refused are restricted by law, making it crucial to seek early legal advice, as Simon Ellis, commercial property lawyer with Ware & Kay in Wetherby & York explains. 'Most commercial leases will include a provision which prohibits assignment without the landlord's consent, and will prescribe the process the tenant needs to go through to secure this', says Simon, 'but what some landlords do not realise is that they can only refuse consent if they have very good reasons.' Refusal must be reasonable You can only refuse consent to…

Employer`s Guide To Self Employed Status Following The Supreme Court Decision In Pimlico Plumbers

If you use self-employed contractors to deliver services for your business, then you need to familiarise yourself with the Supreme Court's decision in the Pimlico Plumbers case. In a stark warning to employers to get their contracts in order, and to ensure they reflect the reality of agreed working arrangements, the court ruled that a plumber who had been labelled as a self-employment contractor with no employment law rights was in fact a 'worker' with entitlement to a range of benefits, including paid annual leave and the right not to be discriminated against. Gillian Reid, employment law specialist at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton explains the reasoning behind the decision and its implications for employers. Worker status - what the court decided To be a worker under employment legislation, the plumber needed…

Reprieve For Care Sector After Verdict On Workers Who Sleep In

The financial pressures on the care sector are never out of the news for long. However, employers providing round-the-clock supervision or care to the elderly and infirm, vulnerable adults and young people are breathing a sigh of relief following a recent judgment on entitlement to the national minimum wage. Gillian Reid, employment law expert with Ware & Kay Solicitors in York, Wetherby & Malton , explains that most workers who sleep during a 'sleep-in' shift are not entitled to the national minimum wage while asleep. Why is this significant? Employers in the care sector may need staff such as nurses and care assistants at night to be awake and active on the job as if it were a day shift.  This is known as working a 'waking night'.  Depending on the staffing requirements, employers may…

Top Tips For Employee References

References are a delicate area for employers; you want to be helpful to staff by providing references for them but you do not want to be held liable if you get it wrong.  Gillian Reid, employment law solicitor at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton clarifies whether you have to give a reference, your liability as an employer, what you can and cannot say and what to do when requesting a reference. Do you have to provide a reference? There is no legal obligation to provide a reference unless an employee's contract of employment states that they are entitled to one or the employee is employed in a regulated industry, such as the financial services sector.  You can refuse, but a refusal could be seen as discrimination if you normally give references and…