York - 
15 May 2015
Financial advice
Although often in the news, inheritance tax is still not widely understood. That's worrying, because it affects thousands of families every year. If you thought inheritance tax was just for extremely wealthy people to worry about, think again. Rising property prices and increasing stock market values have meant more estates than ever are likely to face an inheritance tax bill. In fact according to the Office for National Statistics, the amount of inheritance tax collected has doubled over the last five years, and the number of estates paying inheritance tax has nearly tripled over the same period. Acknowledging the inheritance tax problem faced by large numbers of homeowners, the Government has introduced an additional inheritance tax allowance of up to £175,000 in April 2017 to apply to the family home in certain circumstances. However, even with…
07 May 2015
Litigation
Knowledge is power and detailed knowledge of customers will greatly improve your chances of obtaining payment if they should later become debtors. For the small but problematic proportion of outstanding debts that are likely to lead to court action, it is vitally important to ensure that you have enough information to enforce a judgment successfully should the need arise. In this article Ware & Kay Solicitors, advise business owners to handle all new enquiries with extra care. "In the excitement of taking on a new customer or contract, before you begin your first transaction, take care to obtain as much information as possible to ensure that you can pursue them effectively in the event of non-payment," says Jethro. New consumer customers If your customers are consumers, obtain personal information, carry out credit checks and validate telephone…
05 May 2015
Employment advice
In this article, we provide updates to figures which took effect from 5th April, provide an update on the recent holiday pay case and set out major changes to Parental rights, the principal one being the introduction of Shared Parental Leave. Annual Updates which took effect on 6th April 2015 Parental payments Type of payment Rate Maximum period Statutory Maternity Pay (Higher rate) 90% of weekly earnings 6 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay (basic rate) £139.58 per week (or 90% of earnings if lower) 33 weeks Maternity allowance £139.58 per week (or 90% of earnings if lower) 39 weeks Statutory paternity pay £139.58 …
27 April 2015
Litigation
2014 No. 874 (L. 17) 1. This explanatory memorandum has been prepared by the Ministry of Justice and is laid before Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. This memorandum contains information for the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. 2. Purpose of the instrument 2.1 This instrument changes existing fees in the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008. The fee changes are being brought as part of a wider review of fees across the civil court system to ensure that the income they generate more closely matches the costof the service being provided. The instrument changes the wording for some fees to reflect changes resulting from the creation of the single County Court on 22 April 2014. 3. Matters of special interest to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments 3.1 References in the Order to "a county court" or "county courts…
22 April 2015
Employment advice
Some significant changes to employment law started in April this year, mainly in the area of family leave. The headline news is the introduction of shared parental leave but various other changes will also take effect. Gillian Reid our Head of Employment at Ware & Kay, looks at the main changes and what you need to do as a result. Shared parental leave A flexible system of shared parental leave and pay will be available where the expected week of childbirth started on or after 5 April 2015. The mother must still take the first two weeks off after the birth but the rest of her leave and pay can then be shared between the parents, either in turns or at the same time. This means that up to 50 weeks' leave and 37 weeks…
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