Shared Parental Leave For New Parents

Members of staff announcing that they are soon to be parents will be entitled to take shared parental leave. This applies to pregnancies with a due date on or after 5 April 2015. Under this new right, expectant parents will be able to choose how they share time off work for the first year of their child's life so that they can both retain a link to their workplace.  Gillian Reid, employment law expert at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby, explains how the new right will work in practice. The new legislation will allow a woman to return to work early and share the remainder of her leave and pay with her partner, if she wishes. The current entitlement to 52 weeks' maternity pay and 39 weeks' maternity pay will remain the…

10 Common Debt Recovery Mistakes

This article looks at the ten most common mistakes business owners make when it comes to tackling debtors, and advises on the best course of action. 1. Failing to have a credit policy When a company provides goods or services before receiving payment, it is essentially the same as handing over cash.  For this reason it is vital for cash flow and ultimately the survival of your businesses to be able to predict when you are likely to get paid and the cost of ensuring that this happens.  This begins with having a credit policy. By gathering the same types of information from each customer, it is possible to attribute different risk levels to each and adjust your payment terms accordingly.  Your credit policy provides uniformity of terms for each type of customer you have…

Solicitor In The Saddle For Charity Bike Ride

A Solicitor from Ware & Kay is to pedal over 70 mile in the 32nd annual Great Yorkshire Bike Ride to raise money for a varied group of charities. The Great Yorkshire Bike Ride is one of the biggest cycling events around and every year around 2,000 cyclists of all ages and abilities take on the challenge. Robert Bellhouse, Family Solicitor & Trained Mediator from the York office will take on the challenge cycling from Wetherby to Filey.  The ride takes place on Saturday 6th June in some of Yorkshire's best countryside through the Howardian Hills and the Yorkshire Wolds to the coast. Robert said "I am delighted to take part in this cycle ride in order support these charities and thank everyone for sponsoring me.  There is always a great team spirit among the volunteers…

The Importance Of Making A Will

Making a Will is very important if you care what happens to your money and your belongings after you die, and most of us do.  Most of us have younger relatives who we want to benefit from our estate, or we have charities maybe that we want to support. If you do not make a Will, the law decides who gets what, and what the law decides may well not be what you want. Everything does not always go to your spouse, for example. If you're not married everything certainly does not go to your partner; it will go to blood relatives. Although many people make a Will to ensure their affairs are taken care of after they die, there are many others who make no such provision believing that, even without a Will, their…

Can Your Business Survive A Partnership Dispute

Being in partnership can be a great way to do business: the pooling of capital, talent, skill and common purpose to drive a business to success. However, as with the best of relationships, things can go wrong. Trust can evaporate as differences in personalities emerge. Ethics, business direction, control issues, underperformance and money woes can dominate partnership meetings, instead of the wellbeing and growth of the business. Firm foundations Before setting up or entering into a partnership, take advice from a specialist solicitor. Their role is to protect your interests and ensure you have a clear picture of your responsibilities, management, expectation and risk. Establishing your legal status can help avoid pitfalls later.  Factors such as capital input, profit share and management powers are all relevant in determining whether you are a true partner or…

Inheritance Tax Do I Need Some 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…

How Well Do You Know Your Customer

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…

Ware & Kay To Act For Make It York

Ware & Kay Solicitors, one of York's leading law firms, has been chosen to act as the Solicitors for Make it York which is York's new Destination Management Organisation, tasked with helping to improve the economic well-being of the City. Make it York brings together the work currently delivered by Visit York, Science City York (SCY) and City of York Council's inward investment, business support and events and festivals teams into one new strategic and dynamic company. Peter Kay, Senior Director at Ware & Kay Solicitors said 'We are delighted that Ware & Kay has been chosen to act as the Solicitors for Make it York.  York's new Destination Organisation has an overarching remit to market the city and its surroundings - nationally and internationally - as an exciting place to live, visit, study and…

Employment Law May 2015

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 …

It Is Strictly Legal!

DONATION TO PRESIDENT'S CHARITY OF THE YEAR Michael Peach, the President of the Yorkshire Law Society and Director from Ware & Kay Solicitors Ltd handed over a cheque to Martin House Children's Hospice after raising money for his chosen charity throughout the last year. Ware & Kay have been active supporters of Martin House for many years and last year Michael took time out of his busy working schedule at Ware & Kay where he specialises in Commercial and Residential Property to visit the hospice. This has enabled him to understand the work that it does for children and young people with life-limiting illnesses and their families both during their lifetimes but also in the years following their bereavement. The hospice is the only one for children and young people in North, West and East…