Employment Law Update 2014

2013 saw some of the biggest changes to Employment Law  including:-

• The new consultation period for collective redundancies 
• Changes to the rules on Whistle-blowing
• Capped compensatory awards
• The implementation of pre-termination discussions
• The renaming of Compromise Agreements to Settlement Agreements
• The implementation of Employment Tribunal fees

The changes are set to continue in 2014.

Melissa Bramwell from our Employment Law team has taken the time to produce a document detailing all of the reforms that will come into effect in the new year.

You can view the document here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B89ggDYd5hkaQlYtMEZyanB0a2s/edit?usp=sharing

Melissa Bramwell is part of the Employment Law team in our Wrexham Office

If you require any further information, or have an Employment Law query, then please feel free to contact any of our offices on 01978 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester and 01492 641222 for Llanrwst.

Recent Case Law - Housing

Leicester CC-v-Shearer 2013 (EWCA) Civ1467 (if you have been affected recently by loss of accommodation following the death of a family member then you may wish to take onboard the outcome of this particular case). 

The Defendant’s husband had been a Council tenant in succession to his mother. This means that when his mother died he was able to take on the tenancy with the consent of the Local Authority.  When he died there could be no further succession. Once the Defendant’s husband died the Council sought possession of the property and they wanted to evict the Defendant and their children. 

The Defendant correctly defended indicating that the decision to seek possession had been unlawful because the Council had failed to consider granting a new tenancy of the house as a “direct let” under the Exceptional Circumstances Act “provision in its housing allocation scheme”.  The Council argued that the Defendant had not made a formal application complying with its scheme.  The possession claim was dismissed.  The Council appealed to the Court of Law but this was also dismissed.  The Council had acted unlawfully when commencing possession proceedings against the Defendant without giving any or any proper consideration to the option of making a direct let.  

If you have been affected or are currently being threatened with possession proceedings as a result of succession then please do not hesitate to contact us for further advice. 

01978 291000 - 01244 312166 - 01492 641222

Alison Stace is a director of Allington Hughes and also head of the Housing department

The Launch of the Chester Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival 2014 brought to you by Allington Hughes Law

Here at Allington Hughes we are very excited to announce that we will once again be sponsoring the Chester Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival which is held at Chester Racecourse around Easter.

On the back of a fantastic event over the Easter Bank holiday this year we are thrilled to once again be joining the Festival and the thousands of people who come to seek the delights of locally produced food and drink.

In December last year we held the launch party for the event at our Chester office on Vicars Lane, however this year we scaled up and headed over to Bar Lounge in Chester. We were very pleased to welcome over 100 guests to celebrate our renewed association with this tremendous event and to sample some hot Cheshire mulled cider alongside some tasty accompaniments. 

The launch was a huge success and everyone at Allington Hughes would like to thank the guests who attended to make it such a wonderful evening.

In 2014 the 3 day Food and Drink Festival will be held from the 19th-21st of April at Chester Racecourse and is already on target to surpass all records and expectations set at this years event.  

It really is an occasion to put in the diary and we hope to see as many of you there as we did last year!

From Left to Right: Cheshire Celebrity Chef David Mooney, Chairman and Director of Allington Hughes David Parry and Chair of the Chester Food and Drink Festival Jane Mooney. 

For more pictures of the fabulous Launch night please head over to our Facebook page.

Wrexham Christmas Tree 2014

It is a long standing tradition at Allington Hughes to sponsor the Christmas Tree that sits proudly in the centre of Wrexham in Queens Square.

We are delighted to be doing so again this year and with the tree now standing tall in the centre of the town it is great to see so many people appreciating what a wonderful tree it is!

In the coming weeks, Wrexham County Borough Council and Allington Hughes will be running a 'Guess the Height' competition, which will give the people of Wrexham the opportunity to win a luxury hamper, just in time for Christmas!

Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter page for further details of the competition!

         

        The Christmas Tree in its natural habitat!

The final result! The Christmas Tree looks amazing fully dressed!