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No one gets married thinking they will ever get divorced. It’s a difficult time in anyone’s life and involves complex personal and practical issues. If you have reached the unfortunate conclusion that your marriage has come to an end, here are my top 4 tips to consider before you take steps towards divorce:
In 2012 the United Kingdom Supreme Court confirmed that employer’s insurance liability is triggered when an employee is exposed to asbestos, not when mesothelioma manifests itself. The case BAI (Run off) and Ors v Durham and Ors [2012] known as the employer’s liability ‘trigger’ case was yet another test case in an area of law which has fostered much protracted legal wrangling over many years. The long-awaited outcome of this decision has delayed the resolution of thousands of claims.
The number of parental child abductions is rising fast with the rate nearly doubling in the last decade. Recent figures released by the government have shown an increase of just under 88 per cent in the Foreign Office (FCO) data on parental child abductions since 2003. This is believed to underestimate the actual number however, as many cases go unreported.
It is thought that the rise reflects a lack of understanding of the law by members of the public rather than a deliberate attempt by estranged parents to flout it. The Foreign Office is launching a campaign to combat the issue.
At Rollingsons our family lawyers have dealt with many cases of divorce. As well as offering legal advice, we try to ensure that our service is sensitive to the emotional upheaval faced by our clients and their families.
Christmas time can be particularly difficult following divorce as individuals deal with the festive period on their own for the first time or children spend the holiday without the presence of both parents together. As the winter holiday season reaches its crescendo, feelings of isolation can be overwhelming for those faced with absences left by divorce.
To try and help keep this Christmas season bright, our family team has put together some tips based on their experiences of helping clients overcome the negative emotions associated with divorce.
The implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) in April will have a profound effect on access to justice. The Act which was passed in May 2012 and implemented on 3 December 2012 will bring an end to referral fees and contains cost reforms that will change the way many civil claims are funded.
Potential claimants should be aware of the changes, particularly if they may be eligible for Legal Aid or are considering the use of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to fund a claim.
The Court of Appeal made an important judgement on 23 October in relation to the case of Hussain v Hussain and Another [2012]. The importance of the case rested on the weight given to the defendant’s previously fraudulent behaviour where there was suspicion that he had deliberately ‘staged’ a road traffic accident and the ‘very powerful inferences’ that this implied on the claimant.
In November 2012 Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, announced plans to reform parental leave. The plans will mean that both parents could get to share up to one year of leave after their child is born.
The legislation is expected to be introduced to Parliament next year to take effect some time in 2015. This is great news for fathers who want to spend time with their new born baby but for smaller businesses it could represent difficulties.
Employers often include restrictive covenants in employment contacts to protect confidential information that relates to their business. The case of FW Farnsworth and another v Lacey and others [2012] concerned the operation of restrictive covenants in an employment contract that had not been signed by the employee.
In FW Farnsworth v Lacey the court had to decide whether or not the restrictive covenants were in fact enforceable by virtue of the employee’s actions in the absence of a signed contract.
There have been many types of normally private interaction that have been cited as unreasonable behaviour for the purposes of divorce. It is perhaps not surprising then that elements of the biggest phenomenon in recent pop culture have made their way into the divorce courts with the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Divorce’.
Although there are plenty of people who might not have read the book itself, it will have been hard to have avoided entirely the nature of its contents – sadomasochistic eroticism. So, what exactly has constituted unreasonable behaviour in the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey Divorce’?
Recent tabloid headlines and divorce court history are littered with staggering payouts being handed to wives who have divorced their wealthy husbands. However, the ‘rules’ in these cases are far from clear and the attitude of the courts do appear to be shifting. The Law Commission is also in the process of carrying out a consultation on the matter of divorce settlements but a report will not be published until 2013.
Highlighting the evolution of judicial attitudes in this area are the recent comments by Lord Justice Thorpe in the Court of Appeal who suggested that big payouts in big money divorces unrelated to pure needs should be consigned to history.
The use of social media by employees can bring both tremendous benefits and great difficulties to businesses. In the early days of social media, companies’ greatest concerns were focused on the loss of valuable work time to social networks during office hours. This focus has rapidly shifted as businesses have become more Internet savvy and have sought to use the power of social networks to generate new business.
Social media including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is now being used for sales, marketing, advertising, PR and recruitment as well as peoples’ social lives. Ensuring that company’s employment contracts and HR practices keep up is important to protect both employers and employees from falling foul of expectations.
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in business relationships. Although social networks like Facebook and Twitter were treated with initial trepidation by employers wary of losing precious work time to the ether of the Internet, many businesses now embrace them as powerful marketing tools. Meanwhile, networking through LinkedIn has become a virtual must in industries such as recruitment.
There are many facets of social media that bring both benefits and pitfalls to the business environment. Business development practices are not excepted from this double-edged sword. Enabling employees to foster relationships with customers online as well as offline can make it very difficult to restrict those relationships if employees decide to move on to a competitor. Can non-solicitation causes keep up?
All companies have information about their business that they would like to prevent from falling into the hands of competitors. That information may include client contact details, internal systems and processes, strategic plans for the future or trade secrets.
There is no real way to guarantee that confidential information will never end up in the wrong hands. Even where breaching confidentiality might be illegal, information can still be leaked – think of the Swiss bank account details that have been leaked to tax authorities in various European countries. However, employers can use restrictive covenants in employment contracts to reduce the risks. If you are an employer this is certainly something you should consider.
