A test case involving JK (Harry Potter) Rowling’s son should mean that offspring of celebrities will be protected from intrusion into their private lives. The Court of Appeal has ruled this week that pictures taken of Ms Rowling’s son with a long-range camera may have infringed his human rights. The ruling greatly increases the legal protection of minors who happen to have famous parents.
Agency workers may soon be entitled to the same salaries, paid time off and sick pay if a bill, soon to be debated in Parliament, succeeds. The private members’ bill, which comes as a result of pressure from Europe, won a crucial vote at the committee stage on Tuesday.
Both opposition parties attempted to stall the passage of the bill through Parliament by proposing an amendment. This was defeated by a concerted effort from Labour backbenchers, so the bill will go through to the next stage.
The employers’ organisations - the EEF and the CBI - both expressed dismay at the vote.
According to the CBI, the bill is” bad legislation that would be damaging for business and would not benefit vulnerable workers.” A spokesman for the EEF said “the bill can only increase manufacturers’ costs and administrative burdens, threatening UK manufacturing jobs.” However, the TUC welcomed the proposals.
There are new requirements for people visiting China on business. In addition to a completed visa form, passport and extra photo, you will need to produce the following:
- Visa Notification Form issued by the relevant department of Chinese government or the government-authorized company.
- A copy of your Chinese hotel booking; and
- A copy of your outward and return flight ticket booking.
More information can be found on the website of the Chinese Embassy in the UK:
http://uk.china-embassy.org/eng/lsyw/chivisa/t424261.htm
ContractStore can also help you - we have a range of dual-language commercial contracts in Chinese and English that you can download from our website. Have a look at the full list here:
http://www.contractstore.com/chinese-contracts
We also have a free download on ‘Doing Business in China’
If you like champagne you could be in luck with our very short SME survey. You’ll be helping to create a snapshot of SME’s and how well they protect themselves legally, and you could win six bottles of beautiful bubbly.
Click here to take the survey - and good luck!
ContractStore had a fantastic time at the Business Start-Up exhibition in the Docklands ExCel centre for a couple of days (27-28 April).
We met 100’s of entrepreneurs at the show, including Caprice Bouret, supermodel and now head of a highly successful lingerie and swimwear business.
We thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and we learnt a great deal about what start-ups are looking for and the problems they face. It’s going to be extremely useful to us as we develop the ContractStore business, so a big thank you to everyone who came and talked to us about their needs and experiences.
Don’t forget we are also running a prize draw for a half-case of champagne. Just go to the survey online to take part.
112 construction firms have been accused of bid rigging by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) in England. There are two main allegations. One is that they engaged in cover pricing - where one or more bidders collude with a competitor during a tender process to obtain a price or prices which are intended to be too high to win the contract. Cover pricing arrangements have previously been found by the OFT and the Competition Appeal Tribunal to be illegal and in breach of the Competition Act 1998 due to the restrictions on competition that arise.
In addition, a minority of the construction companies have been accused of entering into arrangements whereby it was agreed that the successful tenderer would pay an agreed sum of money to the unsuccessful tenderers (known as a ‘compensation payment’).
One problem for companies tendering for a project is the cost of bidding. Back in 1994 one of the recommendations in the Latham Report was that the Government should, on complex projects, pay some compensation to unsuccessful bidders but that has not been taken up.
So why not allow the bidders themselves to arrange compensation? It then becomes another part of the bidding cost: if three or four companies invited to tender agree that a fixed amount would be paid by whichever of them wins the contract to each of the unsuccessful bidders, there would arguably be more incentive for each of them to submit a bid. And the process could be made transparent with a copy of the bid compensation agreement submitted with the tenders.
Several years ago a client bidding for a large contract in the Gulf suggested this approach, simply as a way of mitigating the risks for the bidders, and wanted to know if it was illegal. The cautious legal opinion was that it could be seen as anti-competitive, and it would be more problematic if only some of the bidders signed up.
But if all the bidders are involved, and the client is aware of the arrangement, competition is not really affected and even those who lose get at least some compensation for their effort - like the horses in the annual Heinz 57 race at Leopardstown in Ireland where every horse gets a prize. (I know as I once had a share in the horse that came last!).
NOTES
Under the Competition Act 1998 and Article 81 of the EC Treaty, cartels are prohibited. Any business found to be a member of a cartel could be fined up to 10 per cent of its worldwide turnover. In calculating financial penalties, the OFT takes into account a number of factors including seriousness of the infringement(s), turnover in the relevant market and any mitigating and/or aggravating factors. The basis of the OFT’s considerations are set out in OFT’s guidance as to the appropriate amount of a penalty http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/ca98_guidelines/oft423.pdf
Once the OFT have issued their Statement of Objections (SO) to the companies concerned, the parties then have the opportunity to make written and oral representations in response to the case set out by the OFT. Such representations will be considered by the OFT before any final decision is made.
The OFT (Office of Fair Trading) has today published a report to measure the overall value of consumer detriment in the UK economy i.e. where a consumer suffers unfair treatment from its dealings with an organization. For every 1000 consumers interviewed, 542 problems were identified, and across the whole of the UK population this equates to an estimated 26.5 million problems over the last year.
The report was compiled using information from 10,000 consumers, and estimates the cost to consumers was around £6.6 billion in the last 12 months. It was commissioned to establish where consumers were suffering the most harm through poor products and services.
The report found that on average, the highest level of financial detriment occurred in the insurance sector, followed by home maintenance and improvements, and personal banking. The report also concluded that the goods or services which consumers reported the highest proportion of problems were telecommunications, domestic fuel, and personal banking.
However, only 64 per cent of respondents complained or took action to rectify their problem, and this was higher for problems occurring in the insurance, personal banking, internet and domestic fuel sectors but lower in the small domestic appliances, medical goods and services and postal services.
One important finding was that there was more detriment to consumers where problems were less numerous and more costly (79% in products or services over £1000), than from more frequent problems that were less costly (0.3% where the product or service was less than £5). The findings of the report will now be analysed and used to help the OFT prioritise future work.
Download a copy of the report from the OFT website - http://www.oft.gov.uk
Consumers wanting to complain about a product or a service should call Consumer Direct for clear, practical consumer advice on 08454 04 05 06 or http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk.
On 6th April some more sections of The Companies Act 2006 come into effect. This is the longest statute ever passed by Parliament and its implementation by stages merely adds to the difficulties created for those who have to advise on the subject.
Among the new rules that may be of interest to readers of this blog are:
Also, the 56 pages of Part 15 of the Act dealing with the accounts of a company come into effect (with one exception concerning the requirement for companies to include a ‘business review’ in the directors’ report).
Among the new items:
In addition, auditors will be able to have their liability for negligence limited if a company signs a ‘liability limitation agreement’ - but this must not last for more than one financial year, its terms must be ‘fair and reasonable’ and shareholders have to approve the agreement.(Sections 527-538)
This advice comes courtesy of Accountants Chantrey Vellacott
You may be aware that major changes are going to apply to capital gains tax from 6 April 2008. In particular there are two areas where action taken by 5 April 2008 could save you significant amounts of Capital Gains Tax and how to take advantage of relief that will disappear after 5th April.
Indexation relief
Under the present system of capital gains tax, the value of assets (including shares) is indexed from 1982 or the later date of acquisition until 5 April 1998. This prevents inflation over that period from being taxed. This relief will no longer apply from 6 April 2008, even for assets already owned. For an asset owned in 1982, indexation to 1998 effectively doubles the acquisition cost and reduces the capital gain.
It is possible to secure this relief simply by making a gift to your spouse, as gifts to spouses are deemed to take place at such a value that results in no gain and no loss, after taking indexation into account.
Business Asset Taper relief
For capital gains disposals after 5 April 2008 taper relief will cease to apply. Under the present system, business asset taper relief can reduce the effective rate of capital gains tax to 10%. Disposals after 5 April 2008 will be subject to tax at 18%.
If you have assets, including shares, that qualify for business asset taper relief and you expect to sell them in the near future, it is possible to bring forward a disposal such that the 10% tax rate applies.
Other scenarios where action may be beneficial include where the value of an asset at March 1982 was lower than the earlier base cost, or exceptionally where gains were held over between March 1982 and April 1988.
For more information and to contact Chantrey Vellacott: - http://www.cvdfk.com
People who have had to stop working due to ill health will soon be able to get early assistance from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) according to an announcement by the Pensions Minister, Mike O’Brien.
Draft regulations, published today for consultation, will mean people who have to stop working early because of poor health will be able to get payments from the FAS up to five years before their scheme’s normal retirement age.
Additionally, proposals in these regulations will speed up payments by including a requirement for trustees and other relevant people to provide information three months before a member’s normal scheme retirement age, or within 14 days of a request for that information where the member is unable to work due to ill-health.
The consultation document is available on the Department’s website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2008/
