How To Help A Family With A Holiday From Work

CITATION

WWW.CLIfTONINGRAM.CO.Uk

CLIfTON INGRAM: kEEPING YOU POSTED WITh NEWS Of ThE LAW | OCT 09

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A HOLIdAy THAT jUST FLU By!

The law regarding sickness on holiday

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Clifton Ingram has achieved

a double first – opening

new offices in the centre

of Reading and acquiring

Sarjeant and Sheppard, one of

Reading’s oldest law firms.

The new office at County House, 17 Friar Street, Reading opened for business in August.

“We already have an excellent reputation in the Thames Valley and we believe the opening of a new office in Reading can only enhance that. Even in these days of instant electronic communication, seeing a lawyer face-to-face is a vital requirement for our clients. Having the addition of the new Reading office will make that even easier.” said Bill Annan, Chairman and Head of Corporate Services.

The firm has been exploring the idea of expanding into Reading for some time, and the decision to acquire Sarjeant and Sheppard added to that impetus. It’s a move that former Sarjeant and Sheppard senior partner Hugh Lacey believes “is a very positive step”.

Hugh went on to say “We have a strong tradition of providing high quality legal

advice, as do Clifton Ingram, and our clients will benefit from the extensive range of professional services offered by Clifton Ingram from a more accessible and comfortable new office. We see a bright future for the combined practices.”

Clifton Ingram, whose headquarters will remain in Broad Street, Wokingham, has 13 partners and more than 75 staff. It was founded in the 1930s, but has seen substantial growth since the 1980s.

Expanding into Reading

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WILL THEy OR WON’T THEy

Our expertise on inheritance disputes

CLIFTON INGRAM

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[ AbOUT CLIfTON INGRAM ]

With a depth of experience

gained over 75 years, Clifton

Ingram is a substantial and

expanding law firm.

Our unique blend of highly skilled staff, now numbering more than 75, enables us to meet the needs of private individuals and companies of all sizes.

Our client base includes a number of public sector organisations and charities as well as household names. As we have a number of high profile corporate and high net worth private clients we have also gained a great deal of experience in large, complex cases.

Our services

We offer a full range of legal services for both private and business clients. So whether you are buying a house or buying a business, making a will or making a takeover bid, we work with you every step of the way. We can help you with: • Commercial Property

• Corporate and Commercial • Debt Recovery • Employment • Corporate Restructuring • Intellectual Property • Dispute Resolution • Sport • Charities • Contentious Inheritance

• Tax Planning, Wills, Probate and Trusts • Family Law

• Town and Country Planning • Agricultural Land

• Residential property • Insolvency

EXPERIENCE SHOWS

The experience and dedication of our team is second to none, and we are recognised for excellence by Legal 500 and the Chambers Guide.

Legal 500

We have been recognised in 14 categories of this listing of top UK legal firms. The Legal 500 says.

Corporate and Commercial: Bill Annan ‘will pull out all the stops to reach a deadline’

Commercial Litigation: Jonathan Davis at Clifton Ingram LLP, which is particularly strong in relation to planning disputes, is recommended.

Debt Recovery: Clifton Ingram is ‘friendly and approachable’

Employment: Recommended is James Dyson at Clifton Ingram LLP, which has recently advised on employment and pension obligations arising from an MBO of a large motor retailer.

Personal Tax, Trust and Probate: Peter McGeown is recommended. ‘Highly knowledgeable’ say clients.

Chambers Guide

Marilyn young, Head of Family Law has been recognised as a leader in her field within the The Chambers Guide. This well respected directory lists the top lawyers and provides independent rankings for the legal profession in all the main areas of practice.

It is our people who make the difference. We recruit highly capable staff from prominent London and provincial practices, many of whom are

members of specialist organisations, which means you benefit from a level of expertise normally associated with larger firms. helen Andrews, Senior Associate Solicitor, Residential Property bill Annan, Chairman and Head of Corporate Services Lesley bacon, Debt Recovery Manager Chris baggs, Partner, Commercial Property Alison Cross, Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, Tax Planning Wills and Probate Tina Crow, Partner and Head of Residential Property Jonathan Davis, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution Anne Deller, Senior Associate Solicitor, Family Law

Denise Drammis,

Trust and Tax Manager

James Dyson,

Partner and Head of Employment Law Dennis Eyriey, Consultant, Charities and Commercial Property Alison Gair, Associate Solicitor, Employment Law David Goddard, Assistant Solicitor, Dispute Resolution helen Goodchild, Paralegal, Residential Property Ian Graham, Managing Partner and Commercial Property kate Grant,

Partner, Family Law

Jane hignell,

Trust and Tax Manager Rekha Joshi, Associate Solicitor, Family Law hugh Lacey, Consultant, Tax Planning, Wills, Probate and Property Paul Lachlan, Associate Solicitor, Residential Property Caroline Lindon-Morris, Senior Associate Solicitor, Corporate Services and Agricultural Land Ian Martin, Partner, Tax Planning Wills and Probate

Emma McCarthy,

Associate Solicitor, Tax Planning, Wills and Probate

kelly McCarthy,

Associate Solicitor, Tax Planning, Wills & Probate

Peter McGeown,

Partner and Head of Tax Planning, Wills and Probate

Tris Moore,

Partner, Corporate Services and Sport

Anita Prymak,

Associate Solicitor, Tax Planning Wills and Probate

Carl Rae,

AssociateSolicitor, Dispute Resolution

Tim Read,

Partner and Head of Commercial Property

Stephanie Rose,

Partner, Tax Planning, Wills and Probate

Jenny Savage, Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, Dispute Resolution Nick Thorowgood, Consultant, Dispute Resolution Ruby Tufail, Associate Solicitor, Family Law Andrew Tzialli, Assistant Solicitor, Corporate Services Marilyn Young,

Partner and Head of Family Law

MEET ThE TEAM

you can get in touch with any

member of our team on 0118 978 0099.

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NEWS

A HOLIDAy THAT

JUST FLU By!

[ EMPLOYMENT LAW]

Many of you will have read

the very recent decision of

the European Court of Justice

(ECJ), that an employee, who

is sick while on holiday, is

entitled to take the holiday

“lost” at another time.

The case in question was a Spanish one. The employee, Sr. Pereda, had suffered an accident at work, just before his holiday, and lost virtually all of that holiday. His employer refused to allow him to take the holiday at another time. The Madrid Court, therefore, asked the ECJ whether, in these particular circumstances, Sr. Pereda could do this. The ECJ not only answered yes to this question but went on to say that any employee who was sick, while on holiday, could take the days lost at another time.

Given that the right to a minimum period of holiday each year came from Europe in the first place, the Court’s decision is perhaps not surprising and was going to be made sooner or later. Indeed, any other decision would probably be seen as unfair. However, many employers will now be concerned about abuse, with employees complaining they had “holiday tummy” (or other ailments) while they were away. To require proof of sickness (if the absence is not prolonged) would be regarded as unreasonable and so the employee will, in practice, have to be trusted. However, it is not all good news for employees. If they say they were sick on holiday then the employers will be entitled

to claim back their holiday pay

and pay sick pay instead. This might only be SSP, or nothing at all for the first three days of the sickness period in question.

Furthermore, the ECJ’s decision relates to the statutory minimum holiday and not contractual holiday, which will not necessarily be subject to the same rule. Generally, it will be deemed that statutory holiday will be used up first and so the rule might not benefit those who have already taken most of their holiday already. Employers, nevertheless, should look at their holiday and sick pay provisions and consider whether they need to be reviewed, in the light of the ECJ’s decision.

For further information please contact James Dyson or Alison Gair in the Employment Law department on 0118 912 0300.

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STOP PRESS

On 25 September, the High Court ruled that the UK’s default retirement age (“DRA”) was legal, but only just.

The Court said that it may well have reached a different conclusion had the Government not brought forward its review of the DRA from 2011 to 2010 and that it could not “presently see how 65 could remain as a DRA after the review”. Expect to see an increased DRA next year.

SPORT

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[ SPORT DEPARTMENT ]

U

pre-nuptial agreements are not presumed to be automatically binding if couples separate.

However the weight to be given to such agreements has been steadily increasing over recent years. In the 1995 case of F v F Mr Justice Thorpe said that a pre-nuptial agreement “must be of very limited significance”. 14 years later the same judge shifted his position quite considerably. In the recent case of Radmacher v Granatino he reviewed the position and said that pre-nuptial agreements are not just for the super

rich and “there are many instances in which mature couples, perhaps each contemplating a second marriage , wish to regulate the future …of their assets and …protect the interests of the children of the earlier marriage…” He went on to say that “a carefully fashioned contract should be available as an alternative to the stress, anxieties and expense of a submission to the width of the judicial discretion.”

In that case the agreement was upheld, despite the husband not having had legal advice. It is unclear whether, in the same circumstances, an agreement between

an English couple would be so readily enforced since the parties here were from France and Germany. Indeed, the judge indicated that any contract would still be subject to review by the Court if it was considered manifestly unfair. It is clear that the law in this area has moved a long way in the last 14 years and properly prepared pre-nuptial agreements are increasingly likely to be upheld in the future.

MAKING A SPLASH

Earlier this summer Clifton

Ingram Sport was launched to

service the firm’s clients in this

dynamic sector.

We are delighted that this expertise has been recognised by the new edition of the Legal 500 and our new website –

www.cliftoningramsport.co.uk

– dedicated to sports matters has also been attracting attention.

As far as we know, we are one of the first law firms to experiment with live Twitter feeds to update visitors on our legal services and keep them abreast of developments in sports law and regulation.

As naturally cautious lawyers, Twitter was a step into the unknown and we are indebted to Sean Blakeley –

www.idigitwebdesign.co.uk – for designing the website and advising us on our internet strategy.

The sports law team is drawn from across a number of specialist practice areas and highlights Clifton Ingram LLP’s growing profile in the legal marketplace and ability to provide services to niche sectors with the back up of a full service law firm.

PRE-NUPS, A CHANGE IN THE AIR

For further information please contact Anne Deller on 0118 912 0236 [email protected]

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For further information please contact Tris Moore on 0118 912 0279 [email protected]

Disputes concerning

inheritances are occurring

more frequently. Notable

headlines include Dame Anita

Roddick’s surprising decision to

disinherit her two daughters by

donating £51 million to good

causes before her death and

who once described leaving

money to one’s family as

“obscene”.

While Dame Anita’s children supported her decision,

not all children have been quite so

understanding, as was

evidenced in the story behind ‘RSPCA got my £1.5m inheritance’ which concerned the High Court case brought by Dr Christine Gill who discovered that her parents had written her out of their Will and left their £1.5 million estate including their 287-acre farm to the animal charity.

This was a surprise to Dr Gill who had worked on the farm for 40 years from the age of 13 and throughout her studies and had expected to inherit the farm but was left with nothing, not even any family mementos. The final insult was that Dr Gill’s parents were advocates of hunting and never had anything to do with the charity. Other causes of the substantial increase in disputes are attributed to complex family structures, rising values of estates, longer life expectancy and a rise in charitable giving. In a direct response to this growing demand, our specialist Contentious

Inheritance team has expanded its offering and its expertise in this niche

field is recognised by membership of both the Society of Trust and

Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS).

We have the experience and expertise to avoid and resolve disputes relating to: • Breaches of trust

• Validity of Wills

• Challenges to the terms of otherwise valid Wills (or the intestacy rules) under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975

• Administration of estates and trusts • Acquisition, management and disposal

of family assets (including the family business)

• Cohabitation

• Related professional negligence (e.g. badly drafted Wills)

It is not only individuals who may be caught up in an inheritance dispute, charities may also be involved with legacies that are due to them which may be subject to challenges, for example, by disappointed beneficiaries and our Contentious Inheritance team has experience of acting for clients within the charitable sector.

CITATION

NEWS

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[ TAX & WILLS ]

WILL THEy OR WON’T THEy?

Clifton Ingram LLP Solicitors

22-24 Broad Street, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 1BA

County House, 17 Friar Street, Reading, RG1 1DB

T: 0118 978 0099 | F: 0118 977 1122

Disclaimer: These articles are provided for general interest only, and are brief and generalised summaries. They may contain errors or be incorrect in the circumstances which apply to you and they do not attempt to cover all developments in the law. They must not be treated as legal advice, and you must always take specific advice before taking or refraining from taking action.

This workshop is designed to answer employers’ specific or general employment law queries and provide an update on the latest employment legislation.

Light refreshments will be served

Date: Thursday 19 November

Venue: Clifton Ingram Office, 22-24 Broad Street, Wokingham, RG40 1BA

Time: 15.30 – 17.30 open forum for questions

DATE fOR ThE DIARY

EMPLOYMENT LAW WORkShOP

If you would like further information on these topics or to discover how our Contentious Inheritance solicitors can help you then please contact Peter McGeown on 0118 912 0278 [email protected]

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