During the last quarter of 2014, Scotland had 1.5% less unemployed women than the EU average. Putting us at a pioneering position in female employment. Annabelle Ewing, Minister for youth and women’s employment said, “We have recently seen record levels of female employment in Scotland and the gap between male and female employment is also [...]
From April 2017 each individual will be offered a “family home allowance” of initially £100,000 and increasing to £175,000 by 2020-21. Following the design of the existing “Nil Rate Band” of £325,000, it will be capable of transfer between spouses and registered civil partners . The effect will be to permit up to £1m to [...]
George Osborne's recent 2015 Budget announcement caught the attention of many UK landlords, who will receive less tax relief on their properties from 2016. This HMRC document sets out exactly what has changed.
As the Scottish Government starts to distinguish itself from the UK regime we start to see interesting differences which means not surprisingly more tax. Under the old Stamp Duty Land Tax system, a back to back transaction which completed on the same day paid only one lot of tax if handled properly. Under Land and [...]
While the Conservatives have promised not to increase corporation tax, National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT, there is still a chance other taxes could go up. Which is a concern for the real estate industry. With over two million private landlords renting out five million properties in the UK, being aware of tax reliefs and [...]
The recruitment process is a great opportunity to develop your business and upgrade the skills and experience in your workforce. However it’s also an area full of hindering employment laws and discrimination claims. So it’s essential to be aware of the following key points if you want to recruit fairly and by the book. Don’t [...]
Now, more than ever, Scottish landlords will need to be on the ball with their policy on dilapidations. Tenants are in a better position for negotiating and, after two recent Scottish cases, landlords are becoming frequently caught out. What are dilapidations? At the end of a lease the tenant may be contractually responsible for repairs [...]
Hopefully you already know about Shared Parental Leave. But just in case, here’s a reminder. The regime is part of The Children and Families Act 2014 and applies to any soon-to-be parents with an expected week of childbirth (or placement date if adopting) falling after 4th April 2015. In terms of how this affects your employment [...]
From the 6th of May 2015, ‘Pension Reform Day’, new rules will allow those aged over 55 to draw down some or all of their money to invest in options such as a buy to let property. The requirement to buy an annuity will be removed and pension savers will have greater flexibility in accessing their [...]
One of the great frustrations as a lawyer of long experience is knowing that if clients had taken simple action to protect themselves and their family in advance, then really expensive legal procedures to rectify problems could be avoided. Take Powers of Attorney for example, which can become useful at any age due to illness [...]