Bribery Act implementation delayed

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The Bribery Bill received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 and its implementation as the Bribery Act was due to come into force in April 2011. However the Government has indicated that the implementation will now be delayed. Currently the date for the Act to come into force is unknown.

When it does, the Act will create 4 offences:- the general offence of i)paying and ii) receiving bribes, iii)the bribing of foreign officials and iv)the failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery on their behalf. For commercial organisations this will apply to all such organisations which have business in the UK.

For more information please contact Lawson West Solicitors on 0116 212 1000.

 

LAWSON-WEST PRESENTING AT FREE BUSINESS SUPPORT EVENT

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Lawson-West are pleased to announce they are presenting at a free to attend Business Support Event on Monday 1st November which could be really useful to local businesses. Lawson-West will be talking about employment law issues, plus debt recovery and dispute resolution, and will be available to offer free legal advice and answer questions as well. Other presenters will offer advice on business, security, retail and marketing.

The event is aimed primarily at the equestrian business sector, but, as many of the issues faced by equestrian businesses are common to all small to medium enterprises, any business person could benefit from the advice on offer.

The event runs twice, from 10 am to 2 pm with lunch provided, and again from 6 to 9pm (with tea and cakes), at the Witham Villa Riding Centre, Broughton Astley. For more information and to book your place please contact Tom Fisher at organisers Leicestershire County Council on 0116 305 7034, or call David Heys at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1027.

Investment Property Values: Incompetence or negligence?

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In a recent case, KS Lincoln v CB Richard Ellis Hotels Limited 2010, a valuer was valuing four hotels as investment properties. The hotels were let on long leases  and the rent from each lease was decided on a complex formula based around the annual turnover of each hotel.

The valuer over-valued the properties because he used an ‘incompetent’ method to reach the valuation figure. However, whether by luck or judgement, the valuation figures were within a permissible margin of error of 10%. Therefore, despite using a flawed valuation method, the valuer himself was held not to be negligent.

During the case, the court summarised the margins for error for valuations as follows:-

  • Standard residential property = +/- 5%
  • One-off property (e.g. commercial) = +/- 10%
  • Exceptional properties = +/- 15%.

However, these are very general principles and the margins for error could vary considerably from those set out above.

The case also confirmed that even if a valuer’s work falls below an appropriate standard (e.g. by using an incorrect or incompetent valuation method) that valuer will not be negligent if the valuation figure he arrives at is within a permissible margin of error (which will be decided on a case by case basis).

Health, Safety and Risk

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In June the government announced a wide ranging review of the operation of Health and Safety laws and in particular the growth of the “compensation culture”.

Lord Young, the prime minister’s official health and safety advisor said that essential health and safety laws may have been applied “too generally and have become an unnecessary burden…”. Lord Young goes on to say that he hopes his review will “re-introduce an element of common sense and focus the regulation where it is most needed”.

There is no real timescale for this and the scope of the review is not yet known, but it is likely that the review will focus on how health and safety laws impact on everyday life (rather than looking at specific industries).

So how will this affect us? I am all for a review because over-regulation (or over zealousness in applying it) costs businesses a great deal of money, not just in compensation claims but in attitude to risk. Business is all about taking risks and concern about compensation claims can make businesses think twice about implementing new working practices, machinery and/or technology, or at the very least can mean delays implementing the changes while all risks are examined to the nth degree. Further, business owners may be reluctant to commit further capital into development of their businesses without making sure enough is left to pay out possible compensation claims.

I therefore hope that the review really will bring a more common sense attitude and perhaps even a little more self reliance, and that these in turn will encourage businesses to invest in themselves and to develop faster.

Author: David Heys at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1027

Do not sign anything, even if the paperwork doesn’t look legal

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We are acting for a client, Fred (name changed), who owns some vacant commercial property.  He wanted to rent this out on a lease but the prospective tenant had not got back to him and in the current market it seemed unlikely he would find another taker. In the meantime Fred had an approach from a local developer/investor, Doris (name changed) and they met in a pub. Fred reluctantly agreed to sell the property to Doris and solicitors were instructed a few days later.

When the prospective tenant heard about this he immediately agreed to go ahead with a lease so Fred rang Doris backing out of the sale. Doris then produced a scrap of paper signed by Fred confirming the agreement and claiming that this was a binding contract.

Fortunately for Fred, on this occasion we expect to get him out of the scrape but there will be a cost – not least the stress and strain on poor Fred.

So the moral of the story is do not sign anything unless and until you have taken legal advice. Call me on 0116 212 1027 if you are being asked to sign any papers, even if they don’t look like legal documents.

Author: David Heys at Lawson-West 0116 212 1027