Category: Articles

Why You Should Take Legal Advice When Making Your Will and LPA

Posted on by Wellers

Why You Should Seek Professional Legal Advice for Your Will

Your will is one of the most significant documents you will ever create. It sets out your wishes for your estate after you are gone. To ensure it is properly written and legally valid, it is crucial to use a professional solicitor. DIY wills are more prone to errors, which can render them invalid, potentially causing significant complications. A solicitor will ensure that your will is executed correctly, giving you peace of mind.
Professional assistance is essential in drafting your will no matter your circumstances but particularly if you own property in the U.K. or abroad, own a business, have dependents outside your immediate family or you’re aiming to reduce your inheritance tax bill or have complex wishes.

Who Should Make a Will?

Everyone over the age of 18 should make a will, particularly if you have a partner, children, property, shared financial assets, or any other significant assets. Making a will gives you control over your legacy. You can choose an executor you trust to carry out your wishes.
Without a will, your assets will be distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy. This means you cannot choose your executor; one will be appointed for you, who may not act in your best interests.

Keeping Your Will Up to Date

It is important to regularly review your will with a solicitor to ensure it reflects your current circumstances. Significant life events, such as marriage, remarriage, having children, a family member’s death, or changes in inheritance tax laws, necessitate updating your will. This ensures it remains effective and honours your intentions.

Understanding Inheritance Tax

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable on estates exceeding the Nil Rate Band allowance—the amount you can leave tax-free. While everyone is subject to the Nil Rate Band, in 2017, the Government introduced an additional Nil Rate Band, subject to conditions:

1. You must have a property to leave to your descendants (children or grandchildren).
2. Your estate must be valued at under £2 million.

By consulting with a solicitor, you can ensure that your will is valid, up-to-date, and optimised to manage inheritance tax effectively.

Find out more about why you need a professionally drafted Will, with Dawn Pearce

 

Why You Need to Create a Lasting Power of Attorney with a Legal Professional

Creating a Lasting Power of Attorney with a solicitor ensures that the document is correctly drafted and legally sound. Solicitors provide professional advice tailored to your specific situation, helping you understand the implications of your choices. They also ensure that the document meets all legal requirements, reducing the risk of errors that could render it invalid.

Additionally, a solicitor can help you navigate the complexities of LPAs, including advice on selecting appropriate attorneys and understanding their responsibilities. By creating an LPA with a solicitor, you can have peace of mind that your affairs will be managed according to your wishes, without unnecessary delays or complications.

What is an LPA?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legally binding document that enables you to appoint someone to act on your behalf when you are no longer able to do so yourself.

There are various reasons you might need someone to act on your behalf. In the short term, this could be due to a hospital stay where you need someone to manage your bills. Over a longer period, it might be necessary if you are diagnosed with a condition like dementia and need someone to take over your property and financial affairs.

Types of Lasting Power of Attorney

There are two types of LPAs:

  1. Property and Financial Affairs: This allows you to appoint someone to manage your finances, property, claim, receive or use your benefits, and handle your bank accounts.
  2. Health and Welfare: This allows you to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf regarding where you live and your medical care when you can no longer make these decisions yourself.

If you have an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) document, you will need to create an LPA to ensure your wishes are upheld. EPAs stopped being issued in 2007 and were replaced by LPAs.

If you lose capacity and only have an EPA, the document must be sent off for registration with the Office of the Public Guardian, which can result in a lengthy delay before any action can be taken, during which your assets are frozen. With an LPA, registration occurs at the time of creation, ensuring it is ready for use whenever needed.

 

Get In Touch With Our Team Today

Ensuring that your Lasting Power of Attorney and Will are properly drafted and legally sound is crucial for safeguarding your future and the future of your loved ones.

Our experienced solicitors are here to provide expert guidance and support, ensuring your legal documents are tailored to your unique needs.

Don’t leave such important matters to chance. Contact the Wellers Law Group team today to discuss how we can assist you in creating a Lasting Power of Attorney and drafting your Will.

 

Find out more about LPAs with Dawn Pearce

Intellectual Property Rights In The Music Industry: Trump vs O’Connor

Posted on by Wellers

Sinead O’Connor’s Estate has asked Donald Trump not to use her famous “Nothing Compares 2 U” recording at his political rallies.

Trump has some form in using well known pop and rock songs at his political rallies which on occasion have riled the artists concerned.

 

So, what is the legal position?

We must distinguish between the position in the US and the UK and also look at what rights are involved.

Putting it simply there are two copyrights involved:

  1. The copyright in the songs themselves; and
  2. The copyright in the sound recordings embodying those songs.

 

Generally, in the US the relevant performing right societies, generally ASCAP and BMI, administer the public performance of songs (compositions).  These compositions are generally owned by music publishers rather than writers since the songwriters have assigned the rights in those composition to music publishers.  As music publishers want to monetise exploitation of those compositions as much as possible, even if they could (which is debatable) stop the performance of those compositions at political rallies, they will generally not do so unless the songwriter concerned has a contractual right to stop it or is a big enough name for them to care about.

In the case of performers who do not write their own songs, there is nothing they can do to stop this in relation to the composition itself.

In fact “Nothing Compares 2 U” was written by Prince rather than Sinead O’Connor so any legal attempt to prevent its being played at Trump’s rallies would need to be by Prince’s estate or music publishers.

The position is similar in the UK where PRS is the only performing right society. Generally, they will be granting blanket licences for the public performance of all songs be they political rallies, football matches or restaurants and bars.

The position in relation to copyright in sound recordings is a different one.   Sound recordings are generally owned by artists’ record companies.  Although there may be a few examples where artists have retained or bought back their sound recordings generally it is the record companies who are in charge here. There is a major difference in the US and the UK. In the US generally the public performance of sound recordings has no copyright protection so that the record companies, even if they wanted to, could not stop their public performance at political rallies.

In the UK there are so called “neighbouring rights” which protect the public performance of sound recordings.  These are administered by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and generally PPL will grant blanket licences. However, PPL’s public position is that they will not grant a licence for public performance of sound recordings at political rallies without the “rights holders’” consent.  This presumably means the record companies. Although, in the UK, the performing artists do receive royalties from the public performance of their recordings so perhaps PPL will take note of their sensibilities. If in fact PPL seek only the record companies’ consent then that will normally be forthcoming unless they have an artist objecting who has enough sway (generally where they are earning the record company millions of pounds and do not owe them millions of pounds!) to bring about the prevention of the public performance of the sound recordings concerned.

 

If you have an Intellectual Property enquiry, get in touch with Howard Ricklow to find out how he can help you:

Email: howard.ricklow@wellerslawgroup.com

Phone: 020 7481 6396

Clinical negligence or just bad service?

Posted on by Penny Langdon

We are all aware of the problems besetting the NHS in recent years, the massively long waiting lists, shortage of GP’s, shortage of nurses and hospital Doctors and shortage of resources such as MRI machines. We have heard about hospitals failing to meet A&E turnaround targets and elderly patients causing “bed blocking”.  We all know someone who says they cannot get a GP appointment or a referral to a specialist or a scan or who is waiting years for an essential elective surgery.

Many of us have suffered or know someone who is struggling with symptoms for which they cannot get a diagnosis. The NHS was creaking before COVID but never seemed to recover from that and now is beset by industrial action by junior doctors and consultants and nurses.

If you or your family have been in any of the above situations, you can be sure that that this all represents a terrible level of service and if you are a tax payer you surely would be entitled to think that you are not getting value for your money when having paid national insurance all your life, you now have to fork out thousands to have your knee replacement done privately or sit on the  NHS waiting list when in the meantime your overall heath suffers a major set back as a result.

But – does all this amount to clinical negligence?

Certainly, some would say it is negligent in the wider sense but to meet the legal definition of clinical negligence is much harder than you might think.

There are 3 criteria you, as a claimant, must prove if you are considering making a claim for clinical negligence.

First, you must prove there has been a breach of the duty of care. The legal test for this is in summary that, if a doctor reached the standard of a responsible body of medical opinion, he was not negligent. So a doctor is allowed to make a judgement, which turns out to be wrong, if a reasonable number of other similarly qualified doctors would have made the same judgement in the circumstances, even if they are in the minority. Therefore, if, based on your symptoms, your GP thinks you have a certain condition, but it subsequently turned out you had a different condition, but he was actually going through the same process of elimination which other doctors would have followed, then he will not be negligent even though he was wrong, and this caused a delay in effective treatment.

Secondly, you must prove is that there has been some damage arising from what you think is the negligent act or omission. If, for example, a hospital doctor, in breach of the duty of care failed to diagnose a undisplaced fracture in a bone of a patient who is in a coma after a car crash. By the time the patients eventually emerged from the coma the fracture had healed by itself with no treatment and no ill effects. So, although there has been a breach of the duty of care there is no, or at least, minimal damage.

Finally, the Claimant must prove that the breach has caused the damage. This is often not as straightforward as it sounds. This might happen for example if there was a negligent delay in treatment of a leg fracture in an accident, following which the condition of the leg deteriorated and had to be amputated. Subsequently the evidence showed that the leg was so badly damaged it would have needed to be amputated in any event notwithstanding the delay. So there is a breach of duty and damage (the amputation) but the breach has not caused the damage.

There is still a backlog for treatment across a huge range of services in the NHS which is to a large degree a still indirectly a result of the pandemic and it does seem inevitable that unrelenting pressure on systems and individuals is going to result in negligence occurring.  Whether or not the NHS is going to be able to rely on the pandemic as a defence in many cases is still uncertain. It is very unlikely that the Courts will say that in every case where that has been a delay caused by Covid, either directly or indirectly, that this is negligence because this would open the flood gates to litigation which would overwhelm public finances. On the other hand, each case will still have to be assessed on its own merits and success will be dependant upon the specific facts on the case.

If you think that you or a family member or friend have suffered bad service from the NHS which has resulted in serious injury and or financial losses, we would be happy to discuss this with you.

 

If you have suffered clinical negligence, get in touch with Penny Langdon today by email penny.langdon@wellerslawgroup.com or by phone on 020 8290 7958.

 

Untying the knot: Two years on from the introduction of No Fault Divorce

Posted on by Manveen Padda

A Solicitor’s Perspective on No Fault Divorce

After years of campaigning, the “No fault divorce” finally came into effect on 6th April 2022. Was it worth it? How is it going?

The answer to the first part is a resounding, yes, it was worth it. Our research suggests the new law it is working. In the past, a divorce at its best could be as quick as 6 months or in majority cases it would drag on for several years before the final order, commonly known as “the Decree Absolute” would be granted. A complex divorce where the other party would fail to respond or the divorce was being defended, was distressing, lengthy and expensive. To understand the difficulties, it would help to outline a brief history of the Divorce law over time.

Brief history of an English Divorce

Divorce originates from 1533 (Henry VIII) when only a Pope could grant a divorce. Legal divorce was introduced in 1670 which allowed only men to apply for a divorce. In 1857 women were allowed to apply but only in exceptional circumstances, one of them being rape which had to be proved in a court of law. Over time more reasons were added but the core principle remained the same, that one party had to blame the other. The Divorce Reform Act 1969 was the first ever mention of “No fault divorce”. The Divorce Reform Act allowed the parties to apply on the basis that the marriage has broken down irretrievably using one of the five facts. Three facts were based on blame (unreasonable behaviour, Adultery or Desertion) and two facts were based on no blame (consent with 2 years of separation or 5 years separation). However, the most used reason was “unreasonable behaviour” which meant a party had to blame the other.

No fault Divorce

Campaigns continued to remove the 5 facts altogether and in 1990’s it finally seemed an achievable task. the Family Law Act 1996 included a section that would completely remove fault but unfortunately at the last minute the relevant sections of the Act were left out for being unworkable for two warring parties. Then came the famous case of Owen & Owen in 2018, where the wife tried to divorce her husband using the fact of unreasonable behaviour but the courts rejected her reasons on the basis that the behaviour was not unreasonable enough to warrant a divorce. She had to wait five years, from the date of separation, before she could finally get divorced in 2020. This supported the campaigns for the “No fault Divorce” which finally came into effect on 6th April 2022.

Progress since 2022

Working as a family law solicitor, I have seen the changing trends in our practice in divorce. Most parties are now applying for the divorce themselves, using the court’s online system. This is simple to follow and easy to achieve as no fault is being apportioned to the breakdown of the marriage. The change in law is working as it removes the necessity of either party making an accusation against the other, thus allowing for an amicable, quick and cheaper divorce. If the marriage has ended, neither party has to defend the divorce and the timeline is set to achieve a final order (Decree Absolute) in as quickly as 6 months.

How can we help  

Whilst the divorce law has changed to simplify the process, unfortunately the remainder of the family law issues remain as complex as ever. Issues arise when the parties are dealing with matters which are ancillary to the divorce. Often there are disputes concerning children arrangements and/or protecting property, savings, income, pensions and generally separating financial commitments. This is where we can help. If you would like to discuss any aspect of separation and divorce including pre/post nuptial agreement, cohabitation agreements please contact our team of specialist lawyers trained to assist you.

 

 

This article and testimony was written by Manveen Padda, a Family Law Solicitor at Wellers Law Group. Manveen, alongside the rest of the Family Law team, are here to help, no matter your family circumstances. Get in touch with Manveen today by email to discuss your options for divorce.

Winning the Immigration Vote: how immigration could feature in the next UK election

Posted on by Oliver O'Sullivan

With a general election expected this year, immigration is bound to be a theme that all political parties use to signal to key voter demographics.

Where are voters on ‘immigration’?

Currently, according to YouGov, the Conservatives are only the most popularly party among the over-70s. The majority of Britons under-50 say will vote for Labour.

The UK’s last election was in 2019. At that time, YouGov polls suggested that 22% of voters considered immigration as the most important factor facing the country. This has now risen to 39% with only healthcare and the economy ranking higher. Immigration is currently considered a more important issue facing the UK than education, housing, the environment and family life and childcare.

38% of those polled by YouGov consider the level of immigration in the UK to have been mostly bad for the country. Only 21% of respondents expressed a positive opinion towards immigration during the last ten years of a Conservative government. 65% of respondents believe that immigration has been too high in the last ten years.

Given the above numbers, it isn’t surprising that 82% of the UK consider the current government to be badly handling the issue of immigration in the UK. 20% of the country now believe that Labour would be the best political party to handle asylum and immigration. This is only 3% up from before the 2019 election, but critically the number of people with faith in the Conservatives on immigration has halved from 32% to 16%.

It appears that immigration is a very significant issue for voters in the UK, who believe that immigration levels have been too high in the past ten years and that the Conservatives have failed to impact it. In terms of what factors in particular Britons consider important for immigration, the latest YouGov trackers suggest that:

  • The current levels of people with low levels of education and skills looking for low paid work in the UK are at the right level.
  • The current levels of wealthy people looking to live in the UK based on investing in the UK are at the right level.
  • We should allow more people to come to the UK to work in the British health service.
  • The current levels of people coming to the UK to study are at the right level.
  • The current levels of skilled workers coming to the UK to look for skilled jobs are at the right level.

In fact, in most areas of immigration, respondents to various YouGov polls suggest that immigration is a significant national issue whilst simultaneously being at the right level for each of its component parts.

Immigration in general is seen as too high, but each separate area of work or study related immigration is at the right level.

The Channel wall

It’s probably no surprise then that Labour and Conservatives are focusing their messaging on Channel crossings. Border integrity has proven a highly emotive subject for voters globally, whether it be building a wall, ending “free” movement or preventing islands being reached by boat. Crossing the Channel to reach the UK is symbolic of unrestricted immigration and triggers those who want to feel safe that the identity of Great Britain is secure.

Since only 1.3% of those arriving by small boats were removed from the UK between 2018 and 2023, it would appear that most people arriving by boat to the UK make a valid claim to remain in the UK as refugees. They have a case for remaining, but they are illegally entering. Since there is no way to legally enter the UK to make a claim for asylum and airlines are bound by law to check for a right to enter the UK, it would appear that the Channel crossers are extremely short of options.

It is positive that neither party demonises the individuals making the journey and the language is changing to focus on the criminal gangs making a trade from the trafficking of people. The Labour party are proposing a deal whereby the EU provides support with preventing Channel crossings in exchange for accepting a share of refugees arriving to the EU. The Conservatives have just agreed a deal with the EU to co-operate closer on information to prevent Channel crossings.

The impact of the many other elections taking place this year may also impact on anti-migration in the UK election too, since most recent elections in Europe have seen rises in more nationalist parties. The fact that the UK has already had Brexit might impact any such influence, however. The UK has already “taken back control of its borders” in that respect.

 Making work immigration work

Little is known on either the Conservatives or Labour Party’s policies on work-related immigration. James Cleverly looks to be taking actions to reduce visas that allow an unlimited work right, such as care worker and student dependants, UK spouses and Graduate visa holders. The focus appears to be in restricting low-skilled workers from overseas into the domestic labour market, despite YouGov respondents voting that the current levels are at the right level.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is already reminding the Conservatives of the trebling of net migration and looks to be focusing on less reliance for overseas workers for shortage occupations and an increase in training and upskilling the domestic labour market. The current government imposes charges of £1000 per year to sponsor a worker from overseas as an incentive to invest more in training, and so perhaps a Labour government will replace the Immigration Skills Charge with a requirement for sponsors to provide evidence of a sufficient level of internal training programmes.

Out of the shadow cabinet

With a likely Labour election victory and Yvette Cooper as Home Secretary, what would we expect in terms of immigration policy?

Cooper was chair of Labour’s refugee taskforce and has been Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee since 2016, interviewing dozens of professionals on immigration during that time. She has always voted against stronger laws and enforcement of immigration rules and generally voted against a stricter asylum system. Cooper generally voted for continuing close ties with Europe during Brexit. We could expect a very different Home Secretary to the pro-Rwanda plan, pro-Brexit Cleverly.

 

This article was written by Oliver O’Sullivan, Head of Immigration at Wellers Law Group. You get get in touch with Oliver by email for enquiries relating to the contents of this article.

How to meet the spouse salary requirement

Posted on by Wellers

The partner of a person who is “settled” in the United Kingdom requires financial sponsorship from their settled partner. A person is considered to be “settled” in the United Kingdom if they are British, Irish or have Indefinite Leave to Remain status. A partner is a person to whom the settled person is married, in a civil partnership with, or with whom they have cohabited for at least two years.

To sponsor a partner, the settled person needs to provide evidence of meeting a financial requirement. This is a requirement that evidences that the couple will have sufficient income to cover the length of the visa. Unless the settled worker’s partner is already in the UK and allowed to work, is it only the income of the settled worker that can be counted for the application.

From 4th April, the minimum income amount to sponsor a partner increases by 56% from £18,600 to £29,000. The financial requirement can be met in a number of ways as we explore below.

 

Employment

A settled person can be in salaried employment, earning at least £29,000 per annum. They can be outside the UK earning at least that amount and have a job offer in the UK for a position earning at least that amount, or they can be in the UK and working in a job earning at least that amount. Depending on how long they have been in this employment they may need to also evidence prior earnings of at least £29,000 too.

Self-employment

Similar to employment, a settled person can be self-employed as a sole trader or partner of a business or as a director of a limited company and provide evidence of had a taxable income of at least £29,000 in their last tax year.

Cash savings

To calculate the amount needed to cover each 2.5-year visa, either the settled person and/or their partner can evidence holding £88,500 in cash savings at the date of application. This amount covers 2.5 years of £29,000 per year in addition to £16,000. The savings can be held as investments previously but must be liquidised for the date of application. This cash or investment portfolio needs to have been held for at least 6 months to be counted.

Other regular income

A settled person can also include regular income from rent, a pension, maintenance payments from a former partner, dividends from shares, interest from savings, allowances, maintenance grants or stipends, as long as they will be in receipts of these payments for the duration of their partner’s visa.

Combinations of the above

The above sources of income can all be combined to reach the minimum amount of £29,000, whether it be a salary that is supplemented by savings or a pension combined with income from rent, there are various ways of combining income to reach the minimum salary level.

The immigration rules are very strict about how this income is evidenced, so it is advisable to seek advice before submitting an application as immigration fees are non-refundable.

 

 

Skilled Worker salary increases: FAQ

Posted on by Oliver O'Sullivan

 

  1. What is the new minimum salary level for sponsoring workers as Skilled Workers?

It depends on the job role. The minimum salary for a standard Skilled Worker application is rising from £26,200 to £38,700 per annum as a gross base salary. However, each job role also has its own minimum salary level that also needs to be met. For example, the ‘Business Development Manager’ role that is currently under SOC code 3545 currently has a minimum salary of £35,100. This will increase by 50% to £52,500 from 4 April under SOC code 3556.

 

  1. When will this increase commence?

The increase will apply to any new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned after 4 April 2024. Once a CoS has been assigned (i.e. paid for), it has to be “used” in an application within 3 months. The start date for the job cannot be more than 3 months from the date of application. The current salary level could be used for anyone starting a new position up to the end of September 2024 if managed correctly by assigning a CoS before 4 April 2024.

The Sponsor Management System will be out off service on 3 April 2024, so all CoS will need to be assigned by 7pm on 2 April 2024.

 

  1. Can the salary include any allowances?

The minimum salary level only includes basic gross pay before income tax and including employee pension and national insurance contributions.

 

  1. Can the salary be pro-rated?

 

The minimum salary is based upon a 37.5-hour week. Where the weekly hours are higher than 37.5, the salary will be pro-rated. For example, a salary of £38,700 based on a 37.5-hour week would need to be £40,248 if based on a 39-hour week.

Part-time positions would need to earn the minimum salary based on a 37.5-hour week. A 22.5-hour week, for example, would need to earn at least the SOC code minimum or the minimum salary of £38,700, whichever is higher.

 

  1. Does this salary change apply to anyone who is already on a Skilled Worker visa?

 

The salary change applies to anyone being sponsored using a CoS assigned after 4 April 2024. No changes need to be made to the salaries of anyone currently being sponsored on a CoS issued before this date.

An extension application will require a new CoS, however. If an extension application is happening after 4 April 2024, then the higher minimum salary levels will then apply. If this presents an issue in terms of being able to increase the salary level at that point, it might be worth considering making the extension application before 4 April 2024, even if the employee currently has a visa with an expiry date after then.

 

Get in touch with Oliver O’Sullivan for any enquiries relating to skilled worker salary increases.

 

 

 

 

 

International Data Transfers – 21st March 2024 deadline approaches!

Posted on by Wellers

International transfers of personal data to a recipient outside of the UK may only take place if:

  1. the jurisdiction is deemed to have an adequate level of protection for data subjects’ personal data compared with that of the GDPR; or
  2. there are “appropriate safeguards” in place; or
  3. there are only occasional necessary transfers and a particular derogation my apply.

The countries deemed by the UK to have adequate data protection laws are few, including the European Economic Area (EEA) countries, Andorra, Argentina , Faroe Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland and Uruguay.

If personal data is to be exported from the UK to any other country then generally the most common “appropriate safeguard” utilised is the approved Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”). Pre-Brexit the EU approved SCCs applied to the UK as they did to every EU country. However, new forms of SCCs approved by the EU were adopted on 4th June 2021 (“New SCCs”).

The UK’s answer to the New SCCs was and is the International Data Transfer Agreement (“IDTA”) which came into force on 21st March 2022.

As well as the IDTA, the UK adopted an addendum (“UK Addendum”) to the New SCCs which is convenient for businesses with data transfers subject to both EU and UK GDPR and/ or who may already have the New SCC’s in place.

Whilst many organisations have utilised the IDTA or the UK Addendum, some organisations have not and have legitimately continued to use the original SCCs. That option ends on 21st March 2024.

Accordingly, it will be a breach of UK GDPR/ Data Protection Act 2018 for organisations internationally transferring personal data relying on “appropriate safeguards” and utilising SCCs unless they do so utilising IDTA or the New SCCs and the UK Addendum.

You should contact us immediately if you need advice in this area to avoid the risk of incurring substantial fines.

Contact Howard Ricklow via email at howard.ricklow@wellerslawgroup.com or by phone on 020 7481 6396.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Posted on by Wellers

These changes which are in effect from 4th March 2024 have been enacted to enhance the role of the Registrar of Companies and Companies House as a proactive regulator building on the changes introduced under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.

 

The principal changes include:

  • Registered office – all companies must now have an “appropriate address” at all times. This means that companies will no longer be able to use a PO box as their registered address and the address must be one where an acknowledgement of receipt of delivery can be obtained

 

  • Email address – companies will need to provide a registered email address which will need to be monitored. This will be used for communications with Companies House and will not be publicly available

 

  • Lawful purpose – upon incorporation the subscribers of the company will need to confirm that they are forming for a lawful purpose and subsequently when filing the company’s annual confirmation statement there will need to be a statement that the company’s future activities are lawful

 

  • Company names – there are expanded restrictions on company names, including potential restrictions on names which could be used to facilitate dishonesty or deception

 

  • Annotations – Companies House will be able to annotate the Register where information appears misleading or incorrect

 

  • Companies House –may use data matching software to identify and remove inaccurate information from the Register

 

  • Powers of the Registrar – Companies House will have additional powers to scrutinise and reject company information which appears incorrect or inconsistent with existing filings

 

  • Data – the Registrar will have the power to share data with other governmental departments and law enforcement agencies.

 

UK companies will need to become aware of these important changes and ensure that they comply with the provisions since in some cases failure to do so could lead to criminal liability for the company and its officers.

Get in touch with Wellers Law Group to assist you with any changes which need to be made in terms of proper compliance.

 

This article was written by Howard Ricklow, our head of Company and Commercial law. To connect with Howard and to enquire about his services, please email howard.ricklow@wellerslawgroup.com or call him on  020 7481 6396.

 

EU Settlement Scheme: five years on and still unresolved

Posted on by Oliver O'Sullivan

Late Applications

The EU settlement scheme, which ran from 28 August 2018 to 30 June 2021, enabled EU nationals and their family members to remain in the UK following the Brexit vote. To date, almost 8 million applications have been made.

Nearly 600,000 applications have been made after the deadline. For scale, this is more than double the number of applications made in the Skilled Worker visa category over the same time.

How can applications be accepted so long after the deadline, and how can employers manage this scenario?

 

Reasonable delay

There are many reasons why there have been so many delays in applications. Many EU nationals who have been living in the UK were unaware of the need to make an application. The application being accessible via a mobile app made life easier for many people but was also an issue for those who were less comfortable with technology. Others made applications that were refused and delayed in submitting new applications and others were refused without knowing.

The Home Office advises that there remains scope ‘indefinitely’ for a person eligible for status under the EU Settlement Scheme to make an application where ‘in light of all the circumstances and reasons, there are reasonable grounds for their delay in making their application’. This means that if a person qualifies for the scheme by virtue of their residence in the UK before 31 December 2020, an application can still be made if that delay can be reasonable explained.

Where a lot of time has passed since the deadline for applications, the reasonable test becomes more difficult to provide for. Applicants need to provide objective evidence for the reason for delay for the entire period of delay. For example, if a person missed the deadline owing to illness, the evidence of illness needs to cover the entire intervening period, not only part of that period.

 

Right to work issues

There was no requirement for employers to check their current employees had applied under the EU Settlement Scheme, only to check those joining the company after the scheme had closed. Therefore, many companies could be employing workers who either never made an application, had an application refused, or who did make an application for pre-settled status that then lapsed. In these three scenarios these companies are employing workers who do not have permission to work in the UK.

In the case of workers who were already employed, the company is secure with having a statutory excuse against civil penalties. However, in the case of those employed post 30 June 2021, there could be EU employees in the company who do not have the right to work. Penalties for employing illegal workers are now £45k per illegal worker, so what actions can be taken?

Audit the right to work of the whole workforce. It is always a good idea to recheck that you have the right documents for every employee, and it is important not to discriminate in terms of which nationalities are audited. For any EU nationals employed after the scheme deadline, check that no applications are unresolved and check for expiry dates of pre-settled status.

Our team have audited companies small and large, and it is always seen as a positive for the Home Office to be proactively reviewing retrospectively. There is always something to remedy in every audit we have undertaken, so do reach out to us for an initial conversation about how we can support your company remaining compliant.

 

This article was prepared by Oliver O’Sullivan, our Head of Immigration, who you can contact by email at Oliver.OSullivan@wellerslawgroup.com or by phone at 020 7481 2422.