New legal guidance regarding working with children during the Coronavirus pandemic has been released by The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). What do Cafcass do, exactly? Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. They advise courts about the best interests of children and help the voices of young people […]
Monthly Archives: November 2020
Foreign healthcare workers and families: what support are available to you from the Home Office?
This year has been a difficult one for many people due to the strains of COVID-19. Everyone has had to alter their way of life, people have been very ill and there has been extra pressure on healthcare professionals. Without the doctors, nurses, carers, and paramedics who dedicate their lives to helping others we would […]
Be Careful of Oral Agreements!
Written by Evveline Loh. The court had recently handed down their judgment in Coleman v Mundell [2020] EWHC 2852 in the Queen’s Bench Court around the end of last month. The case was a dispute about an oral agreement made between Mr Philip Coleman (the “Claimant”) and Mr Mundell (the “Defendant”). The Claimant […]
Child protection mediation services to be considered in England and Wales after Nuffield come forward with recommendations
The Nuffield report The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory aims to improve the lives of children and families by putting data and evidence at the heart of the family justice system. Recently, they put together a report which grouped together evidence gathered from 17 studies on child protection mediation in Australia, Canada, and the US, and […]
Home Office’s Math Puzzle: 18 Months or 540 Days? – How long is a person allowed to be away from the UK under applications for settlement based on 10 years’ lawful residence?
Written by Chuanli Ding. I had always believed that in an application for settlement based on 10 years’ lawful residence pursuant to Paragraph 276B of the Immigration Rules, as soon as the applicant has not been away from the UK for more than 180 days on any single occasion or 540 days in […]
Right to Rent Checks – What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know
This article is written in line with the new guidance published by the Home Office for landlords to guide them through the right to rent checking process. The full publication is available here. First things first, what does right to rent mean? It is not a difficult phrase to read; however, it can […]
Settlement Based on 10 Years Continuous Lawful Residence: Is Your Gap Book-Ended or Open-Ended?
Written by Caryn Toh. The Court of Appeal raised the issues of the gaps in 10 years continuous lawful residence applications in the case of Hoque & Ors v SSHD [2020] EWCA Civ 1357 on 23rd October 2020. It considered whether unlawful residence which was followed by grant of lawful residence (“book-ended gap” as it […]
New Safety Measures Brought in for Victims of Domestic Abuse during Remote Hearings
Domestic abuse has unfortunately been on the rise since national lockdowns became part of life. People are forced to remain indoors most of the day when in some cases their home is the most dangerous place for them. This terrible crime destroys families and ruins lives. Measures must be taken to put an end to […]
House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) – Another Minefield of Rent Repayment Claims for Landlords after the Rent Deposit Scheme!
First things first, what does HMO mean? The concept of HMO was introduced by the Housing Act 2004. To put it simply, under section 254 of the Act, it refers to a building or part of a building or such building consisting of self-contained flats where: its living accommodation is occupied by persons […]
BIICL new ‘Breathing Space’ guidelines for commercial contract disputes
Written by Rosa Huang. England has been plunged into its second lockdown for a four-week period beginning from last week, but work of the courts and tribunals will continue to be exempted from lockdown measures. The exemption will help to avoid any substantial delays from the lockdown, given that the backlog of cases […]
Family Litigation: Relocation of children must only occur in exceptional circumstances
In relation to family litigation regarding children’s custody, the general position is that the child’s usual residence should not be changed unless in exceptional circumstances. When considering the issue of usual residence, the Court will consider how long the residence has lasted and how well the child has settled down into the surroundings including schooling, […]
Important Update: Amendments made to Immigration Skill Charge Regulations
The Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2020 passed both houses of the Parliament on 3rd November 2020. It is to amend the Immigration Skills Charge Regulations 2017. What is the immigration skills charge? First thing first, immigration skills charge is levy paid by employers who hire foreign workers to the government. Employers […]
Employment Focus – Are You Eligible for Furlough during Lockdown 2.0?
The second UK-wide lockdown begins tomorrow, bringing with it a fresh wave of anxiety. A large part of peoples worry will be based on their employment and how the new rules will affect their income. The furlough scheme kept many heads above water during the first lockdown back in March 2020 and with the scheme […]
Lockdown 2.0 – We remain open and ready to take your instructions!
As we are sure you all know, the UK’s second lockdown will start on Thursday the 5th of November and will last for 4 weeks. We are writing this to let everyone know that we will remain open throughout the entirety of this lockdown and will be able to provide the same high quality […]
