When it comes to whistleblowing, what is the part of protected disclosure agreements?

First off, what is a whistleblower?

A whistleblower is a term used to describe a person who leaks sensitive information, reports wrongdoings, crimes, or morally questionable practices or events that occur within their own workplace. Usually, the reports are regarding people in high positions such as management or particular duties that the person has been asked to perform. Although, this is not always the case. Certain groups within organisations, such as specific teams or departments can also be reported on by whistleblowers.

For example, the case of Edward Snowden was a highly publicised whistleblowing case. Snowden leaked sensitive information from the National Security Agency in the U.S, after his ethical concerns went unnoticed by his superiors.

What is a protected disclosure?

Protected disclosures are defined under Section 43A and 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996. To put it simple, a disclosure of information (of or about the employer) will only be qualified as protected disclosure when the disclosing employee has a reasonable belief that the disclosure is made in the public interest, instead of for personal gains and for the following one or more purposes:

a criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed,

a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which he is subject,

a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur,

the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered,

the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged, or

information tending to show any matter falling within any one of the above has been, is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.

The wrongdoer of such actions can be the employer, a person for whom the employer is responsible, or any other person, or group of people, within the organisation.

Some factual information must be disclosed in order for it to become a protected disclosure. Simply voicing an opinion or complaining about something is not enough. There must be sufficient factual content to back it up.

To make sure a disclosure qualifies for legal protection, it is very important that the whistleblower person comes forward in an appropriate way and to an appropriate person. If there are procedures laid out by the employer or organisation, it is very important that these procedures be followed. Such steps are sometimes laid out in employment contracts.

Alternatively, if the disclosure relates to a specific area of concern, for example the safety of employees or the general public, then the head of Health and Safety would be a good person to speak to initially.

There are two points which are worth noting:

A disclosure is not a protected disclosure if you have to commit an offence in order to disclose it. In this case, what Edward Snowden did could be protected disclosure, as the US government believes that he breached their laws and has been seeking to prosecute him.

If information is subject to the protection of legal professional privilege, the disclosure of it will not be treated as protected disclosure. For example, you want to come to Lisa’s Law to consult about your employment right. Whatever you are going to disclose to us about your employer will not be treated as protected disclosure, as discussion between you and us will be strictly kept confidential.

It should also be noted that employees’ right of whistleblowing cannot be contracted out. In another word, any contract which purportedly tries to prevent employees from making protected disclosures is void.

Why are the protected disclosures so important?

Protected disclosures are hugely important as they essentially allow the whistleblower to provide information without having to face consequences such as being fired, demoted or treated negatively once they have done so. It is a way to allow people to report any questionable activity that may be going on in their workplace, and feel they can do so without being reprimanded. As its name suggests, it is a guarantee of protection for the worker making the disclosure.

Protected disclosures can be applied to most types of worker, such as:

Employees

Former employees

Freelancers

Agency workers

Part-time workers

People on work experience

So long as the information provided qualifies for such protection, the employee concerned will be protected from any detrimental treatment from the employer.

More than a hunch!

Where the worker believes that something will happen, but it has not necessarily already occurred, the worker must reasonably believe, based on the information they have, that it is more likely than not that the bad consequence will occur. It is not enough to have a hunch or only believe that there is a moderate risk or possibility that it will occur.

The burden of proof lays on the individual coming forward with the information.

An important factor is that the information disclosed is the interest of the public and not only in the interest of the whistleblower themselves. It is unlikely that disclosures which can be assessed as being in hopes of personal gain rather than public interest will be protected.

This issue was considered in the case Chesterton Global Verman v Nurmohamed where the following factors were considered when assessing the gravitas of the information provided:

The amount of people whose interests the disclosed information served (the higher the number, the more likely the disclosure is to be in the public interest)

the nature of the interests and areas affected by the disclosure

the extent to which those areas and interests are affected by the wrongdoing reported

the nature of the wrongdoing disclosed (deliberate, malicious wrongdoing will likely have more weight than wrongdoing brought about by error)

the identity and status of the alleged wrongdoer (the larger and more prominent the alleged wrongdoer, the more likely the disclosure is to be in the public interest)

If you have further questions about necessary belief, you can get in contact with us and we will help clarify the situation for you. It is highly recommended that if there are any doubts about making a disclosure, legal advice should be sought.

What happens if a whistleblower is still punished for making a protected disclosure?

Punishment can be by way of dismissal, demotion, or discrimination or other form of detriment to the employee concerned, like pay-cut. Such punishment will be automatically unfair and unlawful. They can be grounds for unfair dismissal.

The employee shall make a claim to an employment tribunal within 3 months of such victimisation. The tribunal will have power to award the successful employee a basic award calculated in light of the employee’s age, salary/wage as in all other unfair dismissal cases and the duration of employment and a compensatory award which is to reflect the employee’s financial losses and/or injuries to their feelings.

There are the following differences between an unfair dismissal based on protected disclosure and other types of unfair dismissal:

The former is not subject to any qualifying period, while the latter requires that a claim can only be made normally after the employee has been working for his/her employer for 2 years; and

There is no cap on the compensatory award in the case of an unfair dismissal based on protected disclosure, while in the latter case, it is capped currently at £88,519.00.

This is the whole purpose of the protected disclosure, it is there to uphold the rights of the worker and allow them to come forward with information without being punished for it, so long as the information they have qualifies for such protection.

Have questions? We are open as usual!

We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk. Our caseworkers are tending to their cases with the same professionalism and efficiency as always.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

Working from home renders many commercial buildings empty, but how can they be used otherwise? Consultations on development rights have begun!

Working from home has become a normal part of life due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Some will have taken to it better than others, appreciating the lack of commute or the morning rush. However, for many it is a significant challenge, having much less social interactions, being unable to meet with clients and feeling cooped up when they would rather be out and about.

While there are many different opinions regarding working from home, it does not change the fact that it has now become a necessity to keep the pandemic at bay. While there was once offices, stores and other places of work filled with people, many of these buildings now lay vacant. So the question is, what can legally be done with them?

Consultations have begun

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched consultations regarding new permitted development rights for the change of use from ‘Commercial, Business and Service’ usage to residential usage in order to create new homes. Essentially, workplaces will be turned into living spaces if they can meet the requirements.

These consultations are scheduled to run from 3 December 2020 to 28 January 2021.

Use class changes

You may remember changes to the Use Classes of buildings occurred back in September when the government published The Town and Country Planning Regulations 2020. These regulations attempt to reflect the diverse nature of high streets in the UK, and fresh demands brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, which require how properties can be developed and used in different ways as time goes on. You can remind yourself of this in our article: The Law of the Land: Use Classes See Significant Changes!

Bearing these changes in mind, the government is looking to add further flexibility in terms of how buildings can be used now that many have been left empty, due to many employees now working from home. There is now a demand for a more streamlined application process and allowances for commercial property to be changed into residential property, amongst other types of developments.

Making the changes

One of the main areas of interest here is the proposed change of a building in Class E (Commercial, Business, and Service) into a residential building. Only premises which were in use class E on 1 September 2020 will benefit from the right to alteration.

According to the current information available, the proposed changes will “significantly beyond existing rights, allowing for restaurants, indoor sports, and crèches etc. to benefit from the change use to residential under permitted development rights for the first time.”

It seems to us that the government is anticipating the work from home model that has become such a big part of life will remain throughout the pandemic and beyond, meaning many commercial buildings will no longer be needed.

Size considerations

It is currently being proposed that there is no size limit on the buildings that can be altered for residential use. The thinking here is that there is no point in a building lying vacant simply because it does not meet size recommendations when it could still be used for something. Of course, where a building is far too small to be used as a residential area, this will be taken into account, but there is currently no cut off point in terms of size. It will be discussed further as part of the consultations.

It is understood that some buildings previously used for retail or other commercial use will offer large spaces to work with, potentially giving developers the chance to build multiple residential properties in their place.

Area considerations

There will be areas that are unable to be changed to residential property for various reasons, such as the area being of historical or scientific interest, listed buildings and land within their curtilage; sites that are or contain scheduled monuments; or safety hazard areas would clearly be exempted from any alterations.

The safety and health of the potential resident once the property has been altered will be considered, which means events such as flooding, fire safety, contamination, building stability and availability of natural light will always be considered before any development takes place.

Planning is key

Any applications for prior approval is to be accompanied by detailed floor plans (or blueprints) showing dimensions and proposed use of each room, including the position of windows, information necessary for the consideration of the matters for prior approval, and an appropriate fee. The consultation proposes a fee per dwelling of £96, capped at a maximum of the fee for 50 dwellings.

What do we think?

We are pleased to see planning going into this area, as we certainly agree that buildings are better off being used for something than simply standing vacant for months or even years on end. We hope that the consultations go well and that appropriate plans are written up, and some of these commercial buildings can get turned into residential ones and serve a new purpose.

With the coronavirus hitting some harder than others, and an expected increase of homelessness potentially on the cards, we would also like to see some of these buildings put to good use for those who need some extra support. It would be pleasant to see some homeless shelters get developed as well as regular flats and houses. We will have to wait and see how it turns out!

The GOV page related to these consultations can be found here.

Have questions? We are open as usual!

We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2020 Revealed! What can we learn?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the latest report on gender pay gap statistics for 2020. There are some positives to take from the report, as it was found that for full-time employees, the pay gap fell 2.4% between April 2019–April 2020, and for all employees, the gap fell by 1.9% within the same period. While it is still not an even playing field, the statistics show we are heading in the right direction.

What is the gender pay gap?

To remind you, the gender pay gap is the name given to the difference between average hourly earnings of men and women (not including overtime). It is a measure across all jobs in the UK, not of the difference in pay between men and women for doing the same job.

Key takeaways from the ONS report:

It is worth remembering that the statistics for this year include the period of time when approximately 8.8 million people were on furlough due to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – however the impact of the coronavirus on the gender pay gap was found to be minor, according to the ONS.

There was a 9.0% pay gap in April 2019, which dropped to a 7.4% pay gap in 2020. This is clearly a positive and an improvement on last year, but there is still plenty of room to further equality.

For full time employees under the age of 40, the pay gap was almost non-existent. However, for those older employees the pay gap was over 10%. This suggests that in the future, more equal pay is projected to occur more frequently, which is great to see.

In terms of management positions, the gender pay gap has decreased.

It was found that over the last four years, the pay gap has decreased in both small and larger (those with over 250 employees) companies. Also, since 2017, organisations which employ 250 or more employees have been required by the UK government to publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap.

Our thoughts

Here at Lisa’s Law we are huge advocates for equality in every way, including salary. We are pleased to see the numbers are moving in the right direction, but understand that there is still a long way to go before things are completely fair. A positive part of the report, in our opinion, is how minimal the pay gap is between younger employees. We believe there is good reason to be optimistic that in the not-so-distant future, the pay gap will shrink significantly as these younger people grow into more senior positions, and the old way of thinking is slowly but surely phased out of the workplace.

The full report is available here.

Have questions? We are here to help!

We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

Get your property back! What does the new guidance for private landlords say about the possession action process?

Property is a massive part of life. It is where families make homes, people raise children, or it can be simply a sanctuary to come back to after a difficult day. However, another huge aspect of the property world revolves around business, whereby landlords look to make money by allowing tenants to rent out their property.

What happens when issues between tenants and landlords crop up, and more specifically how can landlords get tenants to leave their property when they are refusing? New guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government seeks to shed some light on this situation.

Note: this article is written in relation to how landlords can act in order to reclaim their property, a follow up article on the rights on tenants will follow.

Who is the guidance targeted at?

As you may have deduced from the above, this guidance is for landlords who are letting to tenants on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or an Assured Tenancy. It focuses on what rights landlords have in removing tenants by way of the courts.

This article will focus on the process in place for repossession of property and the responsibilities of the landlords in this situation. The full guidance can be found here.

Can it be sorted without the courts?

It is always worth assessing whether an agreement can be struck between a landlord and a tenant prior to going through the court system. Seeking possession through the courts should only be used if and where a landlord has tried all other avenues to find a solution. Claiming possession through the court will cost between £400 and £500, before any legal fees are taken into consideration, and will likely take a relatively long time to resolve. It normally takes around 2 months but with the restrictions with COVID-19 still being felt it will definitely be much longer to be fully disposed of.

Wherever possible, landlords should ensure that they attempt to find other options to resolve their situation, as this will most likely be quicker and cheaper. Landlords should communicate with their tenants directly to discuss problems such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour. In our experience, this can lead to an easier, cheaper and less stressful conclusion for everyone involved.

Time to notify

When communications between landlords and tenants have proved to be fruitless, it is time for landlords to officially notify their tenants that they want them to vacate the property. They can do this by serving either a Section 8 or Section 21 notice.

Section 8 notice

Landlords can give their tenants a Section 8 notice if they have a reason for wanting them to vacate the premises which corresponds with a specific ground; for instance, they have broken the terms of the tenancy.

Under the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020, a notice seeking possession which was given to a tenant from 26 March to 28 August 2020 must have provided them with a notice period of at least 3 months.

However, these provisions have now been extended, meaning that a notice seeking possession which is given to a tenant from 29 August 2020 until at least 31 March 2021 must provide a notice period of at least six months in most circumstances.

Where a tenant has acted in an anti-social way (such as being destructive to the property) or has provided misleading information to the landlord, or are in rent arrears of at least 6 months, this extension will likely be nullified and proceedings may be able to commence immediately. This will of course vary from case to case.

How to serve a Section 8 notice

Landlords will have to fill in Form 3 in order to serve a Section 8 notice, which can be found here.

It is important that this form is filled in correctly. Landlords can seek legal advice to help with this, which Lisa’s Law can provide. If it is not filled in accurately the landlord will experience serious delays.

Landlords must specify on the notice the specific grounds they are using to seek possession of their property.

To do this, the landlord can go down two routes:

They can use mandatory grounds. These are grounds where the judge must order the tenants to leave the property if the landlord can prove the ground. For example, if there is evidence for 8 weeks’ rent arrears or convictions for anti-social behaviour.

There is also the possibility of discretionary grounds. These are grounds where the judge can only order the tenants to leave the property if the landlord can prove a discretionary ground and the judge considers it reasonable to make an order. Examples include grounds for other breaches of the tenancy agreement, such as repeated noise complaints from neighbours.

Section 21 notice

A Section 21 notice can be served without grounds. From 29 August 2020 until at least 31 March 2021 the minimum notice period is six months. That means that there must be at least 6 months between the date the tenant receives the notice, and the date after which the landlord specifies they must leave the property.

How to serve a Section 21 notice

Landlords can only use a Section 21 notice if their tenants have an assured shorthold tenancy (which is the most common tenancy). It cannot be used it if the tenants have an assured tenancy.

Landlords can only use a Section 21 notice to ask the assured shorthold tenants to leave the property:

after a fixed term tenancy ends

during a tenancy with no fixed end date, which rolls over at particular intervals of time – for example, on a month by month or week by week basis – known as a ‘periodic’ tenancy

The form which must be filed for this type of notice to be served is the 6A form, which can be found here. As with the Section 8 form, this must be filled out correctly and legal advice is recommended.

Possession Claim

This is where things can start to get increasingly stressful for landlords. If tenants do not move out on receiving the notice or after its expiry, landlords must apply for a Possession Order.

With their applications for possession, landlords will need to provide a statement of Covid-19 impact on tenants. Such impact will be considered by the Court when deciding whether possession should be granted.

Case Review Appointment Date

Unlike the normal possession proceeding, under the current pandemic circumstances, the Court, when facing such applications, will normally set up a review date for parties to attend, instead of proceeding this case to substantive trial right away. This will provide further opportunity for parties to reach an agreement.

On the review day, landlords and tenants, or their respective legal representatives as the case may be, are expected to attend. The judge will look at the relevant issues and the parties’ current position, particularly, any Covid-19 impact report filed by landlords. The Court will expect the parties to do their best to engage each other, so that they are able to reach a settlement and avoid further litigation.

If issues like anti-social behaviour, serious rent arrears or other exceptional factors are raised, the judge will make an initial assessment of them and issue further directions for the cases to proceed.

It is encouraged that landlords be open for discussion with the tenant so that a settlement can be reached in court.

There will be a possession hearing 28 days after the review date, at which a judge will decide whether to make a possession order or give other case management directions.

Warrant of Eviction

If all else has failed and the tenant still refuses to leave the property even after a Possession Order was granted by the judge, then a Warrant of Eviction should be applied for so that bailiffs will be sent to the property to carry out the eviction.

Note: Due to COVID-19 the Government has changed the law in England to ensure bailiffs do not enforce evictions over the period of national restrictions. No eviction notices are to be served until 11 January at the earliest and, given that a minimum of 14 days’ notice is required, no evictions are expected to be enforced until 25 January 2021 at the earliest.

Our thoughts

These processes are in place for a reason, and if a person is the rightful owner of a property then of course they should be able to do what they want with it, which will sometimes mean removing people who currently live there. That being said, we also have empathy with the tenants who face eviction and any evictions that do occur must be done gradually so that the tenants have some time to arrange a new place to live and get their things in order.

We agree with the ruling for no bailiffs to be used at the moment, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still going on, and we would not like to see anyone made homeless over the cold winter months. However, the law must be respected and the relationship between landlords and tenants works best when there is a mutual respect between the two. We never want to encourage litigiousness, but are willing to fight any battle when agreements cannot be made without legal intervention.

Have questions? We are open as usual!

We are open as usual throughout lockdown! We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk. Our caseworkers are tending to their cases with the same professionalism and efficiency as always.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

Working with children during COVID-19 – A look at the new Legal Guidance

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 be heard during legal proceedings.

Their main concerns lies with ensuring children’s welfare is treated as a top priority. They are often asked by the court to work with certain families and then advise the court on what they believe to be the best interests of the children. They cover three main areas:

divorce and separation involving issues where parents or carers are unable to agree on arrangements for their children

care proceedings, sometimes referred to as ‘public law’, where social services have serious concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child

adoption

You can check out their website here: https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/

What does their guidance say?

According to Cafcass, they have received the highest volume of case work in their history over the course of 2020. The problems attached to COVID-19 have trickled down to the family courts, creating a large amount of cases which cannot be handled as efficiently as they normally would be, due to all the restrictions that have affected court proceedings.

The guidance aims to provide clarity on when staff should have direct contact with children and families, what support is available to the caseworkers, how office based work should proceed and how court attendance should be handled. All this needs to be in line with COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Direct contact with children and families

Each case will come with its own set of circumstances and the necessity of direct contact will be assessed on a case by case basis. The expressed preferences of the families concerned will be taken into consideration. Seeing a child and their family in person is usually the most desirable option but there are some things which must be taken into consideration before such plans are made.

For example, if seeing one child in person will detract from time spent on other cases, it may be worth reassessing in order to find a more even way to split the time, so that no favouritism is shown.

The guidance states that:

“A combination of both professional judgement, and negotiation with children and their families will be used to inform the decision about how children are seen and as a result, how best to understand their experiences, needs, wishes and feelings in a timeframe which is in their best interests.”

In layman’s terms, communication with the family is key and the decision to move ahead with direct contact must be an informed one. The choice must be made based on information previously gained.

Also, if the caseworker falls into a category which makes them more vulnerable to catching or being seriously affected by COVID-19, then it is unlikely that they will be permitted to carry out face to face meetings.

Safety considerations while working with children

If the family members, children, or caseworkers are worried about the effects of Coronavirus then video-communications should be used in place of direct contact wherever possible. Where direct contact is preferred, face masks will be worn, hand sanitizer used and where possible the 2m social distance rule should be observed.

Office based work and meetings

All Cafcass offices are planned to re-open at the end of November 2020. The following guidelines have been issued for people visiting the offices in order to keep staff and clients as safe as possible:

Do not arrive any more than five minutes before your meeting is due to begin;

Cafcass recommend that, where possible, you make alternative arrangements for the care of your child/children if they do not need to be seen. They also request adult parties attend their appointments alone, if possible. This is to reduce footfall in their offices.

If your child/children are being seen it is encouraged that they bring any toys or items to keep them occupied with you as at present the offices do not have toys available due to cleaning and hygiene regimes;

It is advised that where possible people bring any refreshments they may require with you, again to stop the use of cups which may not be sanitary;

Upon arriving at the Cafcass office, clients will be asked to follow some simple Covid-secure procedures. This will involve;
- sanitising your hands using the station we have provided for you
- confirming your details, so that they can book you in for your appointment at reception.

You will also be guided to use the office space securely following the clear signs and floor markers in place to ensure we always maintain social distancing measures for everyone’s safety.

Attending court

The courts are now open and have completed the appropriate risk assessments. Hearings that cannot be heard by video or telephone and which cannot be delayed will be held in a priority court and tribunal building.

Currently, there is significant use of hybrid hearings where the parents or other family members attend in person together with their advocates, while the guardian, social workers and other experts attend remotely.

There have been some delays in court proceedings due to COVID-19, whereby the processing of applications can take longer than usual.

Ultimately, the decision whether to hold a hearing remotely is one for the judge in each circumstance.

What do we think?

It is good to see Cafcass being proactive in releasing this guidance, as the work they do is of vital importance. The clearest part of this guidance, in our opinion, is the rules surrounding visits to their offices, as there is a useful practicality about them.

The rules surrounding direct contact do seem somewhat vague, and essentially are laid out as a reliance on the professionalism of the case worker to decide whether or not to meet children and families directly based on evidence they procure. This is acceptable, but it would be more beneficial to see some tangible guidance here, with some key focus areas. Although, as the cases will vary greatly from one to the next, we can understand that this could be a challenge to put into writing.

We of course sympathise with all the added pressure on the Cafcass staff, as the Coronavirus pandemic has brought with is unprecedented challenges. As legal practitioners ourselves, we understand the need to work together to do what is best for the client during these times.

Have questions? We are open as usual!

We are open as usual throughout lockdown! We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk. Our caseworkers are tending to their cases with the same professionalism and efficiency as always.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

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 in a far worse off position than we are right now.

To acknowledge all the admirable work of these healthcare workers, the Home Office has offered the following support to foreign healthcare workers: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-health-worker-visa-extension

All health care workers and their family members will receive 12 months visa free of any Home Office fees and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).

The IHS fee currently stands at £624 per year for adults and £470 for minors. This extension will cover healthcare professionals working in the NHS and those in the independent health and care sector.

You may remember a similar announcement earlier in the year offering free visa extensions for health professionals whose visas were due to expire between 31 March 2020 and 1 October 2020. This new announcement brings the extension right the way to March 2021. It is no less than what these brave individuals deserve!

In the announcement, the Home Secretary promised that applying for this extension will be quick and simple, only having to fill out a short online form.

A link can be found here to get an email update on when applications are open: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-health-worker-visa-extension

Although it is good to see that the Home Secretary has finally acknowledged the hard work of these service workers, the policy has been applied discriminatorily against family members of domestic healthcare workers.

Under the Home Office’s current policy, such offer is only available to the healthcare workers who need visas to work in the UK. Only when their visas fall to expire and are due to renew, their family members can then apply for 12 months free extension with them. If they do not need visas to work in the UK, like British nationals and those who have permanent residence in the UK, their family members will not benefit from this concession and will have to pay the relevant visa fees and IHS fees. For more information on this issue, please refer to our previous article:

Free visa extensions for family members of NHS workers – but only if you are NOT British?

This policy clearly does not make any sense and is irrational. We strongly believe that all healthcare workers and their family members should be treated equally.

Bereavement Scheme

As well as the free visa extension, all NHS and health care workers have been added to the Bereavement Scheme. This scheme is there to protect family members and dependants of these workers.

Non-EEA family members of any NHS worker, including support staff, or a healthcare or social care worker who dies as a result of coronavirus, will receive immediate indefinite leave to remain, free of charge.

The family member must have been working for the NHS in any role or working for an independent health and care provider, including the social care sector.

Health and Care visa

Eligible healthcare workers, along with their dependants, can also apply for the new fast-track Health and Care visa.

You can apply for a Tier 2 (Health and Care) visa if:

you have a job offer from the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS or an organisation providing adult social care

you are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland

your sponsor has told you that you are eligible for it

You must be a qualified:

doctor

nurse

health professional

adult social care professional

More information about this visa is available here: https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-health-care-visa

EU Settlement Scheme

Healthcare workers who are EU, other EEA or Swiss citizens, or their family members, also have until 30 June 2021 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. You can learn all about the EU Settlement Scheme from our article:

A Clearance of the Past? – How Can You Benefit From the EU Settlement Scheme?

Have questions? We are open as usual!

We are open as usual throughout lockdown! We are ready to provide you with a fantastic legal service and there are many ways for you to contact us!

Call us on 020 7928 0276, phone calls are operating as usual and will be taking calls from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Email us on info@lisaslaw.co.uk. Our caseworkers are tending to their cases with the same professionalism and efficiency as always.

Use the Ask Lisa function on our website. Simply enter your details and leave a message, we will get right back to you: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/ask-question/

Or, download our free app! You can launch an enquiry, scan over documents, check progress on your case and much more!

Links to download below:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

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 issued a claim against the Defendant for specific performance of an oral agreement compelling the Defendant to perform and comply with their contractual obligation. However, specific performance is an equitable remedy which is only available at the court’s discretion.

So What Happened?

The Claimant owns Direct Entry Solutions Ltd (“DES”), which is a company that operated a courier business. The Claimant’s business was facing substantial financial difficulties in autumn 2016. The Claimant sought many ways to raise funding by executing second charge over his own property, overdrawing his own directors’ loan account and subsequently borrowed a loan from Pulse Cash Flow (“Pulse”). However, the Claimant felt there was a need for a further £250,000.00 cash injection for the company to trade its way out of the situation.

The Claimant had other businesses other than DES. He held 100% shares in Ninurta that owned 5 plots of valuable land (“the Ninurta Land”) in Marbella, Spain. The lands were valued around €2.55M and €3.1M. Having armed with evidence and knowledge of the value of the Ninurta Land, The Claimant first engaged Mr Hellier in discussions about raising funds. He needed the funds to invest in DES by using the Ninurta Land as collateral for the transaction. Mr Hellier and the Claimant could not come to an agreement on the first offer but agreed to meet in Spain for further discussion.

Whilst on the way to Gatwick airport, the Claimant received a call from the Defendant who was a long-time friend. The Claimant and the Defendant both had common interest in property development. They have both spent time together in London and Spain. The Claimant, whilst in discussion with Mr Hellier, also mentioned his current predicament and the potential of the Ninurta Land to the Defendant.

On 30 September 2016, the Defendant was interested as to what the Claimant could offer and both spoke over the phone. This was where the dispute arose as they both recalled the conversation differently.

The Claimant recalled that the Defendant agreed to offer the Claimant £250,000.00 interest-free loan subject to it being secured over the Claimant’s 50% share in Ninurta. However, the Defendant recalled that he was offered the option to purchase the Ninurta shares for £250,000.00, which the Claimant could then inject into DES. It was never meant to be a loan.

However, despite having different versions of the event, what was conclusive was that the parties did enter into a deed for transfer of share and the Defendant did transfer £250,000.00 to the Claimant.

Two years later, the Claimant sought to repay the Defendant £250,000.00. However, the Defendant refused and instead offered to sell his shares for £350,000.00. The Claimant argued that the transfer deed was only part of a wider contract in which the transfer of shares was only ever intended to be security for a loan. The Claimant argued that there was a collateral agreement, which he was entitled to enforce.

The Claimant’s Spanish lawyer, Ms Kaviani who had prepared the transfer testified that she recalled that the Claimant and the Defendant had told her that the Defendant was helping the Claimant as a friend and would take a security over the Claimant’s shares in Ninurta. It was further explained that parties could not fix a charge or a mortgage due to insufficient time to organise a valuation as this is required under Spanish law. Hence, the only way was to allocate the Defendant with 50% share capital of Ninurta then was by way of a security to the loan.

Judgment

The Court considered all the evidence and referred to Chitty on Contracts at 13-004 stating:

“It may be difficult to treat a statement made in the course of negotiations for a contract as a term of the contract itself, either because the statement was clearly prior to or outside the contract or because the existence of the parol evidence rule prevents its inclusion. Nevertheless, the courts are prepared in some circumstances to treat a statement intended to have contractual effect as a separate contract or warranty, collateral to the main transaction. In particular, they will do so where one party refuses to enter into the contract unless the other gives him an assurance on a certain point or unless the other promises not to enforce a term of the written agreement”.

The Court further adds that “It is undoubtedly true that the courts are nowadays much more willing to accept that a pre-contractual assurance gives rise to a collateral contract, so that such collateral contracts are no longer rare”. This was sited in the case Times Travel (UK) Limited, Nottingham Travel (UK) Limited v Pakistan International Airlines Corporation [2017] EWHC 1367 (Ch).

Therefore, if there is a genuine agreement for the transaction to be a loan whereby the share transferred acts as a security for the loan pending repayment, such oral agreement is enforceable albeit it not being in writing. As long as there is an ascertainable intention to contract, the court will seek to look at the substance and not the form of the agreement.

Hence, it was held that the Claimant has the right to repay the loan on an interest free basis and requires the shares to be transferred back to him.

Food for thought

Oral agreements are as legally binding as written ones. The court has yet again proven that an agreement can be formed if the following four elements are present:

i) an offer

ii) acceptance of that offer

iii) consideration

iv) the intent to create legal relations

However, it is always better to have the terms of an agreement to be set out in writing at the outset to avoid such dispute from happening. The issue with oral agreement is that one will still need to prove it in court for it to hold up. You might need witnesses to support your claim, collect documentations or analysing the other party’s action to prove that there was indeed an oral agreement. Such task can be onerous, costly and time consuming. Sometimes you might even need a bit of luck to prove that it existed!

Have questions? We are open for business!

In the meantime, we are operating as usual, and you can reach us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk for any questions you may have on this topic.

Or, why not download our free app today? You can launch a new enquiry, scan over documents and much more.

If you have an iPhone, follow this link to download.

If you use an Android phone, follow this link to download.

Find the link here if you need some further instructions on how to use our new app!

Mobile App banner - English - Lisa's Law Solicitors

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

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 brings together key findings on the procedure and practice of child protection mediation and outcomes. These finds have been used to assess whether similar child protection measures would work in England and Wales, and to identify any gaps in the research already undertaken.

The findings in the article are based upon the research done by Nuffield and the 17 studies which act as the basis of their report. The full analysis can be found here.

What is child protection mediation?

Child protection mediation facilitates family inclusivity in decision-making. It can take place at any point in the child protection proceedings, but most commonly occurs either at the start of proceedings or after a fact-finding hearing. The most common situation is that a specifically trained third party assists the family, social workers, attorneys, and any other interested parties in a case to assess and develop agreements in line with issues relevant to an abuse and neglect case before the court. The best interests of the child is always the top priority.

Alternative terminology includes: child welfare mediation; dependency mediation; and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in child protection proceedings.

In terms of the previous research, parents were generally satisfied

Parents found the mediation to be inclusive and felt like they were truly involved with the decision making. They found it preferable to more traditional court proceedings, which many of them felt do not provide a space for families to take part in such matters.

It was the opinion of most parents that the best interest of the child were placed at the centre of the mediation process, and remained there consistently.

Greater efficiency

It was found that, in most cases, where agreements had been made throughout out child mediation that less time would be spent in court proceedings. While there is little conclusive evidence as to whether full or partial agreement is most common for mediation, families that went through child protection mediation had a greater chance of reaching some form of agreement than those that did not. We see this as one of the most positive findings within the Nuffield analysis.

It was found that child living arrangements were frequently agreed upon during the mediations, which is a very important aspect in terms of the welfare of the child.

Trained and experienced mediators are essential

It is not surprising that the more experience a mediator had during these trials, the more satisfactory outcome was landed on. Where the third party had little knowledge of the family they were dealing with, and where their preparation time was fairly short, often issues would arise, such as tensions between the mediators and the attorneys and social workers.

The report suggests that child protection mediation is more effective in cases where the issues presented are more ‘straightforward’, such as establishing contact arrangements between parents. More complex issues such as child maltreatment, cases of neglect, alcohol and substance abuse were more challenging to navigate.

Official recommendations

Budgets:

Realistic cost assessments of child mediation must be laid out before any official planning can begin. The report suggests that some child protection mediation services had not been sustained after their initial funding, which paved the way for some issues such as a lack of preparation time in certain cases. The Nuffield analysis indicates that variety of possible figures will have to be considered in line with a pilot scheme, as demands are likely to change as time goes on.

Necessary materials must be prepared:

Service protocols and other materials should be prepared by a multidisciplinary team with experience of care proceedings and should be guided by the Family Mediation Council. It would be beneficial if the team could draw on the good practice materials developed for, and endorsed by, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in the United States, according to the Nuffield report.

Stakeholders should be sought out:

Support from stakeholders will be essential. In England and Wales, this would be the judiciary, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru, and the Association of Lawyers for Children. These stakeholders will play a crucial role in establishing key aspects of the service, including the selection and training of mediators.

Our thoughts

It is always our belief that litigation is not for being litigious. Its ultimate objective is to resolve. It is particular so in child proceedings where the party who suffers most tends to be children. Alternative dispute resolutions (ADRs) have proved to be quicker, less stressful and cheaper in other proceedings. We are confident that it should also work well in child protection proceedings, which will eventually benefit the children concerned most.

rom the evidence presented in the Nuffield report, we believe that child mediation services have a good chance of supporting families and may bring some relief or at least some clarity to many cases. However, it is vital that the services are planned accordingly and not brought in before they are ready. We feel a pilot scheme is essential to such planning as it will give a base on which to build from regarding this complex and sensitive issue.

Have questions? We are here for you!

In the meantime, we are operating as usual, and you can reach us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk for any questions you may have on this topic.

Or, why not download our free app today? You can launch a new enquiry, scan over documents and much more.

If you have an iPhone, follow this link to download.

If you use an Android phone, follow this link to download.

Find the link here if you need some further instructions on how to use our new app!

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

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 total during the past 10 years up to the date of the application, his/her continuous residence should not be treated as broken.

That was the reason why I wanted to correct a colleague one day when I saw in his advice to a client the respective absences had become 6 months and 18 months. He was surprised at it. He failed to understand why I changed it, as 6 months was 180 days and 18 months was 540 days.

I told him that it was not correct, as 6 months did not always equate to 180 days and the same with 18 months. A month can be 28, 29, 30 or 31 days. A year is 365 days and consists of 12 months. On average, a month should be 30.42 days, 6 months is 182.5 days and 18 months is 547.5 days. To make it worse, in some circumstances, the difference could even be more. If we advised client in this way, we could be misleading, as we were telling clients the absence more than allowed under the Immigration Rules.

My colleague told me that he was quoting precisely from the Immigration Rules. He then showed me Paragraph 276A(a) of the Rules. I could clearly see 6 months and 18 months there, with my own eyes. I immediately became ashamed of my ignorance.

I wondered where I got the 180 and 540 days from. I checked the Home Office’s guidance to its officers on long residence, Version 16.0, published on 18^th October 2019. I immediately saw the origin of my mistake.

On Page 11 of the guidance, under the subtitle Events that break continuous residence, it states that continuous residence can be broken if the applicant has been absent from the UK for a period of more than 6 months at any one time or spent a total of 18 months outside the UK throughout the whole 10 year period. Right above this provision, it states that “for the purpose of calculating time spent outside the UK for the long residence rules, a month constitutes 30 calendar days”.

It is probably because of this definition that on the following page (Page 12), when talking about the same residence, only 180 and 540 days are used. The 18 and 54 months have been removed completely.

It is clear that the Home Office has been instructing its officers that 6 months is 180 days and 18 months 540 days and that 180 and 540 days have been used to judge whether an applicant’s continuous residence has been broken when dealing with settlement applications based on 10 years lawful residence.

It is well established law that wherever there is conflict between the Immigration Rules and the Home Office’s internal policy/guidance, the former prevails, as it has been subjected to the Parliament’s scrutiny and approved by it, while the latter is not.

I then must consider whether the word month is defined under the Immigration Rules. I can see that week has been defined as a period of 7 days counting from a Monday. I am unable to find similar definition for month. In such absence, I have to say that the Home Office’s definition in its guidance is unlawful.

I understand that it may be difficult to count an applicant’s absence by month in practice. He/she could leave the UK on 19^th March and return on 9^th May. It will be difficult to say whether he/she was away from the UK for one month, three months or one month and 20 days. However, difficulty alone cannot be a pretext for the Home Office to simplify the calculation in this way.

By treating a month as consisting 30 calendar days, the Home Office has effectively taken away at least 7.5 days from an applicant’s absence allowance if the days of his/her total absence during the 10 years is in issue. It is indeed unlawful.

Of course, for the sake of clarify and its own benefit, the Home Office can always seek to amend the Immigration Rules and replace month with day or define month as having 30 calendar days, as in other legislations (in the British Nationality Act 1981, the allowed absence has been 90, 270 or 450 days); however, before such thing happens, the correct law should be what is stated in the Immigration Rules, not the Home Office’s guidance.

18 months is not 540 days, unless so approved by the Parliament.

Have questions? We are here for you!

In the meantime, we are operating as usual, and you can reach us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk for any questions you may have on this topic.

Or, why not download our free app today? You can launch a new enquiry, scan over documents and much more.

If you have an iPhone, follow this link to download.

If you use an Android phone, follow this link to download.

Find the link here if you need some further instructions on how to use our new app!

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

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 be very confusing to fully understand. ‘Right to rent’ has nothing to do with landlords’ right to rent out their properties. Instead, it is all about tenants needing to have the right to rent accommodation in the UK.

Who has the right to rent?

People have the right to rent if any of the following apply:

they are a British or EEA citizen

they have indefinite leave to remain or settled status

they have refugee status or humanitarian protection

they have permission to be in the UK and have a valid visa

the Home Office has granted them a time limited right to rent

How can landlords conduct a right to rent check?

Landlords should conduct a right to rent check before they enter into a tenancy agreement with a person. If a person’s right to rent is time-limited, the landlord should conduct a follow-up check shortly before their leave expires.

Document checks are the usual way landlords can tell if someone has the right to rent in the UK. If a prospective tenant can produce either one document from group 1 or two documents from group 2 then they should meet the requirements.

It is important that the landlords are vigilant in their checks, and make sure that the documents are consistent, genuine and have not been tampered with.

List Group 1 – (One document needed).

A passport (current or expired) showing that the holder is a British citizen, or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the ‘right of abode’ in the UK.

A passport or national identity card (current or expired) showing that the holder is a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

A registration certificate (current or expired) issued by the Home Office to a national of an EEA state or Switzerland.

A document certifying permanent residence (current or expired) issued by the Home Office to a national of an EEA state or Switzerland.

A permanent residence card (current or expired) issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national of an EEA state or Switzerland.

A document issued by the Home Office to a family member of a national of an EEA state or Switzerland (current or expired) and which indicates that the holder is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.

A biometric immigration document (current or expired) issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.

A passport or other travel document (current or expired) endorsed to show that the holder is ‘exempt from immigration control’, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has ‘no time limit’ on their stay in the UK.

An immigration status document (current or expired) containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it is allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.

A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

List Group 2 – (Two documents needed).

This list includes many variations of certain government issued letters, which can be found on page 40 of this document.

Where a person is unable to present a landlord with any of the above acceptable evidence, the landlord can make a request to the Landlord Checking Service to establish whether their prospective tenant has a right to rent.

Recording and retaining the check

It is important that landlords make a clear copy of each document in a format which cannot be altered later and retain the copy securely: electronically or in hardcopy. They must also make a record of the date on which the check was made and retain the copies securely for at least one year after the tenancy agreement comes to an end.

Landlords must copy and retain copies of:

Passports – any page with:

the document expiry date

the holder’s nationality

date of birth

signature

UK immigration leave expiry date

biometric details

photograph

any page containing information indicating the holder has an entitlement to enter or remain in the UK (visa or entry stamp)

All other documents – the documents in full and copy both sides of:

Biometric Residence Permit

Application Registration Card

Biometric Residence Card

New service coming soon: Online right to rent checks

On 25 November 2020, the Home Office is introducing a new online checking service. From that date, you will be able to rely on the online service ‘Check a tenant’s right to rent’ page on GOV.UK to obtain a statutory excuse against a penalty when conducting a right to rent check. This page is not yet up and running but will be a very handy tool come the 25^th of November.

Landlords will be able to undertake a right to rent check in real time, via video links, for:

non-EEA nationals with a current biometric resident permit or card

EEA nationals and their family members with status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme

those with status under the points-based immigration system

Using the video link provided by the service, landlords will be able to check that the photograph from their profile page is of them (i.e. the information provided by the check relates to the person and they are not an imposter).

The online service will confirm that no further check is required for someone who has a continuous right to rent. For someone with a time-limited right to rent the service will advise when a further check is required.

Right to rent checks for EEA and Swiss nationals

EEA and Swiss Citizens can continue to use their passport and national identity cards to evidence their right to rent until 30 June 2021, or if they have status under the EU Settlement Scheme or status under the points-based immigration system they can choose to evidence their right to rent using the Home Office online service.

Landlords cannot insist that they use the online service or discriminate against those who wish to use their passport or national identity card.

There is no requirement for a retrospective check to be undertaken on EEA or Swiss Citizens who entered in to a tenancy agreement on or before 30 June 2021.

According to the Home Office, new guidance on how to conduct right to rent checks on EEA and Swiss nationals after 30 June 2021 will be provided in advance of this date.

Consequences for failing to carry out the check?

Any landlord who does not carry out the check will face the following serious consequences:

A landlord could be sent to prison for 5 years or get an unlimited fine for renting property in England to someone who they knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to rent in the UK.

This includes if they had any reason to believe that:

they did not have leave (permission) to enter or stay in the UK

their leave had expired

their papers were incorrect or false

You can also be fined if both of the following apply:

you rent your property to someone who is not allowed to stay in the UK

you cannot show evidence that you checked their right to rent

This is why recording the checks are of vital importance!

Our thoughts

The information we have received from clients in the past has shown that the Home Office’s online check is pretty unreliable. It is either slow or provide inaccurate information. It is particularly so if the tenant has submitted his/her application, but the Home Office has delayed it and is yet to make a decision.

Under Section 3C of the Immigration Act, provided that the tenant has submitted his/her application before his/her previous visa expires, his/her lawful status continues. Unfortunately, in many cases, the Home Office’s online check will show that the tenant’s visa has expired, which will mislead the landlord to believe that the tenant should be evicted.

We simply hope that the Home Office’s new online checking system will perform better and faster, as any minor error or delay might mean that some innocent person or family will become homeless.

Have questions? We are here for you!

In the meantime, we are operating as usual, and you can reach us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk for any questions you may have on this topic.

Or, why not download our free app today? You can launch a new enquiry, scan over documents and much more.

If you have an iPhone, follow this link to download.

If you use an Android phone, follow this link to download.

Find the link here if you need some further instructions on how to use our new app!

lisaslaw@web

See Full Bio

Have a question? Our friendly and experienced team are here to help.

Subscribe to our newsletter

We post weekly articles covering a variety of topics, including immigration, property, and more, so subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.