Dallas McMillan's Glasgow Lawyers' Blog

Since it became compulsory to wear seat belts in the front seat on 31st January 1983, fatalities in vehicles have fallen to an all-time low, say the RAC.

We were recently instructed by Mrs X following an accident which occurred within a national retailer’s premises. Mrs X sustained injury through the negligence of the retailer who had used defective equipment within their store. The case had previously been with another firm of solicitors who withdrew from acting for her after liability was denied by the store.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) recently issued guidance urging employers to introduce a clear policy on staff using personal devices for work.

An overhaul of guidance on working at height is being launched as part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to abolish or improve outdated, burdensome or over-complicated regulations that waste businesses’ time and money.

The Court of Appeal has held that clauses in a share purchase agreement providing that, in the event of a breach of the seller's restrictive covenants, the buyer's obligation to pay deferred consideration would cease and the buyer would be entitled to acquire the remainder of the seller's shares at a price based on net asset value (and excluding goodwill), were unenforceable penalties.

There is unlikely to be a definitive answer any time soon on changes to protective awards which come under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

A Scottish health board has recently been fined for a health and safety failing which lead to several workers being exposed to the dangerous substance over a period of 7 seven years.

A Sheriff Principal has recently ruled that courts can grant authorisation to a solicitor to execute a will on behalf of an adult with incapacity where there is sufficient evidence that the Adult had capacity when the testamentary writing was drafted.

A fatal accident Inquiry has begun at Aberdeen Sheriff Court into a North Sea helicopter crash. The fatal crash in April 2009 claimed the lives of all 16 men on board. Various individuals are to be called to give evidence over an estimated period of 6 weeks. Those to be called to give evidence include engineers on shift the day prior to the crash and a former engineering director at Bond.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued a Tribunal Practice Notice confirming that, where a trade mark registered in black and white form has been extensively used in a particular colour or colours, the court can take this into account when it is considering issues of likelihood of confusion, detriment and unfair advantage. It also says that in infringement proceedings, it may be relevant that the later mark has been used in particular colours. The same principle applies in opposition and cancellation proceedings. The clarification of practice arises from the ECJ's judgment in Specsavers v Asda (Case C-252/12).

We are sure all residential Landlords and their Agents are aware of the necessity for lodging deposits within an independent entity.

Dallas McMillan are pleased to have been involved in two recent developments converting offices into residential flats in the Park area of Glasgow with all properties being sold.

Tougher penalties for employers who fail to fulfil their duties in protecting employees from injury and illness should be welcomed, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said.

If you are injured in an accident and successfully conclude a claim for damages, it is worth considering the impact this could have on your financial situation. If at the time of the accident you are in receipt of means tested state benefits, a lump sum could have an implication on these benefits.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 require an organisation's waste to be separated into paper, card, plastic, metals and glass for collection. For 'organisation' read – any body which is not a household.

At the beginning of 2013, the UK Government (“Government”) launched a consultation seeking views on the future of The Company and Business Names (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009 (“Regulations”). Its aim was to identify opportunities to improve and simplify the current system. The Government’s response to the consultation was published in December.

So we are the start of yet another a new year but I wonder how many of you have made a new year’s resolution and whether this includes finally getting round to making that will or power of attorney you have been thinking about but putting off for so long.  After all, we are not all quite as lucky as Sherlock! Or maybe you have been thinking about moving house but have been waiting for the right time.   
 
Whatever your requirements or motivation, be it providing for your  loved ones or ensuring that they can help you when needed or moving to that new home you have worked so very hard to achieve, good legal advice can be invaluable.

The right of workers to be accompanied by a companion chosen by the worker, not the employer, has been reinforced by a recent decision by the Employment Appeals Tribunal in the case of Roberts v GB Oils.
 
In terms of the Employment Rights Act 1999 s10(1) and(2), a worker can “reasonably request” to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing by a companion “chosen by the worker” and satisfying the criteria set out in s10(3). Under s10(3) a worker is entitled to choose to be accompanied by either a Trade Union official who is employed by the TU, or by a TU official not employed by the TU but certified in writing as having relevant experience for these hearings, or by a colleague of the worker.
 
In Roberts, the employers were held by the EAT to have breached s10 by refusing the worker his choice of s10(3) companion. The employers had argued that they had been entitled to refuse the original companion chosen by the worker in his request to be accompanied, on the basis that the worker’s choice of companion made the request an unreasonable one under s10(1)(b).
 
The EAT on both cases, however held that an employer cannot use s10(1)(b) to refuse a request as unreasonable simply because the employer does not like the worker’s choice of companion. It held that the worker has freedom of choice of requested companion, as long as the companion satisfies one of the three criteria set out in s10(3). In other words, the issue of overall reasonableness or otherwise of the request to be accompanied (s10(1)(b)) does not involve consideration of the worker’s choice of companion under s10(3).
 
This is important protection of the worker’s right to choose is companion. It should be noted, however, that if worker deliberately chose a valid but nonetheless clearly unreasonable companion, while he would still technically win a tribunal claim under s10 if this request was refused, the tribunal could reduce the (max 2 weeks’ pay) award to nil on equitable grounds.
                          

Male drivers are being urged to get plenty of sleep and take regular breaks, as research from Brake and Direct Line reveals a horrifying 45% admit ‘head-nodding’ at the wheel – meaning they have been asleep briefly, risking appalling crashes.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging businesses to focus on their legal responsibility to ensure lives are not put at risk and make the safety of workers their top priority for 2014.