Soon after the conclusion of a long, protracted dispute, Uber are expecting even more legal action as unions have said that the tech company continues to underpay its UK drivers. The app recently accepted, after a prolonged legal battle, that its 70,000 UK drivers were workers and entitled to rights such as a minimum wage and holiday pay. The main crux of the new issue is that campaigners say that Uber’s calculation of working time differs from the supreme court ruling. Whereas the court stated that this should be calculated between the times that a driver logs on and off the app, Uber have said that working time starts from when a job is accepted by a driver, a distinction that has massive knock-on implications as to what drivers can and can’t claim. Drivers still have to buy their car and fuel while not being paid when waiting for a ride, despite the company deeming them as currently working.Drivers have said that these boundaries could potentially cut earnings by up to 50%.Opposition primarily comes from the App Drivers & Couriers Union, who brought the original case to Uber. They claim that it is not the company’s right to unilaterally decide how the supreme court ruling should be applied. Uber’s response to the claims are that the supreme court’s definition of working times were based on their models and practices from 2016, which are no longer applicable. The legal provisions set on Uber as well as those which continue to be fought over will have knock-on effects to other similar ride sharing or private taxi companies, with other firms under pressure to raise benefits and conditions for their drivers as well. This is something that will likely be passed onto the customer with higher fares to offset improved payments to drivers. Find out more and read about employment law now.

A new pilot project announced in London will tag up to 200 domestic abusers released from prison as part of their release conditions and will run across all London boroughs. Offenders will be perpetrators of crimes such as sexual abuse, coercive control, physical abuse, harassment, and stalking. The Mayor of London’s office announced the pilot as part of a programme in collaboration with probation services which comes as a result of discussions with the Violence Against Women and Girls initiative. The National Probation Service have said that the scheme would provide an opportunity to utilise technology to better manage the risks to the past or current partners or children of offenders. The GPS systems will be used to monitor compliance with licence conditions and improve safety for previous or potential victims. The trial arrives off the back of warnings that incidents of domestic abuse have surged during the Covid-19 lockdown, with calls to helplines rising “week on week.” New figures suggest that almost fifty suspected killings may have occurred during the first lockdown.The charity Women’s Aid greeted the announcement of the trial, but have insisted that it needs to be led in partnership with charities, groups, and organisations specialising in safeguarding women and girls. They called for the pilot to have “survivors at its heart, as they are the experts in the continued and ongoing risk that an abuser poses.”We have a professional, dedicated family law team which is ready to help you with your case.

Three court of appeal judges have recently ruled that MI5’s policy of allowing agents to commit serious offences while gaining vital intelligence was legal. The intelligence agency has been on the receiving end of many cases and complaints brought by human rights groups recently.While the judges did hold that MI5 was not “above the law”, it concluded that any authorisation given to informants to commit serious crimes in proportionality were acceptable, per the agency’s guidelines. Government lawyers told the court in January that, in theory, MI5 officers could authorise an informant to even kill somebody if they were in an “extremely hostile situation.”The court’s justification for the ruling essentially boils down to the fact that the agency’s internal guidance as for when and how authorisation for crimes could be given limited what kind of damage could be caused. The guidance stipulates that authorisation can only be given where, “the potential harm to the public interest from the criminal activity is outweighed by the benefit to the public interest derived from the anticipated information the agent may provide”.While the Home Secretary has voiced her support for the decision, saying that it recognised the role that agents play in “preventing and safeguarding victims from serious crimes”, human rights groups have indicated that they will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court. Critics have cited multiple accusations of agents operating in Northern Ireland being accused of murder and torture, although formally bringing cases against them is a difficult procedure. MI5 defended the actions of informants and agents by citing policies which date back to the 1950s, which state that it is often necessary to allow informants the right to commit crimes providing that it is to stop their cover being blown. In a bid to safeguard MI5 and other intelligence agencies from future legal challenges, ministers passed a bill on 1 March 2021 to give authorisations legislative backing. While this passed in the Commons, the Scottish parliament rejected the bill.For more information, visit our page dedicated to criminal law.

Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have urged the EU not to ratify a planned investment deal with China until Beijing repeals national security laws and new restrictions on who can and can’t stand for elections. Twenty four activists wrote to the EU Commission while the trading bloc prepares to make the case for its deal to the European parliament before MEPs vote to ratify. Only then can it come into effect. One of the main recent acts which activists point to is the unanimous vote by China’s National People’s Congress to change Hong Kong electoral laws to state that only “patriots” can stand in elections. The activists argue that China are flagrantly violating their “obligations to the international community to guarantee the autonomy and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.” Specifically, the rewriting of Hong Kong’s electoral system flies directly in the face of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.Under China’s National Security Law, there continue to be mass arrests of pro-democracy activists and lawmakers across Hong Kong and, according to the letter to the EU, Beijing are “infringing on basic freedoms guaranteed both under the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”The deal has already faced staunch opposition from members of the international community as well as within the EU. The letter will no doubt come as a welcome addition to the arguments posed by the not inconsiderable number of MEPs who would seek to not ratify this deal. They say that the deal puts the EU in a compromised position with China, as it’s advocating closer economic ties with the state while vocally condemning China’s suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. The US has already voiced its disappointment at the potential deal as well.However, those within the EU in support of the deal claim that it improves market access for EU companies and provides levers to make future demands on human rights. They posit that economic disconnect from China is unrealistic and the best option to illicit change is to compete on more equal terms with them. The activists rebuke this, saying that the EU will never have greater leverage over China that it currently does.Between continued unrest in the region and the new visa outreach to Hong Kong residents, we are seeing more and more people emigrating from Hong Kong to the UK. If you or anyone you know is looking to make the move, our team of immigration solicitors are second to none. We hold some of the most sought after qualifications and accreditations in the sector and would be delighted to advise you on your legal standing within the immigration system. 

The Supreme Court has ruled that Shamima Begum, the young woman who left the UK for Syria to join Islamic State, may not return to her home country to fight against the removal of her British citizenship. Ms Begum, now 21, wants to come back to the UK to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to remove her citizenship; she is currently in a camp controlled by armed guards in Syria. Having left the UK in 2015 at the age of fifteen, she travelled to Syria to join IS. In 2019, then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid removed her citizenship on the grounds of national security. However, last July, the Court of Appeal ruled that the only fair course of action in this case was to allow Ms Begum to return home to appeal the decision, as she is not able to do so from her camp in Syria. While other people who have had their citizenship stripped have been able to appeal from overseas, the camp she’s in won’t even let her lawyers visit, so it’s incredibly difficult for her to engage in any way with the process.The Home Office immediately responded to this ruling with an appeal to the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision, claiming that allowing her to return to the UK would pose “significant national security risks”. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that her rights were not being breached with the refusal to allow her permission to return to the UK. Lord Reed, president of the Supreme Court, said that the government had been within their rights to prevent Ms Begum from returning and that the right to a fair hearing “did not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public”.He did, however, add that the appropriate answer may be to pause her legal dispute for citizenship until she was in a safer position in which to take part in her appeal from abroad. Current Home Secretary, Priti Patel, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision and claimed it reaffirmed “the Home Secretary’s authority to make vital national security decisions”. Liberty, the Human Rights group representing Ms Begum’s case have argued that a right to fair trial is not something that governments should be able to take away “on a whim”, and that the decision sets an “extremely dangerous precedent”. For any questions concerning immigration law, please contact our team of experienced solicitors who are ready to help you with your case.

As part of the 2021 budget recently announced by the Chancellor for the Exchequer, UK citizens who have lived abroad for more than fifteen years are set to regain the right to vote in UK elections.While successive governments have been looking into and committing to change these laws for years, this proved to be a major legal victory for those campaigning for the right to vote in their home country for decades. The thresholds for who can vote in UK elections while not in residence of the country have shifted for years. Before 1985, UK citizens living abroad were simply unable to vote in general elections full stop. However, after the laws changed, they were able to do so for the first five years after the expatriated. This was extended to twenty years in 1989, however reduced to fifteen in 2002. Paragraph 2.41 of the Treasury Red Book claims that the government is providing £2.5 million to “remove the limit preventing British citizens who live overseas from voting after 15 years.”Expats who have, indeed, lived abroad for over fifteen years will now be able to vote in general elections in the constituency in which they lived before leaving the UK. This decision comes off the back of a lengthy legal battle with campaigners whom have threatened to take their case to the UN as they believed their rights were being infringed upon. Legal rights to engage in democracy will always be an interesting, if not contentious topic. If you or anyone you know lives abroad and wants to learn more about your rights regarding voting or anything else, we’d love to hear from you. Our immigration solicitors are second to none and hold some of the most sought after accreditations in the sector so would be glad to advise you on any matter or concern. 

With the uncertainty of the UK economy, coupled with incentives such as the Stamp Duty Holiday, it’s been an interesting twelve months for the UK housing market to say the least. February saw an uptick in house prices ahead of the planned end of the Stamp Duty Holiday, now pushed back to the end of June, which many didn’t expect. The UK Nationwide house price index rose 0.7% in February 2021, a stark contrast to January’s 0.2% contraction. Furthermore, economists hadn’t even predicted a rise at all, Reuters had forecast a 0.3% contraction.The prices year on year make for pleasant reading for those looking to sell as well, with house prices up 6.9% compared to February last year. Growth in house prices has been accelerating since the government introduced the Stamp Duty holiday last July in response to the immediate slump in the market after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The combination of the tax exemption and increased buyer demand for larger properties during lockdown has led to a healthy increase in house prices in the UK, with little signs of slowing too dramatically now the Stamp Duty holiday has been extended until the end of June 2021. While the UK economy as a whole has taken a lot of damage from the pandemic, the housing market has benefited from government schemes and protections that have led to it remaining reasonably unscathed, even healthy. Housing experts don’t foresee this growth stopping for a while either. In addition to the extension of the stamp duty holiday, the Chancellor’s latest budget also outlined provisions to incentivise low deposit mortgages. Lenders that agree to give mortgages to buyers who can only put down a 5% mortgage will have a government guarantee protecting the loan, meaning good news for first time buyers, as well as those looking to sell their property. The winding down of furlough schemes later in this year, along with the eventual end of the Stamp Duty holiday have caused some to be cautious about the market in the latter half of the year. However, many believe that vaccination rollouts, lifting of lockdown restrictions, and support from the Budget mean there are more than enough reasons to be positive about the UK housing market. We’re rather into our conveyancing here at Manak Solicitors, with a team of expert lawyers who have dealt with every fashion of property deal in the Kent and London area. If you’d like to enter the market while it’s strong, either as a buyer or seller, we’d be delighted to advise you and help you keep the process as easy and painless as possible. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, recently announced an extension to the stamp duty holiday in relation to purchasing new property. This major announcement comes off the back of substantial pressure and evidence presented by those in the property and housing sector and following a very successful initial rollout of the holiday in 2020. But what does it mean in practice for people looking to buy a home? As experts in property law and conveyancing, we’ve put together an easy guide to let you know all you need to know about stamp duty, the holiday, the extension, and what it means for you. What is Stamp Duty?Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDTL, or simply Stamp Duty), has to be paid if you are purchasing a property or plot of land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland. The names and thresholds of the tax are different in Scotland (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) and Wales (Land Transaction Tax).You have to pay Stamp Duty when you buy a freehold property, a new or existing leasehold, or a property through a shared ownership scheme. It’s also paid when you are transferred land or property in exchange for payment (e.g. you take on a mortgage or buy a share in a house).Prior to the stamp duty holiday, the tax was calculated and applied to any land or property £150,000 or higher and rose incrementally once the value hit new thresholds. You only paid tax on the amount in excess of those thresholds. For example, if the property was £275,000, you’d owe:0% on the first £125,000 = £02% on the next £125,000 (taking you to the £250,000 threshold) = £2,5005% on the final £25,000 = £1,250Bringing your total Stamp Duty to £3,750(Source: Gov.uk) Paying Stamp DutyWhile you can pay it yourself, your conveyancing solicitor will usually deal with the Stamp Duty return, as well as any payments due to you. HMRC can submit your return online once they have your solicitor’s authority on record and the effective date of the transaction. Naturally, our team of conveyancing experts would be more than happy to assist you with this.Should you wish to pay Stamp Duty yourself, HMRC allows you to do this either online or as a paper transaction. More details regarding the step by step processes can be found on the government’s website.The Stamp Duty HolidayOn 8 July 2020, the Chancellor announced a temporary break from paying Stamp Duty on all properties £500,000 or under until 31 March 2021. This was in direct response to the slump in the market due to the economic and social unrest caused by the outbreak of Covid-19. During this time, say you bought a property for £400,000, you’d have avoided spending £10,000 in Stamp Duty – so the savings aren’t to be dismissed lightly. The effects on the property market were dramatic to say the least. The vast savings people could make on purchasing property, coupled with a desire to upscale to larger homes in lockdown, led to the housing market climbing 8.5% – the highest annual growth rate since October 2014.The Stamp Duty Holiday ExtensionRishi Sunak announced in his latest budget that the current Stamp Duty holiday will be extended by three months to the end of June 2021. This news will no doubt be welcomed by those working in the property market, as well as those looking to buy or sell property in the coming months. Furthermore, the Chancellor has outlined that the holiday will technically run until October, “To smooth the transition back to normal, the nil rate band will be £250,000, double its standard level, until the end of September – and we will only return to the usual level of £125,000 from 1 October.”It was estimated that, had the holiday not been extended, around 300,000 property sales which had been agreed during the window would have no longer been applicable to receive the tax break, meaning many people would lose tens of thousands of pounds they hadn’t budgeted for. Due to the boom in the housing market during the holiday, there has been an unprecedented number of people buying and selling homes, including a large rise in first time buyers. This has led to a large backlog of sales to finalise and was one of the driving factors behind the decision to move the end of the holiday back. Despite this being a large relief to those involved in the housing market, there are those who believe any pushback is delaying the inevitable. The Centre for Policy Studies has said that any end of the stamp duty holiday would be a “sledgehammer blow to the housing market”. Regardless of this, the holiday’s extension provides welcome breathing space for the market. How can I take advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday?Whether you’re already in talks to purchase a property or you want to strike while the iron’s still hot, the Stamp Duty holiday extension can save you a significant amount of money. First thing’s first, you should talk to a conveyancing solicitor about how best to approach the housing market and how your personal situation applies to paying tax on property or land. When buying a property, Stamp Duty has to be paid to HMRC 14 days from the date of completion or you risk incurring a fine. This tight deadline is one of the reasons people recommend having a solicitor take care of these details and payments. Thankfully, we know a team of expert conveyancing solicitors who’d love to hear from you.This means that you need to have agreed a fee as well as reached a completion of the purchase by the end of the holiday for the purchase to be covered by the Stamp Duty holiday. Considering the lengthy process of buying property, along with the busy nature of the market at the moment, we recommend wasting no time in entering the market. If the property you’re purchasing is £500,000 or under, you’ll pay no Stamp Duty on that at all, with tax only paid on any value above that amount. Here’s a handy table to clear it up:Property valueStamp DutyUp to £500,000NothingThe next £425,000 (value between £500,001 to £925,000)5%The next £575,000 (value between £925,001 to £1.5 million)10%The remaining amount (value above £1.5 million)12%As you can see, you stand to save multiple thousands of pounds should you act soon. How Manak Solicitors can help youYou may have noticed the very subtle hints dropped earlier in this blog that we’re exceptionally proud of our team of conveyancing solicitors.Dealing with Stamp Duty can be a complicated and arduous task, especially during the process of such a big venture as buying property. That’s why people usually have a solicitor or other conveyancing expert handle this to make sure the right amount is paid, you’re not stung by any unexpected costs, and the process is as smooth as possible. From pushing through offers on property, to ensuring that the process gets resolved and signed off before the holiday ends, you’ll find working with our team the right decision. We’ve seen it all when it comes to buying and selling property around Kent and London, and will make sure your foray into the property market goes as smoothly as possible. If you’d like to learn more about conveyancing or speak to a member of the team, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

Ryanair are to appeal to the European Court of Justice after losing a legal battle against state aid received by rival airlines. Flag carriers such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and TAP have all received state aid from their home nations, something that Ryanair, Europe’s biggest budget carrier, has taken umbrage with. They have filed over a dozen lawsuits against the European Commission and other airlines over these state grants, which they believe give competitors an unfair advantage because of their national affiliations. Chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has accused European nations of “Selectively gifting billions of euros to their inefficient flag carriers”.However, the European Commission recently ruled that state bailouts, by the specifically cited French and Swedish governments, were well in line with the EU’s rules. Referring to the French system of financial aid, the court claimed, “That aid scheme is appropriate for making good the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and does not constitute discrimination”.It also claimed that the Swedish system is presumed to have been adopted “in the interest of the European Union”. The Irish budget airline will now take its case to the EU’s highest court, arguing that these programmes unfairly benefited Air France-KLM and SAS AB, while discriminating against other carriers such as itself. Ryanair hope that a victory in the court would “give airlines and consumers a glimmer of hope that national politicians obsessed with their flag carriers will be sent back to the drawing board and required to use state aid wisely to assist the recovery of traffic in the post-Covid world instead of bailing out their favoured airline at the expense of fair competition and consumers”