Tughans Solicitors

Is change ahead for the UK’s most unpopular tax? Exploring changes to the “non-dom” rules for IHT and other options for reform.

The Spring Budget published on 6 March 2024 announced fundamental reform to the UK’s existing system of non-domicile and remittance based taxation.  From 6 April 2025, the UK is to move to a residency based regime intended to increase tax revenues and reduce complexity for those navigating it.  The finer details of the enacting legislation... Read More

How Do I Handle it? – practical answers to difficult workplace scenarios

Tughans employment team provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries. This article is aimed at HR professionals and other managers who may need to deal, from time to time, with the less commonplace disputes at work; issues that may, if handled incorrectly, lead to claims for discrimination, constructive dismissal or some other... Read More

Anti-greenwashing rules for Financial Services come into force on 31 May 2024

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new anti-greenwashing rule (ESG 4.3.1 R) takes effect from 31 May 2024. Last week, (23 April) the FCA Issued its Finalised Guidance FG24.3 on the anti-greenwashing rule.  The rule will have far reaching implications for the Financial Services sector and we are likely to see an increase in strategic environmental... Read More

Energy Efficiency Capital Grant Open for Applications

From yesterday, Monday 29 April 2024, the Energy Efficiency Capital Grant (“EECG”) issued by Invest NI opened for applications. The EECG will aim to help Northern Ireland businesses reduce energy costs by offering support to buy and install energy efficient equipment that reduces energy and carbon emissions. In this article we’ve taken a (non-exhaustive) look... Read More

The ‘Hybrid’ Approach To Pay Less Notices – A Lidl Bit Risky

A common practice adopted by Employers in the construction industry is to skip the process of serving a Payment Notice on a payee, and instead wrap the valuation of the work conducted into its Pay Less Notice. This effectively means that the Pay Less Notice is a ‘hybrid’ document, containing both the payers valuation of... Read More

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – the next Brexit standoff?

The UK Government has launched its Consultation on the introduction of a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) which closes on 13 June 2024. EU CBAM came into force in October 2023 with the introduction of reporting requirements, with full implementation in 2026. Both the EU and UK CBAMs will have serious implications for NI... Read More

Key UK employment law developments April 2024

Several statutory employment payment rates receive their annual increase in April across the UK, including a record increase to the National Living Wage. Several new employment laws also come into force in Great Britain, which may indicate changes to come in Northern Ireland which employers should start preparing for now.   1. Annual employment rate... Read More

Victoria Square Belfast – Claims by Apartment Owners Struck Out

A recent decision of the High Court in Belfast has highlighted the difficulties which can face property owners who bring claims in respect of construction defects many years after their property was built. The case relates to the Victoria Square development of 91 residential apartments where the claims against the building contractors and designers involved... Read More

2023 Deal activity in Northern Ireland and looking ahead to 2024

2023 Deal Activity in Review 2023 represented a year of deal activity in Northern Ireland, despite the prevailing macro-economic headwinds. According to the recently published Experian Market IQ: 2023 Report, “…. overall M&A activity in Northern Ireland was lower than in the preceding two years, while still sitting at the higher end of the... Read More

Contractors’ termination rights under JCT clarified in recent judgment

Contractors’ termination rights under JCT clarified in recent judgment.   JCT contracts are a suite of widely used standard form construction contracts, often between an Employer and a Contractor, which set out the contractual obligations of the parties in carrying out a building project. In the recent case of Providence Building Services Limited v Hexagon... Read More