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Publications Archive
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Companies Act 2006: Company Directors in the Firing Line 1st October 2008 was another milestone in the staged implementation of the Companies Act 2006, notes Keith Borrow, Senior Solicitor with MacRoberts, with further significant sections of the Act coming into force. (Dec.08)
Time for Cost Efficiencies in Construction Industry Alison Horner, Partner with MacRoberts, examines amendments to a 1996 Act which could save the construction industry up to £1bn. (Nov.08)
Being Flexible Means Keeping Up With Change Katy Wedderburn, Partner with MacRoberts, takes a look at some recent significant changes to employment law. (Nov.08)
Cartels - No Case For Exemplary Damages There’s no doubt that a corruption scandal in the construction industry makes for a good headline, notes Julie Hamilton of MacRoberts. (Nov.08)
Alternative Payment Solutions As some banks’ lending has ground to a halt, Mike Barlow of MacRoberts looks at what it means for the construction industry. (Nov.08)
The Proof Is The Programming Programming is still considered in some quarters as a black art and for those parties who rely on complex critical path analysis, the case of City Inn Ltd v Shepherd Construction Ltd offers a salutary tale says Shona Frame of MacRoberts. (Oct.08)
Putting the DIF into Difficulties The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has recently implemented use of its Disclosure Incentive Form, as Simon Hay, Partner in MacRoberts Real Estate Group, explains. (Oct.08)
Cost Efficiencies Finally Arrive for Construction Industry Alison Horner, Partner with MacRoberts, explains why a Bill containing proposed amendments to the Construction Act 1996 is much anticipated. (Oct.08)
Changing Face of Procurement Duncan Osler, Partner with MacRoberts solicitors, gives his view on the implications of the evolving public procurement process in Scotland. (Sept.08)
Protecting Development Funding in a Difficult Climate With the gloomy economic forecast, development funding is increasingly hard to obtain. Indeed, some banks' lending seems to have actually ground to a halt. (Sept.08)
The Need for Negotiation Julie Hamilton, Senior Associate with MacRoberts, explains why negotiation should always be the first option in a construction dispute. (July 08)
Trial and Attribution A recent decision of the Court of Session (Aedas Architects Limited v Skanska Construction UK Limited) has raised interesting questions in relation to notices of withholding under section 111 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. (July 08)
Ending Discrimination By Association The question of whether EU law protects employees from discrimination who are ‘associated’ with or parents of disabled people, was put to the Advocate General of European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently, after the recent UK Coleman v Attridge Law case. (June 08)
No More Cavalier Attitudes One date earlier this year – the 28 January to be precise – marked European Data Protection Day. This annual event is designed to raise awareness throughout Europe of the public’s data protection rights as well as their own responsibilities. (June 08)
A Remedy Called Negotiation Most claims in the construction industry are settled by negotiation. Which is probably just as well otherwise many projects would not be out of the law courts. See, for example, the long running Wembley Stadium dispute. (June 08)
Make Disputes History Disputes may be a fact of life but the UK’s construction industry is one of the most litigious industries in the country. If only some simple common sense was employed, many disputes could be avoided. (May 08)
Community Right To Buy: Covers More Ground Than You Think Long before the Labour government introduced the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, the perceived inequality of 600 owners owning 50 per cent of Scotland was seen as a matter ripe for modernisation. (May 08)
Playing the workplace game With the growing popularity of social networking sites on the Internet, the behaviour of some employees continues to concern organisations, says MacRoberts’ Marivi Prescott. (Apr.08)
Risky Business MacRoberts’ Kelsey Gibson reports why the issue of uninsured risks is proving a thorny subject in negotiating commercial property leases. Normally, in a commercial property lease it’s the landlord’s responsibility to arrange buildings insurance for a defined list of insured risks. In return, the tenant reimburses the landlord for the cost of arranging such insurance. (Apr.08)
Arbitration gets some assistance MacRoberts’ David Arnott examines what may lie in store for the arbitration process in Scotland. Arbitration has taken a bit of a battering in recent years as a dispute-resolving mechanism within the Scottish construction industry. (Mar.08)
On the receiving end MacRoberts’ Alison Horner reports on a revised legal definition of ‘actual delivery’. (Mar.08)
Fire safety is everyone’s business You may be confident as to what you would do in the event of a fire at your premises, but what about your customers? Would they know where to go? How about your staff? Are they fully up-to-date with fire safety precautions, and actions which would need to be taken in the event of an emergency? (Mar.08)
Mind the detail It may not be the most exciting subject ever but no-one can afford to overlook provisions in leases relating to the serving of notices as a recent case illustrated. This time around, it was Scottish Enterprise (SE) Tayside who learned that the importance of adhering to the precise terms of lease provisions sometimes only becomes clear when it’s too late. (Feb.08)
If not PFI, then what? With the Scottish Government’s well-documented aversion to PFI, where does this leave the funding of major capital and infrastructure projects in Scotland? The Scottish National Party (SNP) has always made its feelings about the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known. (Feb.08)
Living by the code Come April, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Scottish edition of its Code of Practice for service charges in commercial property will be in force. (Feb.08)
A right fine mess The implications of the Data Protection Act are causing friction as the music industry continues in its attempt to put a stop to illegal file sharing. MacRoberts’ David Flint reports. Illegal file sharing in the music industry continues to hit the headlines. Evidence suggests the reason so many people engage in it, is because there is no legal source of music which provides as good a customer experience as the illegal sites. (Feb.08)
A tough tack to take This year should prove a busy time for employers with the regular updates to employment law. One particular piece of legislation, The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, part of which replaces the provisions of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 concerning restrictions on employment, will come into force at the end of February. It will certainly keep employers on their toes. (Jan.08)
Clarity on Clearance Companies should take heed of the Pensions Regulator’s proposed updated guidance on clearance procedures, as Peter Trotter of MacRoberts reports: Sections 38 to 51 of the Pensions Act 2004 allow the Pensions Regulator to impose financial sanctions on companies in a variety of circumstances. (Jan.08)
Decisions blowing in the wind Situated on the edge of Europe, Scotland boasts one of the best wind resources in the world and a renewable energy industry geared up to deliver clean, renewable electricity. Moreover, almost five years ago now, the Scottish Government set a target for 2020 declaring 40% of electricity generated in Scotland should come from renewable sources. Against the odds, wind farm developments have played a significant role in moving towards that target. (Jan.08)
Beware of the Big C Imagine the scenario. You work for a small company and your boss asks you to project manage a brand-new publication to publicise and promote the firm and the services offered. (Jan.08)