Kevin Neary Notary Public Banbridge

Kevin Neary Notary Public Banbridge I am a Notary Public working with Con Lavery and Co Solicitors . Appointments can be made with the o

Experts flag single market benefits but urge cautionExperts say that re-joining the EU single market could deliver a sig...
23/08/2026

Experts flag single market benefits but urge caution
Experts say that re-joining the EU single market could deliver a significant economic boost by removing much of the trade friction and red tape created by Brexit, particularly for the UK’s services sector. Research estimates the move could add £92bn to GDP and recoup up to 90% of Brexit’s economic hit, while restoring greater labour-market flexibility, investment certainty and attractiveness for foreign direct investment. With 41% of UK exports going to the EU in 2025, closer integration could also strengthen trade and productivity through greater competition. Critics argue that weaker UK competitiveness, limited manufacturing capacity and uncertainty over migration could constrain the upside.

23/08/2026

Employment tribunal system in crisis
Employment tribunals are being hindered by a combination of judge shortages, increasingly complex discrimination claims and lengthy proceedings. Outstanding cases have doubled from 32,000 in 2020 to 64,000, with some hearings now listed years ahead. Tribunal running costs in GB have risen from £40m in 2018 to £81m, while cases are taking longer and increasingly combine unfair dismissal no with discrimination allegations, which can substantially increase compensation. A major constraint is recruitment and retention of employment judges, particularly in London, where the £146,000 salary compares poorly with private-sector legal earnings. The decline of trade unions may also mean fewer workers receive advice on whether claims are worth pursuing. Meanwhile, growing use of AI-generated legal arguments is adding further complexity for judges. The system faces another test when the Employment Rights Act takes effect, allowing workers to bring certain claims after six months rather than two years. Government estimates suggest claims could rise 15%–17%, while employment lawyers predict a much larger increase. The result risks further delays and costs for employers, claimants and the wider justice system.

Papa Johns worker fired for tax honestyAshwani Kumar, a former Papa Johns manager, was dismissed for insisting on proper...
01/08/2026

Papa Johns worker fired for tax honesty
Ashwani Kumar, a former Papa Johns manager, was dismissed for insisting on proper payslips and tax deductions. He refused cash-in-hand payments, wanting his tax paid to HMRC. After discovering his payslips were fake, he took legal action against franchise owners EEM London and Abdul Sattar Askar. The tribunal ruled in his favour, stating his dismissal was automatically unfair. Judge Julia Jone noted that Kumar’s insistence on correct payslips and holiday pay led to his firing

Taxpayers face penalties for innocent mistakesHMRC is planning to give itself new powers to charge penalties of up to 30...
31/07/2026

Taxpayers face penalties for innocent mistakes
HMRC is planning to give itself new powers to charge penalties of up to 30% of the tax lost for “careless” self-assessment errors. Under new rules, penalties would range between 0% and 30% for a careless error, whereas the penalty for deliberate errors could reach as much as 100%. Most people are not represented by a tax adviser – and so taxpayers may genuinely not know when they have made an error and could find themselves exposed to higher penalties.

Osmond, admitted in 1979 and former senior partner at Osmond and Osmond Solicitors, was convicted in 2023 and given a ni...
29/07/2026

Osmond, admitted in 1979 and former senior partner at Osmond and Osmond Solicitors, was convicted in 2023 and given a nine-month suspended sentence. The offence arose after the Serious Fraud Office asked him to keep confidential a request for information — issued during its investigation into mining company ENRC — while he was acting for a client in an £8 million Mayfair property purchase. That client was later found to be under investigation, and the SFO’s request had explicitly flagged the tipping-off offence.

Osmond argued the trial judge had wrongly taken issues away from the jury through her pre-trial legal rulings. The Court of Appeal disagreed, holding the rulings were a proper part of case management and that it’s for prosecutors — not the court — to decide how a case is framed. The real questions for the jury were whether disclosure was likely to prejudice the SFO’s investigation, and whether Osmond knew or suspected that risk.

Leave to appeal was refused, though the judgment has been released for citation given its status as the first ruling on these tipping-off provisions.

Video call rule deemed discriminatoryAn employment tribunal has ruled that requiring employees to keep their cameras on ...
23/07/2026

Video call rule deemed discriminatory
An employment tribunal has ruled that requiring employees to keep their cameras on during virtual meetings can constitute disability discrimination. Laura Tait, a travel consultant at Holiday Extras, felt overwhelmed by this directive due to her anxiety. The tribunal found that her employer failed to provide reasonable adjustments, such as allowing her to join meetings with her camera off.

Family of 18 granted asylumA family of 18 from Gaza has been granted refugee status in the UK after an immigration tribu...
20/07/2026

Family of 18 granted asylum
A family of 18 from Gaza has been granted refugee status in the UK after an immigration tribunal ruled in their favour. The family, led by a mother-of-three, initially faced rejection from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. However, the tribunal found that denying them entry would breach their right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case has prompted further calls to leave the ECHR.

MoJ spends £176k on influencersThe Ministry of Justice has allocated £176,140 to social media influencers since Labour w...
20/07/2026

MoJ spends £176k on influencers
The Ministry of Justice has allocated £176,140 to social media influencers since Labour were elected. This funding aims to promote policies, including community sentencing and recruitment for prisons. Justice Minister Jake Richards said influencers help achieve communication objectives effectively but Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy condemned the spending, suggesting funds would be better used for courts and prisons.

15/07/2026

Publishers sue Google over copyright breach
A coalition of major publishers, including Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier, has filed a lawsuit against Google in New York. They accuse the tech giant of illegally using millions of copyrighted books to train its Gemini AI models. The lawsuit claims Google repurposed works provided for limited services without permission, risking potential fines of $10bn to $100bn. The plaintiffs argue that AI-generated content threatens authors and the publishing industry. They seek statutory damages and an injunction to prevent further infringement. “No publisher or author can compete with that,” the lawsuit states.

OBR: Public debt could hit 300% of GDPThe Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned that rising pension costs wi...
11/07/2026

OBR: Public debt could hit 300% of GDP
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned that rising pension costs will inflate UK public debt to 300% of GDP by 2075, up from 270%. Currently, public debt stands at nearly £3trn - around 95% of GDP - but the OBR has warned that it could move on to “an unsustainable and ever-rising path.” Spending on state pensions is projected to increase from around 5% of GDP today to 9% within 50 years, with the triple lock accounting for a significant share of the increase.

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