Author: Guy Thomas There were six winding up petitions for football clubs in the High Court today. Two of them relate to Portsmouth! Hinckley United Football Club      Brighton Football Club Portsmouth City Football Club       Portsmouth City Football Club  (again!)     Southend United Football Club      Cardiff City Football Club       Cardiff & Southend have won a temporary reprise but Portsmouth’s problems have if anything intensified. Click here to view the article that appeared on the BBC website. I understand that Portsmouth have been asked to provide a ‘statement of affairs’ within the next week. Such a statement is drawn up by a specialist insolvency practitioner and will be very difficult to produce in such a short space of time, if that is the case the club looks set for administration. Given the minimum 10 point penalty that the Premier League may impose, it is highly likely that the club will , in the future, be preparing its finances on the basis it will be in the Championship next season. The statement of affairs will likely be made on the basis that Portsmouth is shortly going to be a Championship rather than Premier League club. Leeds, of all clubs, is actually a positive example for Portsmouth as they have managed to reduce long term overheads, such as player wages, and operate well as League One rather than Premier League club. Things may get worse before they get better, but the silver lining is that Portsmouth, like Leeds, has a large fan-base which virtually guarantees revenue over the next few years, and should enable them to bounce back. Depending on how things play out in the next couple of weeks in the Courts, next season looks likely to see a resurgent Leeds and a under pressure Portsmouth as competitors in the Championship seeking a return to top flight football. If HMRC is to maintain its new hard-line approach Portsmouth will not be the last Premiership club visiting the High Court in 2010. For too long, top flight clubs and their owners have been able to palm off their smaller and unsecured creditors but it looks like that is changing. The problem for clubs is that as soon as one creditor starts insolvency proceedings, as HMRC is, all the others, for example other clubs owed transfer fees, will follow suit. Many recent football insolvency (and near misses) in the lower leagues have been prompted by this change in stance by HMRC.

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Six of the Best

Author: Guy Thomas Earlier today, The Times Online reported on the Vantis Group’s interim results. Particular emphasis has been placed on the impact of the firm’s involvement in the Liquidation of Stamford International Bank Limited. Insolvency Practitioners (and their lawyers) face a difficult assessment when approaching a new appointment. Contrary to the widely held assumptions of many media and professional commentators; the acceptance of an appointment by an insolvency practitioner carries significant responsibility and potentially huge liability. As well as personal liability for many of their actions, the insolvency practitioner must also assess the cost /benefit of funding future litigation. As indicated in the above article, one of these factors is (when faced with significant opposition from a competing stakeholder with very deep pockets) how long will it be before there is likely to be sufficient realisation for the creditors and the insolvency estate. In this case, the ongoing tussle between the US Court appointed Receiver and Antiguan Court appointed Liquidators has spawned multiple and complex litigation across the globe. It should go with out saying that such complex international litigation can be costly. In this case, it appears the US Court appointed receiver has rigorously sought to oppose the Antiguan appointed liquidators attempts to realise assets at almost every turn. In addition to the obvious point concerning the management of cash flow inherent in any business, this also serves to illustrate a useful lesson for creditors and stakeholders in any formal insolvency process. Contrary to popular belief, all formal insolvency processes are subject to potential review by the Courts, stakeholders and creditors. Expert advice should always be sought, particularly where significant amounts are involved and again, as with any other business, litigation is often the backdrop to ongoing negotiation between the parties.

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The challenge of insolvency: Vantis and Stamford International Bank

Author: Gary Dunger I’m sure you have all been eagerly anticipating the report on the Willow Foundation 10K run and our runners’ performances! In very testing conditions everybody put in a very good performance and despite survival being the main aim, some very creditable times were put in, especially considering that by the end of the race the surface was becoming somewhat slippery (being partly run on grass) and into driving rain, wind and hail. A special mention must go to Nat Young whom it seems must have been training very hard over the last few months as he went off like the proverbial hare, only to be reeled in by Terence two-thirds of the way in with Terence coming in first of the SA Law runners.  The finishing order on Sunday was: Terence Ritchie       46.36 Gary Dunger           47.03 Nat Young              47.06 Rob Ryall                52.12 Chris Alexander     57.54 Simon Walsh          58.23 Tracy Lacey-Smith 59.09 Nikki Petken           65.36  I am sure you will all join me in congratulating all those who participated, and many of whom are no doubt now saying “never again” after the experience.  For a full (humorous) account by another participant of the challenges yesterday see the RunningAmok blog . And it is not too late of course to sponsor the team, visit www.justgiving.com/SALaw , it would be great to reach £1000!

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The Willow Foundation - 10K Run

Author: Nikki Petken When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now …… will you still need me…… when I’m sixty-five? The answer from businesses to Paul McCartney’s love song today will be … No. The high court has ruled that is legal for UK employers to force workers to retire at the age of 65. In this case, the court was required to determine if forcing people to retire at 65 is against European law. The ruling means that employers can dismiss a member of staff without a redundancy payment on their 65th birthday. This is still subject to following the correct procedure and the worker can request to work beyond that date which an employer must consider but can refuse without having to give a reason. It is never as simple as it seems however, as the government has said they will review the retirement age in 2010 and at which point they could choose to end the default retirement age.

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Heyday Decision - “When I’m 65…”

Author: Helen Duffy As employment lawyers continue to advise on redundancies, pay cuts and recruitment freezes, it is surprising to read that the latest CIPD/KPMG Labour Market Outlook (LMO) shows that one in ten employers intends to recruit migrant workers in the third quarter of 2009. Whilst the number of UK nationals in employment fell during the first quarter of 2009 compared with the year before, the number of non-UK nationals in employment actually increased in the same period. When asked about this, over a quarter of employers have said that they cannot find British workers to do the jobs.  This shows that employers are successfully using the new points-based system introduced in February 2008 to recruit skilled workers.  Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser of the CIPD, commented that “The best way to provide ‘British jobs for British workers’ is to make Brits better equipped to compete in the job market rather than raise barriers to skilled migrants”. For more details from this report, see www.cipd.co.uk

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Numbers of migrant workers increase, despite the recession

Andria Bolton

Local Solicitors UK | Compensation UK

Author: Vanessa James Over the past 12 months many employers have had to make redundancies and even though some commentators claim the ‘green shoots’ of recovery are here, businesses are still feeling the effects of the downturn. Businesses could potentially cut back their workforces yet further, but they run the risk of losing valuable talent which could jeopardise the business in the long term. But what are the alternatives? Well I was recently commissioned to write an article for PAY Magazine entitled ‘Imposing Contractual Changes’ , which outlines some of the alternatives such as how to lawfully announce pay freezes or pay cuts and how to negotiate with employees and avoid the risk of claims such as breach of contract.

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Alternatives to Redundancy

Andria Bolton

Local Solicitors UK | Compensation Claims UK

Author: Chris Cook The Government has this week published an article in “Building a society for ages” that its date to review the current default retirement age of 65 will be brought forward from 2011 to 2010.  The reason for the change is to reflect the “change in economic circumstances” that has arisen since the default retirement age was introduced when the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into force in 2006. According to the BBC, the vast majority of the workforce retire before reaching the age of 65, although 1.3 million workers remain in work beyond state pension age.  It is apparent that many more than that would work beyond that age if their employers were prepared to let them do so. Prime Minister Gordon Brown explained: “Evidence suggests that allowing older people to continue working, unfettered by negative views about ageing, could be a big factor in the success of Britain’s businesses and our future economic growth.” There has been a mixed response to the Government’s move.  The Confederation of British Industry expressed their disappointment at the move, stating that the default retirement age helps businesses plan for the future.  However, the TUC received the news much more positively, stating that “Employees should have choice - neither forced by employers to give up work, nor forced by inadequate pensions into working longer than they should.” Although the Government intends to ask both employer and employee groups their views on the default retirement age, it now seems likely that in light of the Prime Minister’s comments, the default retirement age will either be raised or removed completely.

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Default Retirement Age to be Reviewed

Author: Keith Docking The recent Court decision where a wife 22 years after separation received a lump sum of £220,000 is a salutary lesson for parties who do not finalise their financial affairs post separation.  The Court decision reinforces the principle that the needs of the parties will always take preference over contribution arguments.  In this case the majority of the assets were derived from an inheritance received by the husband post separation.  This emphasises the importance of entering into an agreement and ensuring that the agreement will be binding. Please click here to view the article that appeared in The Times, If you’re interested in learning more about this case.

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Divorce settlement granted after 22 years of being separated

All Wills can be contested, even if the will was correctly written and executed (signed and witnessed). This may comes as a surprise to you, but it’s a guiding principal under UK law that people can check to see if the will was written correctly and a judge will decide, even if he refuses the action of the person who wishes to contest the will. Often, an application to contest the will comes under the Inheritance Act 1975 – Provision for Family and Dependents. Despite a person being able to give away their estate freely in a Will, there are a few rules which you have to abide by, to ensure you don’t lose a contested will case in court; after you’ve died, of course. People that can apply under the act mentioned, have six months after the grant of probate, in which to state their case and reasons why they believe they should have been left some or more of the estate than they have actually received. A former spouse usually has a right to apply as well as dependents. Usually, dependents are children or step children or co-habiting people, but they may also be gardeners, live in house staff or anyone else who can correctly claim and prove they were maintained financially by the deceased. Courts will consider age, the relationship and contributions made by the dependents to the welfare of the family which includes looking after the home or the family. People, who will have required maintenance. Even a will that falls into partial intestacy can be contested, for the very same reasons. A will can also be contested by a legal method called a Deed of Variation . This is where the beneficiaries may all agree, within two years of the date of the death, to carry out, what is usually a tax planning exercise. It can also be that the beneficiaries agree that one or more people were not properly provided for, in the will. Seek professional advice to ensure people won’t have grounds to contest your will. They can still contest it, but if your will is correctly written, the higher the chance that you will stays as you wrote it.

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Can I contest a will?