Who pays?

A licence to occupy premises is not an interest land and operates as a commercial contract between the parties that enter into it. Licences tend to be put in place to cover short periods and consequently they are generally a lot more flexible than commercial leasing arrangements. To that extent occupants under licences should review the contract to establish whether or not there are any provision allowing them to terminate on notice to the Licensor.

Occupants under licences that are granted for longer periods without the option to terminate may try to argue that the contract has frustrated because they are effectively unable to occupy.

A non-molestation order is a form of injunctive relief used when there is harassment / domestic violence within a domestic setting. It is commonly used when you or your children are the victim of domestic violence committed by a partner/ex-partner, but it can also be used if the acts are committed by a relative or by somebody who has had an intimate personal relationship with you. Such domestic violence can take many forms but is typically acts of physical violence, intimidation or harassment as well as more subtle forms such as coercion.

When non-molestation orders are granted, they usually require the perpetrator to stop:

• Using or threatening violence against you
• Intimidating, harassing or pestering you
• Contacting you including in person, by phone, letter or electronic means including social media
• Damaging or threatening to damage your property and possessions

They also prevent the perpetrator from encouraging somebody else to do these things on their behalf.

In addition, a non-molestation order may prevent the perpetrator from coming within a particular distance of your home or your child’s school

Breaching the order without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence so the perpetrator can be arrested and punished by way of a fine or up to 5 years imprisonment.

From 1 July 2020 the furlough scheme has been operating more flexibly.

The key changes from 1 July 2020 were:

• All furloughed employees are subject to the new flexible furlough rules and the new basis for calculating claims
• Furloughed employees can be brought back to work on a part-time basis for any amount of time and can work any work pattern
• Employers can claim for the hours not worked compared the hours the person would normally have worked in that period
• There must be a new written furlough agreement in place to record the agreement with the furloughed employee to return to work part-time
• The new agreement (including a collective agreement) must be made before any period of flexible furlough begins but it may be varied at a later stage if necessary. The agreement must be incorporated into the employee’s contract of employment, either expressly or impliedly
• Employers must keep a record of this agreement until at least 30 June 2025, and they must also keep a record of the hours the furlough employee worked and the hours that they were furloughed
• Employees can be furloughed from 1 July 2020 for any amount of time and more than once
• However, if you re-furloughed an employee after 10 June but before 1 July 2020, they had to be furloughed for an initial period of three consecutive weeks
• Claims for payments under the scheme must not cross calendar months so if you are claiming for the initial three week period of a re-furloughed employee who was furloughed on 12 June for example, you must submit separate claims for the dates in June and July
• Although flexible furlough agreements can last any length of time, you should only submit a claim to HMRC once a week.

People who can make a claim for financial provision are set out in the 1975 Act.  The categories are as follows:

• Surviving spouses or civil partners of the deceased;
• Former spouses or civil partners of the deceased;
• Cohabiting partners who lived with the deceased for a least 2 years prior to their death;
• A child of the deceased;
• Someone treated as a child of the deceased’s family (for example a step-child); and
• People who are “maintained” by the deceased – sometimes referred to as people who financially depended upon the deceased.

It is  possible for anybody to challenge the validity of a person’s Will.  In reality it is usually the case that challenges are only brought by people who would benefit under an earlier version of the Will  and as such, it is often only people with a financial interest under previous Wills who seek to bring claims which challenge the validity of a Will, or people who would be financially better off if there was no valid Will and the intestacy rules applied.

The position is different in relation to claims under the 1975 Act, where there is a specific list of people who are eligible to apply for an order that a Will does not make reasonable financial provision for them.  This includes spouses, former spouses, children, cohabitees and people who were being maintained by the deceased.  More information can be found at below in the FAQs relating to financial provision.