Who can bring a claim for financial provision?
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.
Related FAQs
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announce new guidance in light of coronavirus.
The ICO is providing new guidance to organisations regarding data protection and coronavirus, which can be accessed here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-and-coronavirus/
The ICO has stated the following:
“Data protection is not a barrier to increased and different types of homeworking. During the pandemic, staff may work from home more frequently than usual and they can use their own device or communications equipment. Data protection law doesn’t prevent that, but you’ll need to consider the same kinds of security measures for homeworking that you’d use in normal circumstances.”
Whether you work from home or in the office, you still need to comply with data protection laws. While you need to process personal data with the same care you use in the office, the home working environment throws up specific data protection concerns particularly in respect of data security. You should make sure you have a home working policy which deals with data protection and these data security issues.
Organisations must ensure that, for staff who can work from home, their obligations in respect of processing personal data are clearly communicated. Organisations may already have a home working policy – if this is the case, then this should be reviewed to ensure it remains relevant and up-to-date for practices during this pandemic.
This free Getting back to business webinar was held on Wednesday 6th May. On this video, employment partner Paul Scope and associate Flora Mewies looked at your options if you need to flex your employee resource or reduce cost without reducing headcount. This may apply across the business or to particular functions. They discussed a range of options when the furlough scheme comes to an end, including: lay off, short time working, reduced hours, reduced pay and other ways to be flexible.
They also discussed the pros and cons of each option, and cover what you will need to undertake with each of these routes.
No one factor will determine status and the outcomes will differ depending on the nature of the work being carried out and the business of the end user client.
When you have carried out an assessment based on the relevant factors you can either get in touch with us to discuss further, check your answers against HMRC’s CEST tool or do both before making a final determination.
Yes. The Land Registry published a new service update on 14 May, here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-impact-on-hm-land-registrys-service
Importantly, the Land Registry will process registrations where documents have been executed using the Mercury signing approach:
For land registration purposes, a signature page will need to be signed in pen and witnessed in person (not by a video call). The signature will then need to be captured, with a scanner or a camera, to produce a PDF, JPEG or other suitable copy of the signed signature page. Each party sends a single email to their conveyancer to which is attached the final agreed copy of the document and the copy of the signed signature page.
To summarise some further points:
- Most information enquiries are experiencing minimal delays
- Registrations of new titles, such as on sales of part or new leases, and applications to update existing titles, are experiencing more significant delays but can be expedited via the expedite service
- Cancellation dates for replying to requisitions are extended until further notice
- Access to free documents on the land registry portal has been extended to 90 days from completion of the transaction
- Identity requirements have been relaxed. The Land Registry will now raise a requisition for identity documents, and not cancel applications
- Requests for extensions to a notice or objection period will be granted if lawfully possible
- Land charges searches can be submitted electronically with PDF documents
Employers will need to be flexible with employees who are unable to return to work at present due to childcare difficulties. While schools have reopened, a period of isolation may result in employees having to keep children off school/nursery and therefore have childcare issues. Some employees will be able to manage this with their partner and extended family, whereas others will not. Where an employee simply cannot make any other arrangements to care for their children in the short term then they will be unable to return to work until that situation changes. Any dismissals on the basis that someone is unable to return to work as a result of lack of childcare are likely to be unfair, at least in the short term where such employees may well be able to demonstrate that they had no options available to them.