A New Year is a time for new ideas, and we are now looking for yours. As Scotland's only not-for-profit tenancy deposit scheme, we are in a unique position to give something back to the private rented sector and so we are delighted to announce the launch of the SafeDeposits Scotland Trust.

The Trust is a new grant-giving charity aimed at promoting education, training and best practice in Scotland's private rented sector, by funding projects which provide tangible benefits to landlords, letting agents and tenants

On 28 January the Scottish Government published the Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.? This follows the announcement by Scotland?s Finance Secretary in the Scottish budget in December 2015 that Scotland would follow the steps announced by the UK chancellor in charging additional?Land & Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) (Scotland?s equivalent of stamp duty) on second homes and buy to let properties.

Land & Building Transaction Tax rates

It is intended that the additional land &?building transaction tax rates will apply to transactions

The Stage 1 report into the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) from the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee has been published along with their recommendations. Evidence has been taken from various stakeholders in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and the report and its recommendations were debated in the Scottish Parliament earlier this month.? How will this affect student letting in Scotland?

The report can be downloaded here.

The Report makes some significant recommendations regarding Student Tenancies. The policy objective behind the Bill

Employers routinely have to be live to changes to employment laws and practices to ensure that they operate within the scope of employment legislation. However, alongside these types of changes, employers should be aware of cultural changes which might have an impact on their place of work. One such cultural change which is becoming an issue for some is the rise in the use of legal highs. Following the release of Acas guidance on this subject, we look at this issue in more detail and

There have been?a flurry of new developments in public procurement law in Scotland and we have provided a brief summary of these below. Please watch this space for further detail and more commentary on the changes!

1. Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015

The 2015 regulations were published on 22 December and are due to come into force on 18 April 2016. They will replace the existing 2012 regulations and are intended to transpose the new EU directive on public procurement into Scots law. These new

With the introduction of bespoke software providers advertising the ability to execute residential leases electronically (digital signatures), we are regularly being asked ? can such services be used in Scotland?

The Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 (RWA) does recognise electronic signatures as ?writing?, and has done so since the commencement of the relevant parts of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012.

I would point out that, in terms of the RWA, there is no requirement for leases of less than 12mths to be

As we? approach the end of 2015, it is a good time for employers to think about what HR issues they want to address before the end of the year and get prepared for the individual challenges that the oncoming festive period offers up. Here are our top things for an end of year checklist:

1. Do you need new staff? Now is a good time to think about your organisational needs and decide whether or not you will be looking to recruit new employees in

The Scottish Housing Minister maintained that proposed changes to private rented tenancies would not impact landlords?tackling anti-social behaviour. Highlighting that anti-social behaviour was ?unacceptable?; the Housing Minister stated that landlords would continue to be entitled to pursue eviction of tenants based on anti-social behaviour under the new Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill 2015 (the Bill).

Whilst still in the preliminary stages, the Bill is set to introduce a number of changes which will affect the management of tenancies; such as introducing a new tribunal system.

The Scottish Government has issued the first of its statutory guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act), which addresses fair work practices in procurement. The guidance applies to all regulated procurements which commence on or after 1 November this year.? A few provisions of the Act which are relevant to the guidance came into force on 28 September, including Section 2 which defines a ?regulated procurement? as ?any procedure carried out by a public body in relation to the award of a

The overlap of the laws of succession in different countries (e.g. in the country which you live and the country in which you own property) has caused a great deal of confusion and resulted in property owners putting two Wills in place ? one in the country which they live in and the other in the country where they own property. Succession to property in Europe is?now set to change

EU Regulation No 650/2012 (commonly known as "Brussels IV") was passed in 2012, but will

Following on from our previous blog, the second instalment in our disciplinary series looks at the disciplinary hearing.

If, after a reasonable investigation, the employer takes the decision to proceed to a disciplinary hearing, the employee should be notified in writing of this. The notification should contain information about the time and venue of the formal meeting and advise the employee of their right to be accompanied. The letter is likely to state who will conduct the disciplinary hearing, and it should not be carried

The Summer Finance Bill sets out the changes to Inheritance Tax which were announced by the Chancellor in his Summer Budget.?The Bill introduces an additional Main Residence Nil Rate Band (the Band) which will be introduced in stages from April 2017 until the full Band of ?175,000 comes into force in April 2020. The Band will be in addition to the existing Nil Rate Band of ?325,000.

When is the Band available?

The Band will apply when a qualifying residence (the qualifying residential interest) is

It is likely that most managers will have to deal with a disciplinary matter at some point in their career. It is important that a fair procedure is followed otherwise they risk any subsequent dismissal being classed as unfair. In our two part blog series we look at the factors to be considered by employers when dealing with a disciplinary matter. Here we look at how a disciplinary investigation should be conducted.

The first thing employers must do is familiarise themselves with the Acas

The Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 will come into force in Scotland on 28 November 2015, a tenant?s interest under a qualifying lease will automatically convert to outright ownership of the property and the landlord?s title to the property will be extinguished. Essentially this will mean the end of long leases. It is estimated there are around 9000 long leases that will be eligible to convert.

?Qualifying Leases

To qualify, a lease must be:

• Registered/recorded
• Originally have been granted for a term of more

The ability to manage cancer in the workplace is becoming increasingly relevant for many employers and employees. More than 100,000 people of working age are diagnosed with cancer each year, in addition to the 700,000 people of working age living with cancer. There are also an estimated 500,000 carers of people with cancer working in the UK. This means that employers should understand their obligations to these employees, helping them through a difficult and stressful time.

People with cancer are protected from discrimination by law.

Another week, another footballing story which gives rise to some interesting employment law questions, including employee demotion. This time, it involves Jose Mourinho and his public criticism of the Chelsea FC team doctor and physiotherapist after they ran on to the pitch during stoppage time of a match against Swansea to treat a player. After the criticism by Mourinho, it was widely reported that both employees would have their role substantially changed so that they would no longer be on the bench during matches. This

Parts 7 and 8 of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 are currently coming into force and are being implemented in three stages.

Changes will occur in respect of the Companies Act 2006 as a result of this.

What does it mean for you as a company?

Phase 1 ? 26 May 2015

Companies will no longer be able to issue bearer shares. Share warrants to bearers are abolished with any existing share warrants to be surrendered within 9 months.

Phase 2 ?

From 1 December 2015, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 will introduce changes in relation to the requirement for provision of carbon monoxide alarms in private rented housing.

The 2014 Act introduces an amendment to the Repairing Standard, which applies to all private rented housing.? The Repairing Standard will be amended to include the additional requirement that ?the house has satisfactory provision for giving warning if carbon monoxide is present in a concentration that is hazardous to health.?? The Act also says that regard

The recent Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Act 2014 came into force on 1^st April 2015 and has brought about important changes to the way debts can be enforced. We look in particular at two changes to bankruptcy procedure below:

Moratorium on Diligence

Prior to 1 April 2015, a person with debts could only receive protection from creditors once they were sequestrated, had a Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) in place or a protected trust deed. The 2014 Act now gives the debtor an additional

In June 2014 the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) confirmed that the Environmental Information Scotland Regulations applied to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) based on the level of supervision/direction exercised by the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) and RSLs responsibilities to providing/managing etc. social housing including the requirements of the Social Housing Charter, SHQS and EESH in matters such as noise, energy efficiency, heating installation, and use of appropriate building materials.

The decision was challenged earlier this year but was again upheld by SIC. Accordingly like local and

On 1 July 2015, the Legal Writings (Counterparts & Delivery) (Scotland) Act 2015 came into force marking a significant change in the way that residential leases can be signed.

Although there have been arguments within the legal profession regarding whether or not counterpart signing has always been possible, this point has not been widely accepted. Prior to 1 July 2015, the general consensus was that all parties to a lease must sign one principal document. This caused issues, for example, when joint tenants resided abroad

The case of?Cordiner v Al-Shaibany?at Dundee Sheriff Court has again looked at the issue of whether rent paid in advance can be deemed to be a security deposit.? In this case the Pursuer, Miss?Cordiner, was the tenant under a Short Assured Tenancy with the landlord, Mr Al-Shaibany. At the start of the tenancy, the tenant paid ?1,050 as payment for the first and last month?s rent.? At the end of the tenancy, the tenant raised an action against the landlord on the basis

Do you have a social media policy for employees? Employee use of social media is on the increase and so too are the number of cases going to employment tribunals on this area! The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in a recent judgement that it was fair for an employer to dismiss an employee that made derogatory comments about his employer on Facebook.

In the recent case of British Waterways Board v Smith, the EAT considered whether it was fair to dismiss an

Registered Social Landlords are ?contracting authorities? for the purposes of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012. When awarding a public contract - what happens next? The Regulations apply to:

- works contracts with a value of ?4,322,012 or more;

- supplies and services contracts with a value of ?172,514 or more.

Contracting authorities must ensure that when advertising public contracts in excess of these thresholds, evaluating bids and selecting the successful party, they follow the rules set out in the Regulations.

Having identified a contractual

On the 14^th July, the Government launched a consultation on the implementation of gender pay gap, ?Closing the Gender Pay Gap?. This gender pay gap consultation is important for a number of reasons.

Section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 contains a power for the government to require private and third sector employers with more than 250 employees to publish information relating to the differences in pay between male and female employees.

Guidance on the "Think, Act, Report" framework has also been re-published. This

The Budget announcement saw the Chancellor George Osborne unveil inheritance tax changes to the current regime. George Osborne confirmed that the inheritance tax threshold is set to increase from ?325,000 to ?500,000 for a single person and from ?650,000 to ?1million for a married couple or civil partnership.

What is the current Inheritance Tax regime?

Inheritance tax is currently charged at a rate of 40% on the value of an estate above the tax free threshold of ?325,000 per person.

Married couples and civil partners

The Chancellor George Osborne delivered the first Conservative Budget in almost 20 years this week and there were some interesting announcements which will have employment implications.

Here is a summary of the main points:

• A new National Living Wage will be introduced for all workers over the age of 25. This will replace the current National Minimum Wage, and it will be at the rate of ?7.20 an hour from April 2016, rising to ?9 an hour by 2020. It is estimated that this will

The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 received royal assent on 15 April 2014. The Act essentially creates a framework for housing tribunal reform, and will be implemented in three phases. The first phase sees the creation of a new housing chamber, which will incorporate the current work of the Private Rented Housing Panel and Home Owner Housing Panel, as well as transferring work which is currently dealt with in the Sheriff Court system into the new chamber.

The housing tribunal will have a two tier structure.?

We are often asked - is rent in advance a tenancy deposit? In the English case of Johnson and Ors v Old, Mrs Old paid 6 months rent in advance. Mrs Old subsequently claimed as her defence to repossession proceedings that the advance payment constituted a deposit and should therefore have been paid into a tenancy deposit scheme.

The definition of a deposit under English law is similar to Scots Law, namely:-

"any money intended to be held . . . as security for

(a)

In January 2015, Sheriff Wood heard three rent arrear actions in which clients sought decree for eviction, payment and expenses. Despite the tenants being represented and submitting various explanations for non-payment, Sheriff Wood was satisfied that it was reasonable to grant decree in all three cases. All three cases were appealed to the Sheriff Principal. Here is why eviction appeals are not second chances!

Glasgow West Housing Association Ltd v Danuta Harasimowicz, was one of the cases appealed to the Sheriff Principal and concerned the

So just what are parental rights and responsibilities? Parents have the responsibility to look after their children:

- to help them to be healthy

- encourage their growth, development and welfare

- to ensure attendance at school and an opportunity to develop to their full potential

Parents have the responsibility and the right to say how their children should be brought up. This includes:

• being in charge and saying what they can and cannot do until they are 16;
• providing advice and guidance until 18;

An opinion was given in a case before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which will interest a number of our clients who have workers who travel regularly as part of their role.?The Working Time Directive (the Directive), defines "working time" as any period during which the worker is working, is at the employer's disposal and is carrying out his activity or duties. The Directive defines "rest period" as meaning any period which is not working time. The Directive is implemented in UK law

The loss of a loved one can leave families facing a period of financial hardship but there can be?financial support following bereavement .

The State offers death benefits which could make things easier. There are currently three potential benefits available - Bereavement Payment, Bereavement Allowance & Widowed Parents Allowance.

Bereavement Payment:

If your spouse or civil partner has died you may be able to eligible for a Bereavement Payment. This is a one-off, tax-free, lump-sum payment of ?2,000.

This is available to those under

A question which I am often asked is, "how do we deal with an employee who has raised a counter grievance during disciplinary proceedings?" This is a common occurrence and an issue which many employers are faced with.

Having received notification that they are subject to disciplinary proceedings, many employees react to this news by raising a counter grievance. This grievance could relate to a number of things including the disciplinary process itself or to a completely separate matter. However, unlike grievances which are raised

I recently began my traineeship with TC Young. I have joined the busy court department and I am enjoying working as a trainee solicitor. Although I have only been at TC Young for a short time, I feel that I have learnt a lot already.

TC Young offers a unique experience compared to other firms of its size, they do not move their trainees around departments in 6 month slots and my entire traineeship will be spent within the court department. This will allow me

Her step-daughter Kim Kardashian had hoped to be the one to break the internet? but Caitlyn Jenner's well-publicised photo shoot with Vanity Fair magazine, her first magazine shoot as a woman, allowed her to trump her famous offspring for that title. Are there implications of employment issues with gender reassignment?

The great news following this article, was the outpouring of public support for Jenner and her family. We look at the employment law implications for employers of individuals going through gender reassignment, as well for

Solar panels are becoming a more familiar sight across Scotland. Current planning permission regulations exist to make installing solar panels and?renewable technologies simple. For most domestic properties formal planning permission is not required if certain criteria are met, namely:-

• Panels don?t protrude by more than one metre of the roof edge, any outside wall of the house nor protrudes further than the highest point of the roof (which includes any chimney)
• The property is not a listed building
• The property is not in a conservation

The Hague Convention on the civil aspects of International Parental Child Abduction 1980 regulates the international relocation of children. However, when parents are planning on moving abroad with children they often overlook the Hague Convention or think that it will not apply to them. Do you need the consent of the other parent? What happens if you have moved abroad and then want to return to Scotland but the other parent doesn't?

• If you are separated or divorced, what should you do before moving abroad

Summer is almost upon us and, for residents of Edinburgh, there are few better ways to spend a sunny evening than to gather over a barbeque in The Meadows or to hack a small ball around the Bruntsfield Links. To lose the opportunity to enjoy these simple pleasures would be unthinkable, so the knowledge that these are two of a number of areas throughout Scotland that benefit from protection as ?common good land? is comforting. So what exactly is common good land in Scotland?

It

At the end of May 2015, sections of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 came into force, including the provision which makes the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts unenforceable.

A key part of the Conservative?s election campaign was a promise to ban clauses in zero hours contracts requiring exclusivity from the worker and they have been quick off the mark in bringing in this piece of legislation into force.

A zero hour contract is traditionally used for casual working, it

A number of our clients either have employees that work alone or are lone workers themselves. Therefore the question of safety regarding lone workers comes up a lot. This blog outlines the main safety tips for lone workers?for employers and workers to think about.

Working alone is not in itself against the law and will often be safe to do so.? It is important that employers understand what they need to do in order to comply with their legal duties towards lone workers under the

The Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015 came into force on 6 April and replace the 2007 Regulations. They govern health and safety in construction projects. Some of the main changes affecting ?clients? who are commissioning construction work are:

1. Clients? duties

The client must make suitable arrangements for managing a project which ensure that construction work will be carried out without risk to the health or safety of any person affected by the project. The management arrangements must include how clients will ensure that

The number of zero hours contracts has increased rapidly in the past few years. Although these types of contracts can bring benefits both to employers and workers, a recent employment tribunal case involved a zero hours contract worker and her fear of reporting allegations of sexual harassment, in case her hours of work were limited. So just what are a zero hours workers legal rights?

The claimant in S v. Britannia Hotels Ltd and another worked in a hotel bar on a zero hours contract.?

In October 2014, the Scottish Government published their first consultation on the introduction of new tenancies for the private rented sector. Receiving over 2,500 responses from parties including tenants, landlords, letting-agents and other organisations, the Scottish Government have now issued a second consultation paper on?private rented sector tenancies.

The new consultation paper amends, and in some cases, builds upon the initial proposals outlined in the previous consultation by drawing on responses received.

Unchanged Proposals:

• Removal of the ?No-Fault? Ground

? Any Scottish Government Bill going

According to a recent study, 50% of married men find their mother-in-law attractive. As unlikely as that seems, it perhaps comes as no surprise that a significant number of marriage breakdowns occur when one spouse engages in an extra marital relationship with another man or woman. We are often told - my spouse has cheated on me! Our clients then want to know what they can do.

The questions we are often asked by clients reflect their hurt and anger at this emotionally difficult time.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 replaced the Distance Selling Regulations & Door Step Selling Regulations.? They make it an obligation for ?traders? to give ?consumers? certain information. Do your management agreements meet consumer contracts regulations?

From 13 June 2014, all distance, off-premises and on-premises contracts made will be subject to the 2013 Regulations. Contracts which pre-exist 13 June 2014, are governed by Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer?s Home or Place

As we have discussed in recent blogs, 1^st April marks the first day of the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) coming in to force in Scotland. LBTT replaces Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of property in Scotland.

SDLT remains in force for the rest of the UK.

The threshold for paying LBTT on residential property purchases has been set at ?145,000 meaning no LBTT would be due on any purchase under this value. The threshold for SDLT is ?125,000.

In the case of? Tenzin v Russell & Clark the landlords appealed to the Sheriff Principal against a decision to hold them liable to pay their tenant three times the deposit taken, having failed to lodge the deposit in a?tenancy deposit?scheme. At the Appeal, Sheriff Principal Stephen upheld the previous decision and deemed the penalty reasonable to promote compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

Following Sheriff Principal Stephen?s decision, Russell and Clark appealed further to the Inner House of the Court of

This blog will briefly look at the obligation on employers in?making reasonable workplace adjustments for any employees with a disability.

The definition of disability is found in Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 and states that a person has a disability if:

1. they have physical or mental impairment; and
2. the impairment has a substantial and long term adverse affect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments applies in recruitment and during all stages of

Issued under sections 13(4A) and 19B(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, the Scottish Government has?recently published guidance on mandatory electrical check requirements which shall come into force from 1^st December 2015.

The new requirements will apply to all Scottish privately rented properties covered by the Repairing Standard and will require landlords to have fixed wiring Electrical Installation Condition Report checks carried out at their properties at least every five years. Though the regulations will apply to all private tenancies, the fixed wiring check