Opinion

Scotland introduced a new private sector residential letting vehicle, known as the private residential tenancy (PRT), when the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force in December 2017. As part of that regime, a legal device was made available to those who had rented a propert

Sarah Gilzean considers how Long Covid fits into the existing equality framework. This time last year, just as we were coming to terms with life in a pandemic, another concerning illness was beginning to rear its head: Long Covid.

Richard Douglas-Home discusses the additional recommendations the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has made to the Chancellor for the simplification of Capital Gains Tax (CGT). In July 2020 the Chancellor requested that the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) carry out a review of Capital Gain

For over a year now, we have seen how coronavirus has had a vast impact on the construction industry - from disturbances to both the supply and production of materials needed for projects, to the suspension and closure of sites during lockdowns. A reliable and organised supply chain is crucial for t

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? debuted in 1998, and as we all know from the title, offered a cash prize of £1,000,000, the largest ever prize from a quiz show. Over the years, that cash prize has remained the same, with no adjustment for inflation. Inflation changes every year, increasing on a

Recently I came across the text of a lecture by Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division of the High Court in England and Wales. In 2019 he delivered the Baroness Butler-Sloss Family Law Lecture at Exeter University. His subject was the development in understanding by social work and j

Duncan Batchelor, Ralph Cox and Lyndsey Combe take a look at a recent IP case revolving around liability and the true party behind the litigation. The solvency or otherwise of the other party to a commercial dispute is a matter which can be of crucial importance when it comes to recovering cost

It was inevitable that the impact of the pandemic on the world’s economy would once again throw a spotlight on the revenue-raising potential of inheritance and gift taxes, writes Lindsay Bryce Mackay. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published

Sue Gilchrist considers the impact of the latest public health guidance on Scottish business.  Scottish business, just as much as our English counterparts, was switched on to review the UK government guidance issued on working safely during coronavirus in England.

We have a new justice secretary who, at least in one respect, bears a similarity to his predecessor: he has not made any public statement about the ill-fated prosecution of Whitehouse and Clark, the Rangers’ administrators. I wrote to Keith Brown on 19 May asking about a public inquiry and rec

Fiona McLeod provides a brief overview of the changes introduced by the Scottish Government's revised code of conduct for property factors. On 14 July 2021, the Scottish Government published a revised Code of Conduct for Property Factors setting out the minimum standards to which factors should adhe

Laura McKenna considers the importance for medical evidence to be accurate and relevant for employers considering the health of their employees. Whenever an employee's health is an issue, obtaining the right medical evidence is going to be crucial in ensuring a subsequent dismissal is both fair and

Susannah Donaldson considers the impact of the pandemic on gender pay gap figures reported by large construction businesses. The Covid-19 pandemic has somewhat skewed gender pay gap (GPG) figures reported by large construction businesses for the year 2020-21, with reductions in allowances, and

Steven Smart looks at historical and recent Court of Session cases on abuse and considers the 'difficult balancing act' needed to decide on these cases. Many well-publicised examples have brought to light the scale of historic child abuse. The Scottish Parliament sought to remove barriers to potenti

Andrew Scott takes a look at the value of search orders when enforcing intellectual property rights. Most companies are now aware of the value to their business of intellectual property (IP) and the various ways in which to protect those IP assets. However, protecting the asset is only half the stor