Lonely Pensioner Leaves £500,000 Estate To His Builder Because Of His Act Of Kindness

A random act of kindness cannot just change someone else’s life, but your life too,state Curry Popeck,Harrow solicitors. This statement will become clearer from this unbelievable case involving a pensioner and a builder, who was left £500,000 in the pensioner’s will, after refusing to take payment from him for cleaning out his gutters.

Mr. Butcher, 75, a bachelor and a lonely pensioner from North London changed his will to disinherit his cousin and two family friends and left his entire estate, worth £500,000, to a kind builder who refused to take payment from the pensioner for cleaning out his gutters.

The previous beneficiaries of Mr. Butcher’s will claimed that Mr. Butcher was unaware of the contents of his will and did not approve. However, they failed to provide evidence in support of their claim, which led to the court upholding the will in favour of the builder, Mr. Sharp.

Mr. Butcher and Mr. Sharp met in 2009 and remained friends even after the gutter cleaning job was completed. Mr. Sharp would occasionally visit Mr. Butcher and would talk to him about sport and other shared interests. Mr. Butcher’s family however claimed that Mr. Butcher hated sport!

The Judge found Mr. Sharp to be a truthful and straightforward man and did not find any of the circumstances surrounding the signing of the will to be suspicious. The courts eventually sided with Mr. Sharp, as they considered the Will to be made of Mr. Butcher’s own volition and with full mental capacity.

According to the experienced solicitors at Curry Popeck,law firm in Harrow, "wills can be made leaving your entire assets to the person of your choice, however it is possible, following your demise, for a person to challenge your will. Wills can be challenged on many grounds, including lack of mental capacity when the will was made, and many others under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.”

It is therefore very important to have your will made by a solicitor who is a will expertso they can advise you on the best ways to prepare this to prevent any challenge. The solicitor you choose may also be able to provide evidence, if necessary, to show that you did have full mental capacity at the time the will was being made, that you understood what you were doing and also that you were not being forced or coerced into making the will.

Your will is one of the most important documents you make as it decides what will happen to your hard earned money and assets after your death. So professional advice is essential and can make a significant difference to any provision made for those close to you. 

Contact Curry Popeck, one of the leadingHarrow law firms. They can provide you with extensive knowledge and expertise across a wide range of areas pertaining to wills and lasting powers of attorney.

To schedule an appointment, visit-http://www.currypopeck.com/

Employers spying on employees’ emails – right or wrong?

In a recent news article, it was stated that employers have been given the right to read employees’ emails and other electronic communications. An important question that arises is: can an employer legally monitor your emails at work? What do the expert solicitors have to say? According to Curry Popeck,London solicitors, even if your employer intends to monitor your e-mails or internet use, it is their duty to inform you of this. This could be via your employment contract or employee handbook, and it should also be made clear the extent and type of private use that is allowed. If the matters are taken to court, the court takes into account all these factors, as happened in the case described below.

In the case in question, a Romanian employee was asked by his employer to create a Yahoo Messenger account, so that he could respond to enquiries from clients. An important point to be noted here is that the company had clearly written a rule that prevented employees from using company equipment for personal purposes.

The employer, on monitoring the employee’s communications found that he had been using it for personal reasons. However, the employee denied it. So a printout was produced by the employer as proof and the employee was eventually dismissed.

The employee claimed that his dismissal was unfair as his right to privacy had been breached by his employer. On carefully examining the facts and employment terms and conditions, it was found by the Romanian court that the employer was entitled to monitor the employee’s use of work computers to make sure that they were being used only for professional reasons.

The employee appealed unsuccessfully and so he brought his claim to the European Court of Human Rights. He pointed to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to which everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence.

The Court said the breach was out of the question. Romanian employment law struck a fair balance between the employee’s right to privacy and the interests of the employer.

It further said that it is not unreasonable for an employer to ensure that the employees are completing their professional tasks during working hours. So, the case was dismissed.

According to the employment law experts at Curry Popeck,law firm in Harrow, an employer’s right to monitor an employee’s emails is governed by the Data Protection Act 1998, according to which if an employer monitors the use of e-mail of his employees and collects their personal data, then he/she must tell the employees how he intends to use the information and then use it for that purpose only. 

If you think that your employer has illegally monitored your e-mails or if you are dealing with any issue pertaining to employment, contact Curry Popeck, one of the leadingHarrow law firms. With the extensive knowledge and experience of their employment experts, you can rest assured that the recommended course of action will help you achieve the best outcome for your case.

To know more about your rights as an employee or to schedule an appointment with them, visit-http://www.currypopeck.com/

A company has the right to take action against a misbehaving employee

A company runs on the wheels of discipline, rules and regulations. Everyone in a company, whether, it is the employer or an employee, has to follow a certain code of conduct. While normally, most of the employees are well behaved, some have a propensity for using aggressive behavior against others. The main aspect of having employment law is to ensure that every employee is working in a safe environment, state CurryPopeck,solicitors in Harrow. If you are an employee or an employer, you have to obey the employment law within your area. If an employee fails to act appropriately and behaves in an undesirable manner then the employer has the right to take action against that employee as per the UK’s employment laws, as happened in this case in which a company sacked an employee involved in a fracas:

The case involved two employees who attended a corporate social event and were told that they would need to maintain good behaviour throughout the event. However, they began drinking and started showing inappropriate behaviour. The two got involved in a fight, which soon took an ugly turn, resulting in one of them punching the other in the face.

The employee who was punched in the face, later sent text messages to his attacker, threatening to take revenge. However, he did not carry out the threat.

The company held disciplinary proceedings against both employees. The attacker was sacked but the one who merely threatened was given a final written warning.

The Employment Tribunal held that the dismissal of the attacker was unfair stating that there had been inconsistency in the way the two men were treated.

That decision was later overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which held that the law recognised that there may be a range of reasonable ways in which an employer may react to circumstances that give rise to dismissal of an employee.

According to Curry Popeck solicitors in Harrow, the employer’s treatment of the case fell within the band of reasonable responses as the actual punch in the face was different to a mere threat that was never carried out.

Employment law is a rapidly changing area requiring expert knowledge and advice. The team of expert Employment Solicitors at Curry Popeck specialises in all aspects of employment law and strives to help employers, business organisations and employees in all matters pertaining to employment law. 

For bespoke advice on any employment law issue please, contact CurryPopeck, one of the most experienced Harrow law firms in Middlesex. Their professional solicitors have more than 250 years’ experience of delivering clear legal and commercial advice to clients in different areas of law includingCorporate Law, Employment Law, Family Law, Dispute Resolution, Property Law and Sports and Entertainment Law, which has made Curry Popeck one of the most reputed and experienced 

To schedule an appointment, visit their website-http://www.currypopeck.com/or simply call them at-020 8907 2000.