Motor Trade Legal Articles

“As we are at the start of a new academic year, I am taking on a new apprentice. I’ve always employed apprentices using our standard contract of employment that I use for all of my employees.  I’ve heard it is very difficult to legally terminate an apprenticeship, but I’ve heard that in England & Wales […]

Brace!  Brace!  Ready or not, new vehicles are going to start coming with a whole lot more tech packed into them.   In this article, we’re going to look at the EU’s new Vehicle General Safety Regulation (GSR2), Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, which rolled out on 7 July 2024.  While the UK has not adopted these […]

Once upon a time, ADR, like mediation, was merely an “alternative” to Courts. It was an entirely optional process that gave parties flexibility.  ‘Times they are a changing’, as Bob Dylan might say. It has long been true that a Court could deny a successful party their costs if they unreasonably refused to participate in […]

Last week we dealt with some of the limitations placed on businesses who employ Young Workers, i.e. those workers who are over school leaving age (16 by the end of the summer holidays)  but under 18.  So now we know how these regulations apply to Young Workers, what do they say for everybody else? Working […]

“I am thinking of taking on a school leaver as an Apprentice but I’ve been told that their working hours are limited and they can only work 4 days a week, is this true?” …Er,  well, sort of. The law sets maximum working hours and mandatory rest for all workers, including apprentices. That said, there […]

“My employee has been arrested and charged for assaulting a member of the public.  It was outside of working hours but I don’t want to keep the employee now I know about what they did.  Can I dismiss them?” What is his or her length of service?  If the employee has under 2 years service, then the procedure is […]

It is established law that when deciding on a proposed pool for selection in redundancy, employers have a reasonable degree of latitude.  Case law generally supports the fact that provided the employer has applied its mind to the selection pool, and the proposed pool is reasonable, then Tribunals should not really be disturbing that reasonable view […]

As a motoring business if you lend out courtesy cars there will be times when those cars incur fines, parking charges, Penalty Charge Notices (PCN’s) or even criminal motoring offences such as speeding. It is important that members are familiar with issues raised by each of the above and the different duties that are required […]

There has always been some debate regarding the rules that govern contracts that deal with both the supply of goods and the supply of services, i.e. the supply and fitting of parts to a vehicle. If a member supplied and fitted goods to a vehicle is that a contract for goods, a contract for services […]

Business rates are currently a fact of life and can represent a large percentage of regular business outgoings. Unfortunately, these have likely gone up from 1 April 2024. Here is what you need to know. Background All business properties have a ‘rateable value’ assigned to it by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), who are part […]