News

Find out what’s happening at Sackers. Our News section provides information about recent work, press comment and media coverage, and what our people are doing.

Latest News

Informed choices for working and saving

Building further on the aims set out in the Green Paper and the “Action Plan” for encouraging individuals to save for their retirement, the Government published its latest pensions paper on 3 February 2004. The main focus of...

Part-timers – the TUPE twist

The latest decision in the Preston part-timer saga was handed down by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) in December 2003, with the EAT reversing the earlier decision of the Employment Tribunal on the impact of TUPE on...

Opra Update 5 – relaxing the rules on reporting late payment of contributions

As part of its aim to adopt a more risk-based approach to dealing with breaches of the Pensions Act, on 23 January 2004 Opra announced a relaxation in its requirements for trustees reporting late payment of contributions by employers....

Access to occupational pension schemes for self-employed workers?

On 13 January 2004, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) essentially concluded in Allonby v Accrington & Rossendale College and others that a self-employed worker may be able to claim membership of a statutory occupational pension...

Unapproved group life assurance without capital gains tax

There has been a longstanding difficulty for employers wishing to arrange unapproved group life assurance. The employer can be subject to a tax charge on the “deemed gain” on the second and subsequent deaths. The Finance Act...

Pensions and Tax – to simplify or not to simplify?

The Government has just issued its latest consultation paper on tax simplification “Simplifying the taxation of pensons: the Government’s proposals”. The paper was published immediately after Gordon Brown’s...

Venables v Hornby – pensions victory for early retiree

The Inland Revenue is inherently suspicious of early retirement where employees, but in particular directors, carry on some form of reduced employment or office with the same employer. However, on 4 December 2003, the House of Lords...