A conveyancing chain is when there is more than one buyer and seller involved. For example, your seller is buying a house off someone else who is buying another house and the chain goes on.

The chain breaks when the buyer or seller is not relying on buying or selling another house such as a first-time buyer or someone purchasing a buy-to-let property.

The reason why conveyancing chains can cause a delay is that a buyer cannot buy a property without selling their current property, so the transactions are dependent on what happens within the chain.

A conveyancing solicitor is a legal professional that handles the legal transfer of residential property ownership from the seller to the buyer. The conveyancing solicitor will deal with all the steps of the conveyancing process including doing searches on the house, drafting amended title deeds, taking payment, and transferring funds to the required parties.

Conveyancing is the legal transfer of property ownership from one person to another.

The cost varies, dependent upon the particular area where the property is being purchased. The total cost of the search pack we provide is £195.00 and the solicitor will request an initial payment to cover the cost of these at the outset, when they are submitted. A seller is no longer required to provide searches.

The current maximum amount that can be gifted without triggering a tax charge is £3,000 per year.

Your solicitor will fully protect your interests and that of any lender on a purchase, to ensure that no adverse entries arise which could affect the property generally. Such matters would be revealed on the searches and the transaction would not proceed until any issues are resolved.

When contracts are exchanged, the completion date goes in the contract and is a fixed date for completion. At that time, the removal arrangements can be confirmed to the company. A suggested date given before exchange of contracts may be altered and the removal company may charge a fee for changing the date.

If there is an estate agent involved, the seller’s solicitor will telephone to arrange for the keys to be released, once all the purchase monies have been received. Your solicitor will arrange for the transfer of monies as early as possible on the day of completion, but if there is a long chain and monies are awaited, this may delay the time the keys are released.

If you are obtaining a mortgage, the lender will normally insure the property or allow you to do so, provided your own insurance arrangements are satisfactory to the lender and the property is fully covered.

The conveyancing process can take time to go through especially if you are part of a chain. Conveyancing solicitors are dealing with different clients at one time, so naturally, there will be some time taken to handle your case.

However, mostly, solicitors are waiting on information from third parties such as other solicitors, Land Registry, local authorities, estate agents, or mortgage companies which is why the process can seem slow.

If you are in a chain, the whole process can be slowed down because solicitors cannot act when they are waiting for something to happen further along the chain that is out of their control.

Part of the role of the conveyancing solicitor is to chase third parties for information so that they can do their job.

The general principle is that it is the buyer’s responsibility to be satisfied as to the general condition of a property purchased. Provided a buyer is not misled by the seller, he cannot complain after exchange of contracts and completion as to its condition. If a mortgage is being obtained, a valuer on behalf of the lender will inspect the property, but only usually to ensure that the value of the property is more than the amount borrowed. In practice, the same valuer, on payment of a fee, will carry out a more detailed report, which can be relied upon if you, as buyer, later discover a problem with the property.

Yes, it is possible to approach your employer on a “without prejudice” (off the record) basis to investigate whether they would be willing to negotiate the terms of your exit from the business. This may be an appropriate course of action if you:

are unhappy at work;
have received an unsatisfactory outcome to a grievance and feel unable to continue in the work environment;
face disciplinary action or performance management;
believe you may have grounds to bring a claim against your employer in the Employment Tribunal.

Yes.

Yes , in addition to compensation for loss of earnings , injury to feelings awards are available .

This will depend on the type of claim that you want to make and whether you are still “in time” to bring a claim.

The majority of employment claims are brought in the Employment Tribunal, although certain claims can also be brought in the County Court. Examples of potential claims that can be brought within the Tribunal system include:

Unfair Dismissal
Constructive Dismissal
Sex Discrimination
Disability Discrimination
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Gender Assignment Discrimination
Race Discrimination
Religion or Belief Discrimination
Age Discrimination
Unpaid Wages
Equal Pay
Unpaid Redundancy Pay Claims
Wrongful Dismissal

This is not an exhaustive list and there are also a number of other employment claims that can be brought in the Employment Tribunal, for example, TUPE claims, part-time worker regulations etc.

You can also make employment claims in the County Court however these claims are limited to breach of contract only. If you issue a claim at the County Court you will have to pay a court fee, which is based on the value of your claim. Fees are now payable in the Employment Tribunal and the size of the fee depends upon the type of claim.

Although you do not have to accept a Settlement Agreement offered by your employer, once you have signed the document, it is seen as full and final settlement of any potential claims you may have against your employer.

If all the required formalities are fulfilled, such agreements are legally binding agreement and cannot be revoked.

For these reasons it is a legal requirement that you receive independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor who is adequately insured.

Employees who were made redundant since 28th February 2020 can qualify if they are re-engaged by their former employer. However , there is no obligation on an employer to do this.

Yes, this must be offered and dealt with by someone more senior.

In most Employment Tribunal cases, there are strict three month/less one day time limits within which you can issue proceedings. These time limits usually begin to run from the termination date of your employment (unfair dismissal), date of your resignation (constructive dismissal) or from the incident of discrimination.

If you try and issue proceedings outside of this three month time limit, your claim will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

Exceptions to the three month time limit include cases regarding equal pay disputes and redundancy payment disputes when claims must be issued within six months.

Depends on age and length of service , see our calculator.

Unfortunately, there are no definite timeframes when bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal. As a guide, the tribunal states that simple cases should be concluded within nine months of issuing proceedings. However, the time frame is often dependant on which part of the country your case is being heard and the type of claim.

An employee can request this but the employer does not have to agree. It is the employer’s decision which employees to place on furlough leave. It is unclear whether refusing to place employees on furlough leave and making them redundant instead could amount to unfair dismissal.

You are not obliged to enter into a Settlement Agreement if you do not wish to do so. If you would like to negotiate the terms of the Settlement Agreement it is possible to make a counter offer. If negotiations are unsuccessful, depending upon the circumstances, the employee can decide whether they wish to issue a claim in the Employment Tribunal. The time limit for bringing such a claim is three months less one day from the date of termination/last act of discrimination. If the discussions regarding the Settlement Agreement are “off the record” they cannot usually be referred to in any legal proceedings.