WBW Solicitors

Becoming a director of a company can be a significant milestone, but it also brings legal responsibilities. Whether you are setting up a new business, joining an established company or becoming a director of a family business, it is essential to understand what is expected of you from day one. Here are five key things every new company director should know. 1. Understand your legal duties Directors owe a number of statutory duties to the company under the Companies Act 2006.

WBW Solicitors celebrates winning the President's Award and recognising colleagues honoured at the Cornwall Law Society Awards in Truro. Congratulations all.

The Fair Work Agency (FWA) officially launched on 7 April 2026, bringing together several existing employment enforcement bodies under one roof. Predictably, its arrival has generated concern among HR teams about increased inspections, tougher penalties and greater scrutiny. But before anyone starts panic-updating every policy in sight, it is worth remembering one important point: the FWA does not create new employment rights. Instead, it changes how existing rights are enforced.

Employment tribunal claims have been steadily rising - and so has the backlog. Recent figures show a significant increase in outstanding cases, with many claims now taking well over a year to reach a final hearing. In Q3 2025, the employment tribunal received 13,000 single claims and disposed of only 5,700 single claim cases. There were 58,000 single claim cases in the open caseload at the end of December 2025. That figure will be higher now.

A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case is a useful reminder that employers should not assume an employee is not disabled simply because occupational health has not said so in clear terms. In Cunningham v BBC, the employee had type 2 diabetes, which caused significant tiredness. The BBC knew about her condition and had made some changes to her shifts. However, it continued to require her to work a late shift that finished at 12.30am.

Neurodiversity Awareness Week took place in March 2026. Its aim is to shift how organisations understand and support neurodivergent individuals because it has clear legal implications. Public debate around rising diagnoses of conditions such as ADHD and autism continues, with some questioning whether these conditions are being over-diagnosed.

Both existing trustees and people considering establishing a trust should be aware that there have been changes to the regulatory framework around UK trusts which could affect them. As part of legislative efforts to bring trusts into tax transparency and anti-money laundering frameworks, the duties of trustees have been extended to include more administrative and reporting work, including requirements to report to HMRC.

It can be particularly distressing after the death of a loved one to find that although they made a will to ensure that their nearest and dearest would inherit their estate, the will contains an error which means that it does not divide the estate as the testator intended. If you find yourself in this situation, there are a number of potential solutions which may resolve the issue. Construction and Rectification It is possible to make an application to court to construe or rectify the will.

The BBC has reported on the case of Christine Harverson, where fraudsters produced a false will for Mrs Harverson and tried to claim her estate, at the expense of her nearest relatives who stood to inherit the estate under the intestacy rules.

Buying a property is an important milestone. While every transaction is different, the legal process broadly follows a series of key stages. Below, we outline the main steps involved in the conveyancing purchase process so you know what to expect from instruction through to registration. Timescales can vary depending on the chain, title issues, lender requirements, searches and responses from third parties. 1. Start of Matter At the outset of your purchase: We provide a quotation for our fees.