The Darwin Gray Legal Lens | September 2023

Welcome to the latest edition of the Darwin Gray Legal Lens. In this edition, we will be delving into a recent development in the world of property law: the RAAC concrete scandal. We will also be providing some top tips relating to employment law and intellectual property law, answering some Frequently Asked Questions, and introducing to you some of our people.

The RAAC concrete scandal – its legal implications for commercial property owners and occupiers

By Si?n F?n

RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) was used in the construction of buildings between the 1950s and the 1990s. It is known to have been used in public buildings, but there are concerns for its prevalence in privately owned property too. RAAC is a lightweight material and is generally cheaper and easier to use than standard concrete.

What is the concern?

RAAC’s durability is poorer than standard concrete, with a lifespan of 30 years. RAAC can, therefore, face structural failure.

As RAAC was used between the 1950s and 1990s, it will now be past its lifespan. Many buildings are, therefore, in danger of collapse.

The Legal Implications…

For privately owned property, it is harder to locate which properties were built using RAAC. The prevalence of RAAC in private property could remain undiscoverable until defects cause catastrophes. These owners hold a duty to ensure the structural repairs of buildings under the Defective Premises Act 1972, the Building Safety Act 2022, Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 as well as a duty of care to tenants. Parties will also need to consider their obligations under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 which requires occupiers of premises to be responsible for the safety of their visitors.

What should you consider doing now?

1. Inspect and procure professional reports on the safety of your building stock.
2. Review all architect drawings, building specifications and professional reports to identify any further RAAC issues.
3. Consider whether to urgently implement delayed remedial work .
4. Check your insurance policies. If RAAC is found, contact your insurers to inform them of the issues.

If RAAC is found, its condition should be investigated and replaced if unsafe. Though this may be costly.

What considerations are there for private landlords?

If the owners are responsible for structural repairs to a building, they should immediately seek legal advice and consider claiming against their insurers or any developers, depending on the situation.

If the tenant is responsible under the lease, you should seek immediate advice about undertaking the works and recovering the cost under the service charge or maintenance provision.

How are property buyers and tenants impacted by RAAC?

Going forward, property purchasers may need to enquire and ask specific queries relating to the prevalence of RAAC.

For new commercial tenants taking on new leases, they may want to consider ensuring that structural repair is not made their responsibility, especially if the building was built between the 1950s and 1990s.

For tenants of existing leases with probably RAAC issues, they may need to undertake a safety check to ensure the safety of its employees.

What about developers?

Developers and the construction sector could face liability under the Defective Premises Act 1972 for unsafe properties they developed between the 1950s and 1990s, because of the Building Safety Act 2022. Any properties completed after September 1993 could now still come under the 30-year limitation period. Therefore, claims may be brought against many parties who had a part in the initial design and delivery of these properties. Developers cannot rely on the fact that any claims against them would by now have expired.

Developers might consider seeking legal advice now to consider any steps they could take and to be in the best position to defend any claim, if one was to arise.

Is doing nothing an option?

Doing nothing is not an option for any party involved in the initial development of a building or a current property owner. Acting now is essential in order to limit liability.

Read the article on our website: The RAAC concrete scandal - its legal implications for commercial property owners and occupiers | Darwin Gray

Employment

Is unlimited holiday a good idea?

By Bríd Price

Many employers are looking at new ways of attracting and retaining staff. One of the latest trends is to offer staff unlimited annual leave. Is this a good idea? And what are the legal considerations?

Read our top legal tips here: Is unlimited holiday a good idea? | Darwin Gray

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property: the value in protecting your brand

By Siobhan Williams

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to protecting your company’s intellectual property rights. By failing to enforce your trade marks, or by accepting another party’s use of your trade marks without a licence, it not only weakens your rights but might prevent you from enforcing them altogether.

Read how to protect your IP: Intellectual Property: the value in protecting your brand | Darwin Gray

Browse more of our insights here: Insights | Darwin Gray

Whether on behalf of yourself or on behalf of a business or organisation, you may have some legal queries you need answered. Here are our most popular questions and answers written by our expert solicitors.

1. What happens once a company enters administration or liquidation?

If a company is facing financial trouble, directors should seek advice early on regarding what the insolvency of the company will mean for them and what personal liabilities they may face as a result of it, so they can protect themselves as much as possible.

Once a company enters administration or liquidation, the insolvency practitioner appointed to take control of the company will investigate the events and circumstances leading up to the insolvency and have a wide range of powers to take action against the directors if they have acted inappropriately.

Read more about what happens when a company faces insolvency: https://www.darwingray.com/directors-duties/

2. How important is it to have a whistleblowing policy?

It is very important that your company has a whistleblowing policy. There are some circumstances where it won’t be appropriate to deal with issues raised by a worker through a grievance process – e.g. because the worker wants to raise an issue anonymously without the formalities of a grievance process.

Having a whistleblowing procedure or policy can provide a safe and clear route to deal with serious issues that are raised by workers. By being alerted to these issues early, an employer can take proper steps to resolve the situation, potentially prevent longer-term reputational damage, and minimise risk to them.

Read more about whistleblowing here: https://www.darwingray.com/whistleblowing/

Let us know in the comments if you have any legal questions you'd like answered. We will do our best to answer them as soon as possible.

See our other FAQ's: Commercial Legal Services | Darwin Gray

Meet our Team - Owen John

Owen John is a highly skilled and experienced employment lawyer. He is a Partner in the firm’s widely-regarded employment team and advises employers and employees on a wide range of employment law issues.

He has extensive experience of bringing and defending complex and high-value Employment Tribunal claims, and has been involved in several successful and high-profile discrimination and unfair dismissal claims reported widely in the national media.

He also regularly advises well-known and large-scale employers in the private, public, and third sectors on employment law issues as diverse as contractual disputes, disciplinaries and grievances, changing terms and conditions and dismissals. He also advises on restructures, discrimination, drafting contractual documents, TUPE and data protection. Owen also draws on his wealth of experience to advise and assist individuals and senior executives with their employment disputes.

Owen is very experienced at delivering training on employment law and HR, to clients and to wider audiences, and is a regular contributor to the national media, on television and radio, on employment law and HR matters.

A fluent Welsh-speaker, he regularly advises clients through the medium of Welsh and is one of the co-founders of Cyfreithwyr.com , a first-of-its kind Welsh language legal service.

Meet the rest of our DG team: Our People Archive | Darwin Gray

We hope this edition has helped you in some way. Whether you are interested in commercial property, employment law, intellectual property, or even wills and probate, subscribe to our monthly newsletter to delve deeper into the world of law.

If you have any queries about anything discussed above, feel free to send us a message, leave a comment, fill out our contact us form , or call 02920 829 100 for a free initial chat.

You can also visit our website on www.darwingray.com .

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