Please see below an invite to Magrath’s Question Time – an opportunity for you to put questions about topical HR and employment issues to a panel of lawyers, business executives and HR personnel.

Question Time will take place at our offices on Thursday 17  November 2011 at 6.30pm and will be followed by a drinks reception. We do hope that you will be able to join us for both Question Time and the reception, but if you are unable to attend Question Time please do feel free to join us for the reception afterwards.

Please pass this invitation to colleagues that you feel may be interested – but do book early as places are limited. Please email Samantha.Randolph@magrath.co.uk to reserve your place.

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Well…it seems to depend on who you listen to and what you read. Numerous organisations are taking advantage of the increased footfall; hosting events to truly show to visitors what NZ has to offer. However whilst initial estimates suggest that overseas visitors’ spending will be in the hundreds of millions it is reported that overall NZ may financially lose out. There are still tickets to be sold, so perhaps it is time for us all to pack our bags and head off to Aotearoa to show our support!

I think we have all been in a situation where we have spent hours either on the telephone to booking agents or ploughing our way through online flight or holiday booking forms to be confronted at the end, having budgeted our holiday and worked out what we can and can’t afford, with additional charges.  These can take many forms; whether it be the ability to get on an aeroplane first, have more space in front of our seats, or be permitted to take luggage on our holiday, but the one type of charge that seems more prolific across the holiday booking industry is the debit card surcharge.  There is nothing more frustrating than finding out that the cost of your holiday does not include the amount you have to pay for the pleasure of paying for the holiday in the first place.

Rescue comes from the consumer group Which? who are currently pressurising the Government to ban travel companies from being able to impose these grossly unreasonable surcharges on travel bookings.

As the summer draws to an end and the cold and wet weather has now taken over (although we question whether it actually ever stopped) it is probably a little too late for any changes to bring any positive result to those of us holidaying before the end of the year.  However, there is hope that, by this time next year we will be a little closer to paying the price advertised.

Mr Jobs was on medical leave from January 2011, and he underwent a liver transplant earlier this year due to suffering from pancreatic cancer.  The illness and recovery meant he could no longer fulfil his duties and therefore resigned, however, he will still be involved with Apple as the Chairman.

Mr Jobs informed the Board that he will “look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role”. In response, an Apple board member said “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company.” A fitting tribute to a worthy and outstanding individual.

We have no doubt that customers will continue to pledge their allegiance to the company, especially as the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 will be released…just in time for Christmas.  Now, who has spotted Christmas decorations in the shops already?

Figures suggest that 888 people have been arrested across the capital, with a number of Police Officers being attacked, not to mention the numerous homes and business that were damaged. The riots started after the fatal shooting of Mark Duggen by Police on Thursday, 4 August 2011.

The question for many homeowners and businesses now is whether their Property and/or Business Interruption insurance will be valid. The chances are that they will be, however all other terms of the agreement will need to be complied with before any insurance company pays out. No doubt property owners will make the most of the riots by increasing rent due to the lack of alternative premises, negotiations are likely to favour the lessor in these circumstances, however it is still important to ensure that any commercial agreements businesses enter into are favourable and beneficial to both parties. We can help you achieve those aims. #londonriots #riotscleanup

Sam Smiths have a trademark over their depiction of the Yorkshire Rose used on the labelling of their products. Cropton also used a depiction of the Yorkshire Rose on similar product labels and Sam Smith took legal action against Cropton for breach of their trademark protection and passing off.

Now, if you were asked to place a bet on whether or not you thought a court case defending said trademark between Cropton Brewery (established in 1984) and Sam Smith (established in the early eighteenth century) would be successful, we would anticipate that you, like us, would put your money on Sam Smith. You would have been right to do so, although possibly not as right as you may expect.

This is an interesting case for several reasons.  First, it shows that determination can get you quite a long way given that Cropton were successful on a number of points (initially one would think Cropton’s actions were gutsy, but surely futile, given that the marks used by Cropton and by Sam Smith in the opinion of the writer of this article appear very similar).  It is also an interesting example of the different matters a Court will take into account (in addition to the actual look of the logo/mark) when considering a breach of trademark, such as geographical location and how vigorously the Claimant defended their right to the trademark.

Although this matter may have cost Cropton Brewery highly in costs, perhaps the PR it has generated in bringing this small Yorkshire brewery to the attention of the media will more than compensate for this….