Questions tagged [united-kingdom]
For questions specific to the United Kingdom. Note that the UK does not have a common legal system across its jurisdictions - consider using [scotland] or [england-and-wales] or [northern-ireland].
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At what point can you walk out of a restaurant if they make you wait to pay the bill?
The other day, I ate at a restaurant; the food was fine, and I got to paying the bill. Their payment system went down. They couldn't accept cards; only cash, and I didn't have the cash on me for the ...
68
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2
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Is it legal for a company to offer free coding courses to women only?
A company is offering free coding courses to women and non-binary individuals only.
Is this kind of sex-based discrimination legal?
68
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2
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Is it legal for a company to claim 'our phones lines are unusually busy' all day every day?
In the UK it's become usual when attempting to contact any public facing organisation by phone to hear the phrase
"our phones lines are unusually busy right now, please be patient your
call is ...
66
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13
answers
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Can a law protect itself?
Can a law protect itself? For example, could it be written in to a law that, under no circumstances, it should be amended or abolished (a) for a fixed duration or (b) indefinitely?
I am most ...
60
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Does GDPR include UK customers, or not anymore?
Now that Brexit happened, does GDPR include UK customers, or not anymore?
43
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3
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Is it breach of contract if dismissed before starting work?
I've been dismissed by a company I was due to start a job with, just a few days before the job was meant to start. They have no intention of providing me with any compensation despite the fact I ...
43
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4
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Could I write a "Parry Hotter" novel?
There is a question over at the Writing SE which was wondering whether J. K. Rowling would consent to somebody writing a Harry Potter sequel. The answer was, predictably in hindsight, "you would ...
42
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Landlord gives 4 months notice to the rental agency which fails to give notice to the tenants
I am renting and I have been given a 1 month and half notice from my rental agency. In UK at the moment the minimum notice is 4 months. The landlord actually says that he gave the agency full 4 ...
39
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Can a soldier refuse to carry a weapon?
During WWII, Desmond Doss joined the US Army as a combat medic. Due to his religious belief in nonviolence, he refused to carry a weapon and was eventually allowed to do so, going on to win various ...
38
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Legality of penalising Russian Oligarchs
What is the legal basis for penalising individual Russian Oligarchs?
Having ill-gotten wealth and dubious friends is hardly unique to Russia, and whilst I can understand with the desire of the Western ...
37
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3
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Can women also go shirtless in public legally?
Do women have the same rights as men to walk on the beach or sidewalk topless where men are also walking bare-chested without being discriminated against? If a woman is arrested or asked to leave by ...
37
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Is it stealing if three books are allowed to be taken for free and I take more?
There is a charity shop, which sells nothing but gives books away for free. They do accept optional donations of money, and any books donations so they have more books to give away for free.
Upon ...
37
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7
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Could a British monarch "go full dictator" if they wish to do so?
Queen Elizabeth II was generally nice and didn't abuse her power. But could her successor do otherwise and "go full dictator", in theory? Would he have enough legal powers to do so? ...
35
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Pregnant spouse slipped abortion pills unknowingly. What would the legal ramifications be?
Suppose a partner to a pregnant woman gave her an abortion pill which successfully aborted the pregnancy. Suppose that this was done in a non-violent way, unbeknownst to the woman.
One could argue ...
35
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5
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Do the UK TV licensing rules disregard innocent until proven guilty?
I don't have a TV Licence. I use Netflix and Amazon Prime. In the UK you have to state that you don't have a TV Licence and sign a declaration to that effect every 2 years (unless you then get a ...
35
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3
answers
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Would it be legal to supply an item that deliberately stops working after the guarantee expires?
I have TV that failed about a week after the 3 year guarantee expired.
Obviously this is annoying, and I'm back to using a 15 year old TV that I dug out from the attic.
Realistically, this failure so ...
34
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1
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Can Prince Harry wear the uniforms of his former units?
It's been in the news recently that Prince Harry has been banned from wearing a military uniform at the events surrounding the late Queen's funeral, since he was stripped of his honorary military ...
33
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2
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Do the police have to kick someone out the house if the owner demands it?
I phoned the police to kick my in laws out the house after they started to take my furniture when they were only meant to take theirs (splitting up with wife). They came but refused to kick them out ...
31
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Can an open source licence be revoked if it violates employer's IP?
Suppose a developer's contract says that all intellectual property (IP) rights to her code belong to her UK employer. While employed, she develops a library and open-sources it under the Apache 2.0 ...
30
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2
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Is it an offence to photograph a seahorse?
Britain is about to undertake a mass sea-grass survey and BSAC have released this guidance on what to do if you see a sea horse.
This paragraph stood out to me:
If you take a photo DO NOT put it on ...
30
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2
answers
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How can the UK government fine itself?
In this news story the UK government has been fined £500,000 but who is doing the fining? Is the government fining itself?
30
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2
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Accessing public CCTV footage about you
Near me there is a private property which has CCTV aimed away from their property and towards public walkways. I walk past these cameras on a daily basis and they're literally inches away from my face....
28
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3
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If applied in the United States, what is the most obvious legally functional difference between the British and American "mirandizing" phrase?
In the United States, police must read your rights regarding police questioning as shown below1:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of ...
27
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3
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Why doesn't everyone in UK just pay with exempted gifts?
From what I've grasped from the gov.uk website,
you can gift as much as you like to anyone without paying any tax, as long as you don't die in the next 7 years. So why doesn't everyone just gift ...
27
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6
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Landlord wants access to CCTV footage after we leave and possibly in realtime while we live there
Not sure if this question belongs here, so apologies in advance if I have made a mistake.
My landlord has asked me to purchase a CCTV camera to be placed above the front door. We have had a few ...
27
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1
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What was the original idea behind the practice of courtroom wigs?
English judges and barristers have for a long time had to wear wigs. What was the intended implied message by the object aesthetic? What was the look of a judge or advocate wearing that type of ...
26
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4
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Does consumer protection cover price changes at point of sale?
Just now I booked a flight on booking.com in the following sequence:
The flight was listed as £460
I went through the entire purchase procedure and entered bank details
I went through 2FA to ...
25
votes
9
answers
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Is the EU Settlement Scheme legal?
I moved to the UK 20 years ago when I was a 14-year-old child. I settled here - studied, worked, started my own business, had kids and so on.
Because of the EU membership, I was guaranteed equal ...
25
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5
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Is there a legal risk in giving emergency first aid?
There is a commonly held belief that an unqualified member of the public takes a legal risk in giving emergency first aid in case the patient dies or is injured as a result. This theory invariably ...
25
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2
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It is really illegal to plug in a device to watch BBC iPlayer or Live TV in a Starbucks?
Please note: it is unlawful to plug in your device in our stores if you are watching live TV or downloading or watching programmes on demand on BBC iPlayer.By using the WiFi, you agree to the terms ...