About LawTheGuide
The law is public. Understanding it should be too.
LawTheGuide explains everyday law in plain words — consumer rights, tenancy agreements, redundancy pay, limitation periods, court claims and more — in the order a matter unfolds, with every statement tied to its statute or precedent.
Every page states the jurisdiction before any rule or figure.
Why it exists
Legal information exists. It is just hard to use when you need it.
The official text is written for lawyers.
Statutes like the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or Employment Rights Act 1996 are arranged by article and section, not by the problem you are facing — tenancy dispute, redundancy, faulty goods, or limitation period.
Most explanations skip the order of things.
They explain statutory rights but not what to do first — whether to send a formal notice, when to file a court claim, how to enforce a judgment. The order matters as much as the rule.
Pages do not say where or when they apply.
English law, Scots law, and Northern Irish law differ significantly — especially in housing, family, and employment. A page without a jurisdiction and a review date cannot be trusted. Every LawTheGuide page states both.
Tools live far from the rules behind them.
A limitation period calculator is useful only next to the rule from the Limitation Act 1980 that sets the period. A late-payment interest calculator is useful only next to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 that sets the formula.
Our principles
Four commitments on every page.
Plain words first
A plain-language summary comes first, every time. The official text and article or section follow for those who want to check.
Every claim has a source
A statement of law without a citation does not go on the page. Each claim is tagged to a statute, article or binding decision.
Where and when, always
Every page states the jurisdiction, country, area reviewed and law-as-of date. A page without a location is clearly labelled as a general concept.
Honest about limits
We do not give general information as if it were advice. Every page tells you when general information stops being enough.
How a page is made
Five steps before anything is published, and one that never ends.
Read the source
We read the primary source: the statute, regulation or authoritative document, not other summaries.
Write it plainly
A writer turns each claim into plain language, citing the article or section as they go.
Cite every claim
Every statement on the page is tied to its source before the page leaves the draft stage.
Lawyer review
A lawyer qualified in the jurisdiction reads and approves the page. Their name goes on it.
Publishing with dates
The page shows the review date and law-as-of date. Both are visible and not hidden.
Keep watching
We monitor official sources for changes and flag any page whose cited instrument is amended until a reviewer clears it.
What to expect
What LawTheGuide does, and what it leaves to a lawyer.
We do
- Explain what the law says in general terms.
- Show the usual steps, documents and deadlines.
- Give you calculators that run privately in your browser.
- Link to the official text so you can check us.
We do not
- Advise on your individual case or predict its outcome.
- Represent you or act as your lawyer.
- Replace the official text, which always prevails.
- Collect what you type into search or the tools.
Sources and references
Where the law comes from.
LawTheGuide links to official primary sources, not to secondary summaries or private databases. Every claim on every page is tied to one of these sources by name, article and URL.
Legislation
Official publisher of UK primary and secondary legislation. Content is free to reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Provides stable URIs per section, an XML API, and Atom feeds for amendments. LawTheGuide links directly to this source for all England and Wales statute citations.
The official repository of European Union law, including directives, regulations and case law of the Court of Justice. Documents are reusable under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU. Cited where EU-derived law remains relevant to a jurisdiction.
Courts and procedure
Official guidance on how to start a claim, court fees, forms and procedure in England and Wales. Published by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). LawTheGuide uses this as the primary source for procedural steps and fee tables.
Published judgments from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court in England and Wales. Used where a court decision affects how a statute is interpreted in practice.
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute — free access to case law from UK courts and tribunals, going back decades. LawTheGuide links to BAILII for all case citations.
The final court of appeal for civil and criminal cases in the United Kingdom (except for Scottish criminal cases). Judgments are binding on all lower courts and published in full.
The rules governing civil proceedings in courts of England and Wales. Defines claim forms, service, allocation to small claims / fast track / multi-track, and enforcement. Core reference for all court claim guides.
Guidance and rights
Plain-language government guidance on employment, housing, consumer rights and other everyday legal topics. LawTheGuide reads this alongside the primary statute to understand how the law is applied in practice, and cites both.
The leading independent legal-information service in England and Wales. LawTheGuide does not copy Citizens Advice content, but uses it as a cross-reference when verifying that our plain-language explanations reflect common understanding.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service — the authoritative source for employment rights, workplace disputes, redundancy, dismissal, and Early Conciliation before an Employment Tribunal claim. Cited throughout employment law guides.
The UK's independent body upholding information rights. Primary source for data protection law (UK GDPR), subject access requests, and data breach guidance.
The independent body that reviews and recommends reform of the law of England and Wales. Consulted for background on areas where the law is under active review.
International and comparative
Judgments of the ECtHR on rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. Relevant to UK law because the Human Rights Act 1998 requires courts to take ECtHR case law into account.
UN agency setting international labour standards. ILO Conventions ratified by the UK inform employment rights, including minimum wage, working time, and freedom of association.
The global authority on intellectual property law. Referenced where business law guides touch on trade marks, copyright, and patents.
Data and rates
Official list of public holidays for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Used by the deadline calculator to identify non-working days when counting in working-day mode.
The official Bank Rate, used as a reference when noting the relationship between the statutory interest rate for late payment and the Bank Rate in some jurisdictions.
A note on currency
Laws are amended without notice to us. Every page carries a "Law as of" date — the version of the statute it reflects. When we detect that a cited instrument has been amended, the page is flagged "under review" and specific figures are hidden until a qualified reviewer clears it.
Questions
Common questions.
Is LawTheGuide free to use?
Yes. All guides, tools and calculators on LawTheGuide are free. We do not require an account or payment to access any content.
Is the information legal advice?
No. LawTheGuide gives general legal information — it explains what the law says in general terms. It is not advice on your individual situation and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. For advice on your own case, speak to a qualified lawyer where you live.
Which countries does LawTheGuide cover?
At launch, LawTheGuide covers England and Wales in full — with stage pages, tools and reviewed content. General concept pages (how limitation periods work, how courts are structured) are available to everyone. Further jurisdictions will be added with a local reviewing lawyer each time.
How do I know the information is current?
Every page shows a "Reviewed on" date and a "Law as of" date. Pages older than 12 months show an amber banner; older than 24 months show a red banner and we hide specific figures until a reviewer clears the page. We also monitor official legislation feeds for changes to cited instruments.
Do you store what I type into the tools?
No. All calculations (deadline dates, interest amounts, checklist items) run in your browser. Nothing you type into a tool or search box is sent to our servers or included in analytics.
Can I use LawTheGuide content on my own site?
Our written explanations are our own copyright. The underlying statute text we cite is open under official licences (for example, the Open Government Licence for UK legislation).
Are you affiliated with any court, bar association or government body?
No. LawTheGuide is an independent information service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any court, government ministry, bar association or legal publisher, unless a specific partnership is stated on a page.