Do You Need To Watch Your Behaviour At The Work’s Christmas Do?

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Generally speaking in employment law terms if you attend a social event organized by your employer, with work colleagues this is considered an extension of the work place, even if it does not take place at your normal place of work. This means that the normal rules of conduct and behaviour apply. Those committing any misconduct, for example swearing, shouting, abusive language or violent or threatening violent behaviour can be subjected to disciplinary action as if it had occurred in the work place.

The Equality Act 2010 makes employers liable for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimization carried out by their employees in the course of employment, unless they can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent such acts.

Some examples of cases that have previously been brought are:

The Chief Constable of the Lincolnshire Police v Stubbs and other where a police officer complained of sexual harassment by colleagues in a pub outside working hours. The Employment Appeal Tribunal stated that social events away from the police station involving officers from work either immediately after work, or for an organized party fell within the remit of during the “course of employment” and as such the employer was responsible for the actions of the staff member carrying out the harassment. This is known as vicariously liable.

In the case of Bellman v Northampton Recruitment a drunk Managing Director caused serious injury to a sales manager when assaulting him at a Christmas party. The employer was vicariously liable for the assault.

Case law has established though that what happens after the official Christmas party, even if with work colleagues is not the employer’s concern.

As an employer it might be worth reminding staff that normal work rules apply at the party/event. Any grievance raised by a staff member about an occurrence at the office party should be treated seriously and no less seriously because it occurred outside normal working hours.

As an employee, whilst you may want to let your hair down, you should still be on your best behaviour to avoid any implications for your job. You should also ensure that you make it to work after the party. Employers can take disciplinary action for non-attendance, even if it is as a result of a work social event the night before. Employers should treat all employees in this situation the same though. An employer can only make a deduction from wages for arriving late to work if the contract of employment permits this.

 

For advice on all areas of employment law, for employers and employees contact Jennifer Carpenter our employment specialist solicitor.

Employment Tribunals of England and Wales Latest Statistics

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The Employment Tribunals of England and Wales have reported the last quarter’s statistics for April to June 2018 for claims issued within the Employment Tribunals.

There has been a 165% increase in claims.  This is thought to be  attributed wholly to the fee regime being abolished.  The result though is that there is a shortage of judges to hear cases.  In some regions cases are not being listed for a final hearing until 12 to 18 months after receipt of the claim (ET1).  There is a recruitment drive for fee paid judges to help in  alleviating this problem.

At this time of very busy Tribunals it would appear more than ever that attempting other means to resolve a dispute or claim with an employer is more advantageous than waiting the inordinate amount of time to have a case heard.

I have the experience and skill to negotiate settlement of claims, particularly if dealing with the details of the claim from early on in the case. I undertake this work for both employees and employers.

Personal Injury Update 2018;Changes to Whiplash Claims

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One of the major developments this year was the passing of the Civil Liability Bill which introduces reforms to whiplash injury claims.

The reforms aim to reduce the number of low value road traffic accident claims and the cost of insurance premiums and to prevent fraud. The Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 20 March 2018 and it passed its final stage through Parliament on 20 November 2018. A date for Royal Assent has yet to be set but it is anticipated shortly.

As part of its reforms, the government also proposes to increase the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000 for road traffic accident claims and to £2,000 for all other types of personal injury claim. The implementation of the whiplash reforms (including the new road traffic accident small claims limit) have been pushed back until April 2020.

The whiplash reforms and the increase to the small claims track limit will bring more claims into the small claims regime where legal costs are not recoverable. This means that more claimants will be left to bring their claim without a solicitor at a time when they should be focusing on recovering from their injuries.

If you require assistance or advice regarding a personal injury claim then please contact Anton Bilinski.

Increase in Probate Court Fees

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Historically probate court fees have been a fixed amount (currently £155 when applying through Solicitors or £215 when making a personal application) with a charge of 50p per office copy of the Grant required. The only exception to this is where an estate is valued at less than £5,000 where there is no fee payable.

As from April 2019, the probate fees are set to be paid on a sliding scale dependent on the value of the estate rather than the fixed amount. For estates worth less than £50,000; no fee will be payable. However, for estates exceeding this sum, the fees will range between £2,500 to £6,000.

It is currently, and will continue to be the case, that executors will need to fund the probate court fees upfront before access can be gained to the deceased’s bank accounts. Currently; most banks are willing to release funds for inheritance tax prior to probate being granted and may be willing to release funds for court fees too. However, often estates are property rich and cash poor and it may be necessary for executors to fund the fees personally. They will of course be able to reimburse themselves from the estate when the estate is in funds.

The government have failed to explain why it is choosing to place this burden on bereaved families and have failed to comment upon why the changes were not included in the recent Budget.

Although the exact date when the new fees will take effect is not yet known, they are anticipated to apply for applications received after that date rather than deaths which occur after that date. We recommend that if you are in the early stages of dealing with an estate that an application is made sooner rather than later.

Arthur Rank Hospice Fundraising

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Hayley Ford of our firm has recently raised £820 for Arthur Rank Hospice through the Will month scheme.

This amount of money could pay for 11 counselling sessions for patients’ relatives, making a difference to those affected by a life limiting illness

Adams Harrison Attends Local Careers Events

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Aspire; Samuel Ward Academy

Jenny Carpenter and Sue Lawton  attended the Careers Event held at the Arts Centre in Haverhill from 4pm to 6pm yesterday afternoon.  Jenny and Sue spoke to many students interested in a career in law, also some of those that had no idea but suddenly realised that this could be an option for them.

I wanted to express our gratitude once again for your support yesterday with the Aspire Event. We were thrilled with the turn out from both students and parents and feel the event was a huge success in terms of our aim to inspire the young people of Haverhill and surrounding areas. I’ll no doubt be in contact again soon with regards to the next one!

Jacqui Singleton, Work Related Learning Coordinator Samuel Ward Academy

Anglia Ruskin Law Careers Fair

Also last week Matthew Darmon (Trainee Solicitor) and Sue Lawton attended the Anglia Ruskin Law Careers Fair – again a wonderful turn out of law students and some very interesting questions were asked.  These students are the future for law so it was very gratifying to meet such focused individuals.

Women In The Legal Profession

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An interesting article in the Law Society’s Gazette publication this month reports that there is a “female talent drain” in that whilst entry level to the profession appears to be open to everyone, it is not the same once the ladder is ascended in the profession.   The number of female partners in solicitors’ firms is low. Statistics show that there are now more women than men qualifying as solicitors with women representing over 60% of newly qualified solicitors since 1990. However, only 28% of partners in private practice are women. Only half of all judges under the age of 50 years are women.

A Court of Appeal Judge, Lady Justice Rafferty was speaking at the Royal Society Diversity Conference when she stated that “diversity must be maintained beyond entry level to the profession”.

Here at Adams Harrison female partners represent 83% of the firm, with the Managing Partner being a woman!

Support for Cancer Research

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The staff at all Adams Harrison offices took part in the Wear It Pink campaign recently and raised a total of £50.45.

Also, on 14th October the partners sponsored the MacMillan Late Harvest Luncheon which is another major annual fundraising event for MacMillan, with one of the partners and two solicitors together with their respective spouses attending.

And It All Started With A Break In.

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The Law Commission has recently begun consulting about a legal framework for electronic signatures. If this becomes law it will be the last stage in the complete digitisation of legal documents, which in the case of land and title in England and Wales, started on the 23rd November 1998.

The rather inauspicious catalyst was a burglary, when vandals broke into a storage warehouse used by the Bradford & Bingley Building Society, crashed a forklift truck and started a fire. The building society lost thousands of packets of deeds and during the process of reconstructing their titles, which required an application to the Land Registry for each missing title, the society persuaded the Land Registry not to issue them with the traditional Charge Certificates, but to “store” the newly created registered titles on the Land Registry computer.

This arrangement created the first virtual title record and, motivated by the huge savings in storage costs, other lenders quickly followed suit “dematerialising” their existing and subsequently acquired registered titles. This practice had no basis in law and was “an arrangement” between the lenders and the Land Registry but it signalled the birth of “dematerialised” titles, a process later enshrined in law by the Land Registration Act of 2002.

Although the legal profession has (with diminishing numbers of exceptions) embraced both electronic communication and the use of electronic documentation, the stumbling block to full digitisation, at least for those transactions which must by law be in writing or by deed, has for some time been the need to produce a final paper document for the parties to sign. For those property transactions for which registration at the Land Registry is also required, there is a further ironic twist. The Land Registry does not want the paper document. It only wants an electronic copy and its staff will scan, and just to make its point, destroy every paper document it receives. Inevitably, but one hopes only occasionally, human error will prevail and the scan/shred sequence is reversed with unfortunate and sometimes costly consequences.

Digital documents and communication increases dramatically the speed at which transactions can be concluded; there are, as well as the occasional destruction of historic deeds by the Land Registry, significant and increasingly costly negatives. For property lawyers and those not entirely in agreement with their neighbours, there is the loss of important evidence about boundaries, rights and covenants which do not appear on the registered titles and for all of us there is the issue of internet security and fraud, which was not a consideration when we all used paper.

To be continued.

Rhodri Rees

Partner

Property and Commercial

Jenny Carpenter Celebrates 20 Years At Adams Harrison

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Jennifer Carpenter, Managing Partner clocks up 20 years service with Adams Harrison this week.

Jennifer Carpenter, Managing Partner Adams Harrison

Jenny joined the firm 20 years ago in October 1998 as a trainee solicitor, recruited by the firm’s former senior partner, Tom Harrison who was her training principal. “I recall seeing the position advertised whilst I was at the College of Law” said Jenny. “I was immediately attracted to the position as it was stated as being contentious biased. I knew I wanted to practice litigation and not non-contentious areas such as property or probate so it was the ideal training contract for me”.

Jenny has predominantly been based at our Saffron Walden office, where the firm has been based for almost 185 years, and has practiced various areas of litigation.

Jenny commented “There have been changes in the law and in particular the technology used when practicing law in my time with Adams Harrison. When starting as a trainee solicitor e-mail was a very new method of communication and it was almost considered discourteous to e-mail another professional. Letters remained the main method of contact. However, these days e-mails are used almost without exception; so the task of most solicitors is determining how best to deal with the constant influx of this type of communication. Books are now used far less frequently with a lawyer’s resources being available, subject to paying a subscription, on line. In fact almost every type of transaction or litigation is now dealt with on line with various portals and web based systems in place. Gone are the days of needing a typewriter to fill in the fields of a court form”.

Jenny spent many years attending the police station and undertaking advocacy in the Magistrates Court when the firm held a legal aid franchise for criminal legal work. For the duration of her time at the firm she has advised many clients, both employees and employers, on employment related issues, including drafting and advising on settlement agreements. She has negotiated numerous satisfactory outcomes in relation to employment disputes, always priding herself on showing empathy in difficult situations.

Jenny provides contentious probate advice and representation to clients in a variety of situations. “This is becoming an increasingly popular area of the law as people generally appear to have become more aware of the ways in which to question the validity of a will or to bring a claim against an estate” Jenny stated.

Jenny qualified as a solicitor in 2000 and became a partner of the firm in 2005. She has since January 2014 been the Managing Partner of the firm. The firm holds a Lexcel accreditation given by the Law Society and as a result faces a vigorous 2 to 3 day annual audit. In this year’s audit the firm was “highly commended for sustaining a very high level of compliance against the Lexcel Standard”. The firm was labeled as “an example of a really good practice, and amongst the very best that the writer (the auditor) has reviewed” in terms of its plans and policies. Together with the firm being told that “Adams Harrison continues to be an extremely well run and extremely well managed Practice”.

The firm has grown and expanded in the last 20 years, almost by double. Jenny services clients’ legal needs across all three of our offices in Sawston, Saffron Walden and Haverhill. Jenny commented: “I thoroughly enjoy the diversity of my role within the firm and the wide range of clients that I am able to assist. I am very proud of Adams Harrison that is the successful firm it is today thanks to the commitment, loyalty and hard work of all our wonderful staff”.

“Here’s to the next 20 years …” was Jenny’s final word.