Welcome to new Family Solicitor Tanya See

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Tanya See Family Solicitor at Adams HarrisonThe partners are delighted to announce that Tanya See joined Adams Harrison on 25th September 2023.

Tanya is a Solicitor and will be based in our Sawston office, although she is also able to see clients at our other offices in Haverhill or Saffron Walden.

Tanya was educated in Cambridge and has attained a BA in Criminology and an LLM, and trained in local firms.

She enjoys helping clients navigate through the minefield of family law and helping them work towards a solution/settlement.

Menopause Symptoms and Discrimination

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A very interesting case has very recently been dealt with by Employment Tribunal Judge Wade (Lynskey –v- Direct Line Insurance Services Limited) on the 4th August 2023.

The case concerned an employee that was suffering menopause symptoms that were negatively impacting on her work performance. The Employment Tribunal held that the employer had treated this employee unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of her disability of menopause and had failed to make reasonable adjustments. The menopause and symptoms arising from it are not automatically considered to be a “disability” under the Equality Act 2010. A statutory test has to be satisfied in order to demonstrate that someone is suffering with a “disability”.

In this particular case the employer was aware of the employee’s menopause symptoms and the fact that prior to the onset of those symptoms she had four years good performance at work. The employer did in fact make some adjustments and provided additional support and training but the Tribunal considered that it should have done more!

The Tribunal found that performance procedure should have been abandoned, the employees targets lowered and a move to a different role considered. In the case the employer had given the employee an annual performance rating of requiring improvement (which resulted in not receiving a pay rise), a formal written warning and had ceased to pay discretionary sick pay before the employee’s entitlement ended. These were all found to be types of discrimination arising from a disability. The Tribunal Judge stated that a less discriminatory approach could and should have been carried and a referral to occupational health should have been made.

The employee was unsuccessful with a constructive unfair dismissal claim because whilst the Employment Tribunal considered that the employer had acted in serious breach of the Employment Contract when giving the employee the appraisal rating, written warning withdrawing the sick pay, the Tribunal considered that because the employee had remained with the employer for over 8 months before resigning that the employee had affirmed the contract.

The employee received an award of over £64,000.00 for the unlawful discrimination including £23,000.00 for injury to feelings. £2,500.00 was awarded for aggravated damages relating to the employer’s refusal to concede that the employee had a disability.

Our Employment Law Specialist, Jennifer Carpenter Solicitor and Managing Partner can provide advice to employers as to their duties and responsibilities in relation to any type of disability and the Equality Act 2010. Also, advice can be given to employees that consider they may have been treated less favourably as a result of a disability either directly or indirectly. If you think you need help please contact us at enquiries@adams-harrison.co.uk

Adams Harrison Bake-Off in aid of the Brain Tumour Charity

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During June and July Adams Harrison staff participated in a bake off over a 7 week period.

A number of staff volunteered to prepare delectable sweet and savoury items for colleagues to enjoy in our Haverhill and Saffron Walden offices.

Staff judged and scored the entries, and Local Estate Agents Cheffins, were also judges so of course a sample of the tasty bakes went to them too.

Many carbs were consumed which did not do waistlines any good at all!

Staff paid a contribution for the enjoyment of eating the bakes and the sum of £97.71 was raised for the Brain Tumour Charity.

All in all a pretty pain free way to raise money for a good cause and keep smiles on faces in the offices (and at our local Estate Agents).

Samuel Ward Academy Student Careers Fair – 22nd September 2023

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Anton Bilinski and Luke Gardener represented Adams Harrison at the Samuel Ward Academy Student Careers Fair on 22nd September 2023.

Over 1200 students from all year groups attended the event and were able to ask questions at the Adams Harrison stand and about 35 other local businesses and further education establishments.

Luke commented that

the students were all enthusiastic and interested, from the youngest who often had a very clear idea of what they wanted to do when they grew up, to the older students who were more circumspect and were considering all options.

 

Emma Bilsborrow, New Partner

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The Partners are delighted to announce that Emma Bilsborrow was promoted to Partner on 1st July 2023.

Emma joined Adams Harrison on 27th February 2023 and took over as Head of the Family Department on 1st June 2023 following the retirement of Shoshana Goldhill, after 37 years at the firm.

Emma is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (FCILEX) and has 14 years post qualification experience in family/matrimonial law. She has a wealth of experience in advising clients on all aspects of divorce and separation including children’s and financial issues.   She advises on the division of property (in the UK and abroad) including pensions and has particular expertise in High net worth cases.  Emma is a Member of Resolution which is a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way. If, however, a family or matrimonial dispute cannot be resolved amicably or by mediation then Emma also has experience in dealing with litigious matters in the Court arena.

Adams Harrison Partners Aug 2023

The Partners of the firm are:

Jack Stewart

Jennifer Carpenter

Richard Booth

Melanie Pratlett

Emma Bilsborrow

Adams Harrison Diversity Information 2023

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As required by the Law Society Adams Harrison are pleased to publish their diversity data for 2023. Please click on the image below to view the data.

 

Skipping challenge completed by Managing Partner, Jennifer Carpenter

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Jennifer Carpenter, Managing Partner recently completed a sponsored skipping challenge to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Jenny completed 100 skips a day in June, even though she was away on holiday for some of those! On completion of the challenge Jenny had collected £219 for the charity and got some much needed exercise away from her desk.

Lexcel and CSE Accreditation 2023

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We are delighted to announce that Adams Harrison has been re-accredited with Lexcel for the 24th year and Customer Service Excellence (CSE) for the 3rd year.

What are Lexcel and Customer Service Excellence (CSE)?

Lexcel is a Law Society Quality mark for law firms demonstrating legal excellence. The assessment process is independent and objective. The firm is assessed in areas of: Structure and Strategy, Financial Management, Information Management, People Management, Risk Management, Client Care and File and Case Management. You can find further information here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/lexcel

Customer Service Excellence is an accreditation which was introduced by the Cabinet Office in 2007 and Adams Harrison gained accreditation in 2021. It offers businesses a practical tool for driving customer-focused change within their organisation. You can find further information here: https://www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com/

Who has Lexcel and CSE?

Lexcel accreditation is not obligatory. It was introduced in 1998 by the Law Society for law firms and Adams Harrison was one of the first firms to achieve the accreditation.
CSE is open for any business in the UK to apply for this standard. Currently 322 organisations are accredited.

What happens during the annual re-assessments?

For Lexcel the auditor interviews staff and partners selected by him. He audits both open and closed files randomly selected by him. He reviews the firm’s practices and procedures, including policies and office manual. This year the auditor found no non-compliances.
For CSE the auditor reviews current policies and procedures which demonstrate that client care and maintaining high levels of service are at the forefront of everything we do. He also interviews a selection of clients for direct feedback on the experience.

Auditor’s comments for Lexcel

Despite the current difficulties and challenges, the Practice should again be very highly commended for sustaining an extremely high level of compliance against the Lexcel Standard. It remains very clear that compliance remains deeply embedded within the ethos and culture of the Practice. In Lexcel terms the Firm is an extremely well run, and extremely well managed Practice!!
The Practice should continue to be highly commended for the significant emphasis, and resources, which it devotes to ensuring the Wellbeing and Mental Health of its employees.
There remains a comprehensive and well embedded process of supervision which is very consistently implemented and well managed throughout the Firm.
It remains very clear from both interview and documentary evidence that the Practice continues to place very significant emphasis on the levels of ongoing client care which it provides.

Auditor’s comments for CSE

It was very clear from both documentary, and interview evidence, that the Practice puts CSE at the heart of everything that they do. It is fully supported by the entire Management Team, and is an integral part of the Firm’s culture that they are all required to both sign up to, and are measured against.
Despite the ongoing challenges of the post-pandemic context, the Practice has proactively continued to refine and develop the already deeply embedded culture of customer service/client care and it was very clear from interview evidence that staff were highly adept at managing client expectations.
It was also very clear that extremely robust procedures were in place to protect client privacy.

These excellent results are due to the collective effort of all our staff, from Managing Partner down to post clerk. Everybody puts the needs of our clients at the forefront of everything they do.
We all look forward to continuing to offer a high quality service in the communities we serve.

Castle Manor Academy Haverhill Careers Fair.

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Jennifer Carpenter, Matthew Darmon and Anton Bilinski represented Adams Harrison at Castle Manor Academy Careers Fair today.

5 year groups, from year 6 to year 10 attended the event.

Approximately 23 local businesses and organisations were represented, which gave the students an opportunity to hear about different types of organisation and the work they do.

Renters Reform Bill – No-fault evictions to be banned in reform of rental sector

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Being described as a once in a generation reform The Renters Reform Bill was introduced in Parliament on 17th May 2023. This sets out new proposals to radically change the way tenants rent properties from landlords.

One of the most talked about change is the proposal to abolish Section 21 No Fault Evictions and deliver a simple more secure tenancy structure.

The proposal is that all tenancies are to become periodic tenancies from the start and abolish fixed term tenancies. They will require the tenant to give two months’ notice to vacate the property rather than the current one months but the idea of being on a periodic tenancy is that the tenant will not be liable for large sums of rent should they decide to leave the property. By abolishing Section 21 evictions this will give tenants more rights in remaining in the property and more control.

Another change is to ensure that the property is suitable for a tenant to live in. Currently rented properties meeting a minimum EPC standard of E is require if the property is under E then the property cannot be rented. The proposals changes the minimum EPC rating to C by 2035.

Another change to help balance up the Section 21 Abolishment is to reform the Grounds for Possession under Section 8. One of the proposals for rent arrears is to introduce a new mandatory ground for repeated serious arrears. Eviction will be mandatory where a tenant has been in at least two months rental arrears three times within the previous three years regardless of any rent arrears balance at the possession hearing. This will stop tenants from paying off a small amount of arrears to take them or keep them below the mandatory repossession threshold or suddenly paying the arrears prior to the Court hearing.

Other changes are:

  • For anti social behavior or criminal behavior the proposal will lower the notice period for the existing mandatory eviction grounds and there will be further assistance provided in order to resolve issues at an early stage.
  • Make it illegal for landlords and agents to have blanket bans on renting to tenants in receipt of benefits or with children ensuring no family is unjustly discriminated against when looking for a place to live.
  • Tenants would be given the legal right to request to keep a pet in their home, which the landlord cannot unreasonably refused.