Cancer Care Cross Bay Walk 2014

 

 

As part of BSG's commitment to supporting charity the staff and partners raised £560.00 through their sponsored walk across Morecambe Bay and office cake sale. Obviously the latter was a requirement after the former!!

Terms and Conditions-Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

On Friday 13 June the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 came into force.

 

The Regulations regulate most contracts made between a “trader” and a “consumer”.  They will therefore apply to a wide range of contracts made between businesses  and their customers (as consumers) but whether they apply or not will depend upon the nature of the customer and the circumstances in which the contract is made.

 

The Regulations have increased the time a consumer has to cancel their contract with you and there are serious consequences of not complying with the new Regulations. For example it is a criminal offence to fail to inform consumers of the right to cancel, punishable by a fine. Also, if you did not give the customer the time limit and procedures for cancelling, the cancellation period is extended and you will not be able to enforce the contract until you either give the consumer the relevant information or a considerable period has elapsed. This would mean for example that, you would not be able to issue Court proceedings under the contract for payment until the cancellation period has elapsed but the contract will not be void so your customer will still be able to enforce it against you.

 

We  would therefore advise that businesses  instruct the firm to update their paperwork including their terms of Business to ensure that they fully comply. If you would like us to assist you with this process, please contact Keith Parr,  Partner, on 01772 253841, kgp@bsglaw.co.uk or by post.

 

'Largest Family Justice Reform For a Generation' comes into effect

 

The Children and Families Act 2014 came in to force on 22^nd April 2014, ringing the changes for family practitioners in England and Wales.  The Minister for Justice has heralded the reforms as ‘the largest for a generation’.

 

The purpose of the new legislation, according the Justice Minster Simon Hughes is to put children firmly at the heart of the Family law system, and to shift to focus towards Children’s needs, as opposed to what parents perceive as their ‘right’s

The reforms implemented on 22 April will see:

·        The introduction of the new Family Court in England and Wales with a simpler single system and a network of single application points.

·        Justices’ clerks and their assistants authorised to assist all judges across the Family Court (including on undefended divorce cases).

·        The introduction of a 26 week time limit for care proceedings.

·        New child arrangements orders will replace Residence and Contact Orders.

·        Expert evidence in family proceedings concerning children only permitted when unecessary to resolve the case justly, taking account of factors including the impact on the welfare of the child.

·        Compulsory family mediation information meetings so separating couples must consider alternatives to court when resolving financial matters and arrangements for child contact.

 

At BSG solicitors, we pride ourselves on remaining up to date with the most recent changes in legislation and case law, so that we are able to continue to provide a first class service to our clients.

 

 

Early Conciliation through ACAS in respect of Employment Disputes

April 2014

 

Early Conciliation through ACAS in respect of Employment Disputes

 

On 6 April 2014 a new ACAS Early Conciliation Scheme will operate on a voluntary basis for a month before becoming a mandatory part of the Employment Tribunal application process.

 

From 6 May 2014 it will be compulsory for most potential claimants to the Employment Tribunal to contact ACAS and make at least some attempt to reach a settlement before applying to the Employment Tribunal.

 

The pre-claim conciliation gives potential claimants the opportunity to explore a resolution of their claim before they have to pay a fee to the tribunal to issue proceedings.  It will also force the parties to think about settlement at the outset.  It is an attempt to facilitate employers and employees to sort out their differences at a very early stage.

 

The procedure is relatively straightforward. 

 

Before lodging a claim with the Employment Tribunal a potential claimant must send ACAS an Early Conciliation (EC) form either online or by hard copy.

 

ACAS is under a duty to make reasonable attempts to contact the prospective claimant within 2 working days to find out the nature of the claim and establish if a claimant wishes to conciliate.  If the claimant consents, ACAS must make reasonable attempts to contact the respondent and conciliate a settlement.

 

The conciliator has up to a calendar month from the date on which ACAS receives the EC form to facilitate a settlement.  However, that period can be extended by up to 2 weeks if the ACAS officer is of the opinion that there is a reasonable prospect of achieving a settlement.

 

If settlement is reached, the terms will be set out in writing by ACAS for the potential claimant and respondent to sign.

 

If a settlement is not reached, or if either prospective party does not wish to take part in conciliation, ACAS will issue an EC certificate to record that conciliation has come to an end.  When the claimant receives an EC certificate they are free to lodge a claim with the Tribunal.

 

Where the allegation is unfair dismissal, the ACAS officer has a particular duty to explore whether re-instatement or re-engagement can be achieved and can only promote a settlement involving compensation being paid if they are of the view that it is not possible or where the claimant does not wish to be re-instated or re-engaged.

 

The new regime provides for an extension of the time limit for lodging a claim with the Tribunal (which is usually 3 months) to allow for any conciliation period.  The clock stops the day after the claimant contacts ACAS and restarts on the day after the claimant receives the EC certificate.  If a claimant contacts ACAS when there is less than one month of the time limit for lodging a claim with the Tribunal to go, they get some extra time, namely a calendar month from the day they receive the EC certificate.

 

If you would like us to assist you with this process, please contact Keith Parr, Employment Partner, on 01772 253841, kgp@bsglaw.co.uk or by post.

Conveyancing Quality Scheme

BSG Solicitors secures Law Society's new quality mark

 

BSG Solicitors who have offices in both Lancaster and Preston have secured membership to the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme - the mark of excellence for the home buying process.

 

BSG Solicitors underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to secure CQS status, which marks the firm out as meeting high standards in the residential conveyancing process.

 

Law Society President Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said that the Law Society introduced CQS to promote high standards in the home buying process.

 

"CQS has established itself as the quality mark of the home-buying sector and enables consumers to identify practices that provide a quality residential conveyancing service. With so many different conveyancing service providers out there CQS helps home-buyers and sellers seek out those that can provide a safe and efficient level of service."

 

Tom O’Neill, Partner says: BSG Solicitors is delighted to have secured CQS status. Buying and selling a home can be a stressful time. Choosing a solicitor to help in that process just got easier. By looking for a CQS firm like BSG Solicitors the public can seek out a firm that has proved its commitment to quality.

 

“The overall beneficiaries will be clients who use BSG Solicitors when buying a home. They will receive a reliable, efficient service as recognised by the CQS standard."

 

The scheme requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Building Societies Association, Legal Ombudsman and the Association of British Insurers.

 

For more information on the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme visit www.lawsociety.org.uk/cqs

 

Or contact the CQS Unit on 020 7316 5550 or CQS@lawsociety.org.uk

 

BSG Solicitors 3& 4 Aalborg Square, Lancaster LA1 1BJ Tel: 01524 386500

 

www.bsglaw.co.uk

 

Email:ton@bsglaw.co.uk

New Partner for BSG

BSG Solicitors are delighted to announce the recent promotion of Rebecca Lauder to Partner.  Rebecca started her new role within the firm on the 1^st July.

 

Rebecca joined the firm in 2006 as a Trainee and is now a key member of the firms Wills, Probate and Estate Planning department.  As a member of Solicitors for the Elderly and an affiliate member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, Rebecca provides specialist advice on all aspects of estate planning, wills and probate, intestacy, Court of Protection applications and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

 

Rebecca said, “I am absolutely delighted to become a partner at BSG Solicitors, the firm continues to act for generation after generation of the same families which is testament to it’s caring outlook, excellent advice and service. We are more than just a solicitor to so many of our clients and I look forward to continuing to drive that ethos and continue to build on our 300 years of heritage and success”.

 

Tom O’Neill (Partner) commented “we believe that Rebecca is a great asset to the firm and will bring enormous benefits to the business in many different ways. Her enthusiasm, hard work, dedication and loyalty are obvious to all who know her and we are very pleased to have her as a member of the Partnership.”

 

To contact Rebecca email rfl@bsglaw.co.uk, or phone 01524 386500.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL-POTENTIALLY FAIR REASONS FOR DISMISSING AN EMPLOYEE

 

The EAT has decided that an employer who dismissed a senior employee following a dispute over a profit share and a failure to agree on the terms of employment could not rely on "some other substantial reason" (SOSR) to justify the dismissal. Although a breakdown in relations can amount to "some other substantial reason", it did not in this case.

An employer should not be permitted to rely on SOSR when dismissing an employee following a breakdown in negotiations or a failure to agree terms over pay. Otherwise, this would allow employers undue power in negotiations and could be a significant deterrent to employees to raising concerns.

The following highlights some common examples of SOSR in the context of dismissing an employee as well as the other potentially fair reasons for dismissing and employee.

Potentially fair reasons for dismissing an employee

There are five potentially fair reasons for dismissing an employee:

• Conduct.
• Capability.
• Redundancy.
• Breach of a statutory restriction.
• Some other substantial reason (SOSR).

What is some other substantial reason?

Almost any reason that does not fall within the other four potentially fair reasons for dismissal may amount to SOSR, if it is not an insignificant or frivolous reason that justifies the dismissal of an employee carrying out a particular role. This business briefing highlights some common examples of SOSR when dismissing an employee.

Business re-organisation

• If the business is undergoing a restructuring, but is not making any redundancies, SOSR may be relied on as a potentially fair reason for dismissal.
• Business re-organisations often include making changes to employees’ terms and conditions. Dismissing an employee for their refusal to accept the proposed changes (either within the context of a business re-organisation or not) can also amount to SOSR.

Refusal to accept changes to terms and conditions

• An employment contract can only be varied in accordance with its terms or with the parties’ agreement. If an employee refuses to accept a change to their terms and conditions and the business dismisses them for that reason, the reason may constitute SOSR.
• However, these cases are unlikely to be straightforward because an employee is contractually entitled to resist unilateral changes to their terms. In some instances, where the change amounts to a breach of contract, the employee may be able to resign and claim unfair constructive dismissal. 
• For a unilateral change to amount to SOSR, the business must be able to demonstrate that the changes were not imposed arbitrarily but were for a “sound business reason”. There is no need for to prove that the re-organisation was crucial to the survival of the business. However, the business must provide evidence to demonstrate its reasons for the change and show that they were not trivial.
• Where the overwhelming majority of employees accept the change, or where unions have been involved and have accepted the changes, individual employees may struggle to show that their dismissal for refusing to accept the change was unfair.

 

Conflicts of interest

• The business may be able to dismiss an employee for SOSR if the employee is in a situation that creates a potential conflict with the business’s interests.
• The business must be able to provide evidence demonstrating that the employee posed a risk to its interests. The business will need to show that:
• the employee had access to commercial information;
• the employee had close connections with a competitor (or an employee of a competitor); and
• there was a genuine fear that the employee may leak confidential information.
• To rely on SOSR, the business must be able to show that continuing to employ the employee would create a real commercial risk.

Personality clashes

Personality clashes or irreconcilable differences between colleagues can amount to SOSR. However, to do so, the conflict would have to be causing substantial disruption to the business. An employment tribunal will expect a business to take reasonable steps to solve the problem without resorting to dismissal, for example, by:

• Re-deploying one of the workers.
• Changing work patterns.
• Attempting to mediate.

Pressure from third parties

• Where a third party (for example, a customer or supplier) requires an employee’s dismissal, the dismissal can be regarded as fair for SOSR.
• The business should consider the:
• importance of the third party’s business to its own business; and
• seriousness of the third party’s threat to leave.
• For example, if a major client is adamant that it will never contract with the business again unless the business dismisses an employee, this is more likely to be regarded as fair than where a minor client simply requests removal of an employee, but does not threaten cessation of business.

Breakdown in trust and confidence

Businesses sometimes maintain that they must dismiss an employee because of a breakdown in trust and confidence. In some cases, SOSR can be relied on in these circumstances as a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

 

if you would like us to assist you at any time with any such matter please contact Keith Parr, employment partner, on 01772 253841, kgp@bsglaw.co.uk or by post.