Appealing dismissal

I always feel pleased with a result that shows the system works whether for employer or employee.  After a long lunchtime meeting I got back to my desk to an e-mail from a client I saw a couple of weeks ago.  I’d advised him on his appeal against dismissal.  He’d been dismissed for negligence following a robbery – it was said he could have prevented it.  At first sight the evidence did look quite damning but when we went through it it was quite clear that none of the things he could have done would have made any difference.  The thieves would still have got away with it.  We prepared a letter of appeal going through the detail and explaining why he could not have prevented the theft.

In the e-mail this afternoon he tells me that he has been given his job back with back pay.  All’s well that ends well.

My experience of employers is that most treat appeals very seriously but sometimes employees believe that their case may not be properly reviewed or reconsidered.  This just shows how wrong that assumption can be!

Improving the benefits you offer your staff – Jordans Breakfast Seminar 5 July

79% of employers who provide a range of benefits believe that it helps them to recruit the right staff and 80% believe it helps them to keep them.

SMEs generally believe that the cost of providing the range of employee benefits available in larger firms would be prohibitive for them but that may not be true.  There may even be savings in tax and national insurance if you provide a range of benefits.

On Thursday 5 July at 8.00am Jordans are hosting a breakfast seminar where Paul Davidson of Eaves and Co, tax advisers and Nigel Sycamore of Clear Wealth Management will be speaking about the options available and the savings to be made.  The seminar will also cover the preparing for the new pension legislation which comes into force in October this year and will ultimately require all employers in the United Kingdom to automatically enrol eligible “jobholders” in a pension scheme.

We still have some places available.  If you would like to attend please contact me.

Jordans Solicitors showcase local artists http://bit.ly/K7Cs1E

Sacking at will (2) – the reality of current unfair dismissal law

I was watching ‘This Week’ late night on TV last night and a section on employment law caught my attention, the issue again was the Beecroft Report and sacking at will proposals.  Michael Portillo commented, ‘An employee who has been dismissed can tie up the employer in years of litigation with immense legal costs’ and ‘unbelievably disproportionate settlements at the end of it’.

This is just not my experience.  The most recent statistics show that the average tribunal award for an unfair dismissal case is £8,924, most cases (the median award) result in an award of less than £5,000.  Legal costs for an unfair dismissal cases for the employer in my experience are usually in the range of £5,000- £6,000 and the claim lasts for months not years.  Most cases settle in a much shorter period,  for much less and with much lower legal costs.   It doesn’t seem to me that these figures show disproportionate awards or immense legal costs.

 There is an issue that employers often feel forced into a settlement at a level that is less than the potential cost but none of the proposals currently being discussed will deal with that.  Indeed it seems likely that cost will increase as employees who feel aggrieved will endeavour to establish a discrimination case or other fall within some other category within the remaining law.

It is also true that many employers fear an employment tribunal claim.  Often though this fear comes from the perception that there will be a disproportionate award, immense legal cost or that it will go on for years which as I have said is not the reality.

Sacking at will!

I had an enquiry for some advice last week where the client, a small employer employing less than 10 staff was asking for advice on dismissal of a sick employee.  I asked the usual questions, how long has he been off, what’s wrong with him, when does he think he’ll be back.  He’d been off about a month and they were unclear about what was wrong.  ‘What does he say?’ I asked, ‘oh we haven’t spoken to him’, they answered.  I suggested they did and went through the questions they might want to ask.  ‘Can’t we just sack him?’ they said, ‘How long has he been with you?’ I asked, ‘Oh, about 30 years’.

Obviously for a small business absence even for a relatively short period can be a major problem but surely when you have had an employment relationship with someone for 30 years they deserve at least a conversation before their employment is ended.  This situation illustrated some of the concerns I have about the proposals to ‘deregulate’ the labour market.

When I suggested to the client that surely an employee with that much service deserved a conversation the response was that he’d never been that much good anyway!  The problem was a management failure.  Will the ability to  fire at will resolve that, I remain to be convinced.

Wakefield Artwalk 30 May 5-9pm

Jordans solicitors are proud to be part of the Wakefield Artwalk.  The next artwalk is next Wednesday 30 May and we are exhibiting Sarah Rogers work.  Looking at the weather it should be a great evening, fingers crossed.  The artwalk is a pleasant way to spend a warm summer evening.  Please call into our offices and enjoy a glass or wine or orange juice whilst you view Sarah’s work.

If you’ve not come across the Artwalk before have a look here to see what it’s all about http://bit.ly/7mYw0q.

Look forward to seeing you next Wednesday antime between 5pm and 8pm

Great day at the Wakefield Business Conference yesterday

What a great event!  Plenty of food for thought from all the conversations with local busineses and loads tofollow up.

Thanks to all involved

Just set up our stand for the Wakefield Business Conference at the Cedar Court Hotel tomorrow

The venue is looking great, all those local businesses.  I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.

Please visit our stand (Stand 34) and tell us what you want from your lawyers!

Capping your legal fees – talk to us at the Wakefield Business Conference on 26 April

Capped fees are one of the newer option for legal fees.   Where the lawyer offers a capped fee they set a fee for the work and agree that the fee will not exceed that sum.  The lawyer still charges an hourly rate but the clock stops when you get to the cap.  If the job takes less time than expected the client only pays for the time spent.  The lawyer is therefore taking the risk that whatever unforseen event may occur they will still be able to complete the work broadly within that fee.  Bearing in mind that risk there is usually a premium on the hourly rate, usually a percentage increase.

Unlike a fixed fee which once agreed is usually payable irrerspective of the amount of work done, a capped fee has the benefit to a client of being the most that is ever paid but there is still the comfort of knowing that you only pay for hours worked.

We have Stand 34 at the Wakedfield Business Conference on 26 April at the Cedar Court Hotel.  Please come and talk to us about legal services and paying for them on Thursday.

Discuss fixed fees with us at the Wakefield Business Conference on 26 April

Generally we lawyers don’t like fixed fees.  There is a reluctance to offer them because of the many variables that are involved in the average legal job.  However  these challenges are not unique to the legal industry and other industries have managed to deal with them.

A fixed fee can mean a set fixed price for a certain piece of work agreed at the start of the job.  This can work for a routine job with more limited variables. Often though the job quoted for varies along the way.  This can be dealt with by agreeing a fixed fee for each stage of the work or renegotiating the fee, which is the way other industries deal with it. 

At Jordans in appropriate cases we agree fixed fees with our clients.  Talk to us about fixed fees at the Wakefield Business Conference at the Cedar Court Hotel on 26 April.