November 2018 - Lawson West

Lawson West Solicitors appoints two new Associates

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Mike

Lawson West Solicitors are delighted to have appointed two well-deserving employees with Associate Status. Associates are appointed on an annual basis by the firm’s Board of Directors to recognise an individual’s commitment to their role and the firm.

Individuals will have usually completed three years’ service with Lawson West to be eligible and demonstrate that they regularly strive to go ‘above and beyond’ their normal remit. The firm’s core values must be fully adopted by the individual, be highly respected among colleagues and make contributions towards the firm’s continuous development. Associate Status can be awarded to anyone within the firm, it is fully inclusive, and this year’s appointments are true to this.

Sarah Hickey, Litigation Assistant joined Lawson West Solicitors in 1986 and specialises in debt recovery, and dispute resolution matters. On receiving Associate Status, she commented:

“For me personally it is acknowledgement and recognition, from the board, of my hard work, loyalty and commitment and is proof to others that you do not have to be a qualified Solicitor or Legal Executive to achieve this.

The Associate Status has empowered me to be even more challenging and brave in my beliefs when I consider these to be of benefit to Lawson West Solicitors.”

Lawson West Solicitors are keen to promote and invest in personal development within the workplace and believe that the Associates Programme is an excellent way in which their employees can achieve this. It provides everyone with a clear framework to work towards and recognises individuals accordingly.

The second new Associate is John Kershaw, the firm’s IT Services Manager. When asked what it meant to him to be appointed Associate Status he commented:

“I am honoured to receive Associate Status, as it shows that the Directors have formally recognised my contribution to the high Systems Availability that we have managed to achieve, often through me working unsocial hours in order to minimise productive downtime.

It is also special to me, as it has been awarded in the same year that I have achieved fifty years working in IT.

As an Associate, I want to advise the Board of Directors on future business efficiency and IT security strategies, to continue to enhance the effectiveness of the IT Systems on which the Company relies in order to deliver first-class service to our Clients.”

Based from three offices throughout Leicestershire, Lawson West Solicitors have been providing support, advice and professional legal services for over 40 years.

For marketing information, further statements, logo for print and any other marketing requirements to support any printed press announcements or articles, please contact Esther Theobald.

lw.marketing@lawson-west.co.uk | 01858 445 492 | 07944 092 882

Breaking the Barriers of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Mike

The recent #MeToo movement has exposed an ever-deepening headline of sexual harassment in the work place, spanning across all industries. Google announced recently it has sacked 48 people, including 13 senior managers, over sexual harassment claims in the past two years.

Are employers doing enough to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace?

Although the movement has brought the awareness in to the public eye and has been hugely positive in encouraging women to talk and report their experiences, there is a fear that employers are not tackling the problem enough when sexual harassment allegations are raised.

A recent survey carried out by Slater and Gordon, of 2,000 women found that almost 37% of women have experienced some sort of harassment themselves, whilst 39% have witnessed a fellow staff member being abused. Only 21% of women felt comfortable enough to come forward about the sexual harassment they had received.

Why are individuals reluctant to report cases of sexual harassment?

These results clearly show there is a glass barrier for women, stopping them from having the courage to speak to their employer. This can be for many reasons such as fear of not being listened to or the manager being the instigator. There have been cases where reporting an incident has made the situation worst for the individual and some women feel reporting any unwanted behaviour may in fact damage their career going forward. The most alarming reason for harassment being unreported is the victim isn’t often in a position, financially or psychologically to bring a claim forward as their experience may have been traumatic.

A rcent report on Good Morning Britain also reported that 64 percent of women had been sexually harassed in public places and 35 percent reporting they have been groped. It seems that sexual harassment is ‘deeply ingrained’ in British culture and it doesn’t just stop in the work place but tackling harassment at work is a prominent starting point.

Currently there is no legal obligation on companies to have an anti-harassment policy, some companies and organisations seem to turn a blind eye to the severity of the problem and in some cases ‘normalise’ inappropriate behaviour by failing to prevent it from happening in the first instance. Making a policy mandatory is a necessary step to closing this gap between the offence occurring and not being reported.

Sexual harassment is unlawful and if employers do not take the reasonable steps this can be taken further with claims and tribunal’s being the outcome. Inappropriate and suggestive comments are also deemed as sexual harassment with 16% of women reported they had been subjected to this behaviour and, one in five suggested this kind of behaviour was the norm in their workplace. Employers policies need to be robust and stringent so there is no excuse for businesses to fail their employees. There are strict policies and regulations on Anti Money Laundering and Data Protection, why would sexual harassment policies not be deemed just as important?

Is there proposed plan to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace?

The Women and Equality Committee have suggested a five-point plan to tackle the issue at work which include;

A new duty on employers to prevent harassment, supported by a statutory code of practice. This would also ensure that interns, volunteers or those harassed by third parties receive the same legal protection as workplace colleagues.

Regulators take a more active role by setting out the actions they plan to take to tackle sexual harassment at work and what sanctions will be put in place.

Making enforcement processes work better for employees, for example by making it easier to bring a tribunal claim. It proposes extending the time limit for bringing a claim and introducing more punitive damages for employers.

Cleaning up the use of NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), making it an offence to misuse such clauses and extending whistleblowing protections so employees can disclose to bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Collecting robust data on the extent of sexual harassment in the workplace, including the number of tribunal claims that involve sexual harassment complaints.

Carrie-Ann within our Employment Team believes “As a duty of care to staff members, the employer should be appropriately acting to break the glass barrier. It is time to take sexual harassment more seriously. The implementation of policies and procedures will not only act a possible prevention but also encouraging a ‘feel safe’ environment allowing victims to come forward without the repercussions that they currently face or fear they will face”.

Seeking Legal Support on sexual harassment in the workplace

If you find yourself having issues with harassment or would like to be a step ahead and consider policies that could be implemented, contact a member of our Team. Please remember there are strict time limits in Employment claims and you should take good free legal advice as soon as possible.

In addition to No Win No Fee, Lawson West solicitors act for our clients on a variety of other funding arrangements including Legal Expenses insurance funding. We can assess your case to decide which is the best funding option for you.

With offices in Leicester, Wigston and Market Harborough our employment solicitors and lawyers can discuss your employment law claim at any of our branches. In addition, we are a national provider of expert employment law advice and welcome a free discussion with you regarding your circumstances and potential claim.

If you believe you have a situation where you require free legal advice, please contact us on telephone 0116 212 1000 or 01858 445 480, alternatively fill in our Contact Us form and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

Whistle-blowing: Are you protected?

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Mike

Whether a company is in the private or public sector, whistle-blowers are actively encouraged to speak out and expose organisations if they are acting in a way that is deemed either illegal or unethical.

In theory, this is a positive way of raising concerns about an issue in the workplace but is this the case in reality?

A recent case involving the NHS, highlighted the fact that there can be some serious consequences if you whistle-blow as Chris Day, a junior intensive care doctor experienced. This case demonstrates the failings of what was designed to offer protection.

Chris Day made a “protected disclosure’’ to the hospital management team regarding the understaffing and safety of the Intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. Soon after he would discover that this would be detrimental to his career. Not only was Chris Day not believed, he also became a victim with counter allegations made against him that discredited him over the issues he had raised. There even came a point where his Health Education England (HEE) number was deleted.

An employment tribunal was ordered on the basis that Chris Day’s initial concerns had not been taken seriously enough, and he had subsequently suffered loss of earnings because of raising them. Unfortunately, the initial case was thrown out before it had a chance to start as the HEE successfully argued it didn’t have a duty to protect junior doctors who whistled-blew, especially if they were suffering any form of detriment because legally, they weren’t employed by the HEE.

This of course raised a bigger question, who does protect Junior Doctors?

After a lengthy process and various court of appeal hearings, it was eventually ruled that junior doctors are covered and protected by whistle-blowing protections under the Employment Rights Act. In May the HEE conceded and created a new role within the department of Health and Social Care, creating 500 ‘whistle-blowing guardian roles’ within hospitals throughout England. These roles directly handle staff members concerns.

The current government adviceon whistle-blowing is that you are protected by law is you are any of the following:

an employee, such as a NHS employee, office worker, factory worker
a trainee, such as a student nurse
an agency worker
a member of a Limited Liability Partnership(LLP)

The following complaints count as whistle-blowing under the “relevant failures” test, which by law you are protected in reporting.

a criminal offence, e.g. fraud
an individual’s health and safety is in danger
risk or actual damage to the environment
a miscarriage of justice
the company is breaking the law, e.g. doesn’t have the right insurance
you believe someone is covering up wrongdoing

As a whistle-blower you are protected by law, you should not be treated unfairly or lose your job because you raised a concern or are witnessing something that is lawfully incorrect.

Carrie-Ann Randall within our Employment Team states “The rules on whistleblowing are complex therefore if you feel that your employer is acting in a manner that could be in breach of legislation it is encouraged to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Whether a whistle-blower qualifies for protection depends on satisfying the following tests:

Have they made a qualifying disclosure?

Disclosure of information.The worker must make a disclosure of information. Merely gathering evidence or threatening to make a disclosure is not sufficient.
Subject matter of disclosure.The information must relate to one of six types of “relevant failures”.
Reasonable belief.The worker must have a reasonable belief that the information tends to show one of the relevant failures.
In the public interest.Further, the worker must have a reasonable belief that the disclosure is in the public interest (unless the disclosure was made before 25 June 2013)

Is it also a protected disclosure?

The disclosure must also qualify as a protected disclosure which broadly depends on:

The identity of the person to whom disclosure is made.Legislation encourages disclosure to the employers (internal disclosure) as the primary method of whistleblowing. Disclosure to third parties (external disclosure) may be protected if more stringent conditions are met. Disclosures to a “responsible” third party or a “prescribed person” are likely to gain protection relatively easily. However, wider disclosures, such as to the police or to the media, will only qualify in very limited cases.”

Legal Support on Whistleblowing

If you find yourself having issues relating to whistle-blowing, we can help. Please remember there are strict time limits in Employment claims and you should take good free legal advice as soon as possible.

Month: November 2018