Gill Laing

The common causes of workplace accidents revealed by the HSE’s data are slips, trips and falls, and manual handling injuries; all accidents that are potentially avoidable. According to the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) most recent figures, more than 3 million working days were lost to workplace accident and injury in 2012/13, and cost the UK £13.8 billion in 2010/11. In the past few years the number of injuries has shown very little change year on year, suggesting that awareness of accidents at work is poor, and simple health and safety guidelines are not doing their jobs. Everyone benefits from…

Until now employers have argued that compulsory, but not guaranteed overtime i.e. where the employer did not have to offer the overtime but, if offered,  the worker had to work it, was not to be taken into account when calculating holiday pay. A landmark judgment in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), Bear Scotland v Fulton (joined with Hertel, Amec v Wood and others) of 4 November 2014, has specified that payments for overtime that the worker is regularly required to work are part of “normal pay”. They must therefore be included in the calculation of holiday pay under the Working Time…

Local Authorities face a huge challenge to meet the new demands of the Children and Families Act 2014, which came into force on the 1st September. According to leading education, health and social care lawyer Elaine Maxwell, inadequate funding and a lack of guidance on the new rules, many of which have yet to even be properly drafted or shared by their authors, creates a potentially disastrous scenario for unprepared local authorities. Maxwell Gillott partner, Elaine Maxwell, says “Although the basic principles of the Children and Families Act 2014 may be the same as those within the Education Act, we…

Do tattoos cause hepatitis? The risks of tourists acquiring hepatitis as a result of getting tattoos, piercings or pedicures while abroad has recently been emphasised by an Australian health organisation Helen Tyrrell, the CEO of Hepatitis Australia, warned in an interview with The Courier Mail that “any activity in which the skin is pierced can lead to infection with hepatitis – and, yes, that can include pedicures, tattoos and piercings, and even getting dental work done abroad.” A rise in the number of Australians acquiring hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) is predicted on the back of research which…

New guidelines on NHS staffing levels have been criticised for failing to indicate a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio for high-quality care. The guidance, issued in July by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), is designed to flag-up dangerously low staff numbers in relation to patient need.

A postman running for his life down a garden path, being chased by an angry dog may be an amusing cartoon scenario, but UK postal workers probably wouldn’t find it funny.

Simpson Millar Solicitors has acquired Foster & Partners (“Fosters”), one of Bristol’s leading family law practices. Combining with Simpson Millar Solicitors existing Bristol operation from 1st July, Simpson Millar Solicitors are seeking to establish itself as the pre-eminent provider of family law services in Bristol and the South West. F Fosters has 9 family lawyers operating out of its Bristol City Centre offices. “We are delighted to welcome Fosters into our firm,” says Emma Pearmaine, Head of the Family Law Department at Simpson Millar. “Family law is a key area of growth for Simpson Millar so combining our nationwide practice…

Figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics reveal an increase in the number of UK investor and entrepreneur visas granted during the first quarter of 2014.

Pop songstress Foxes is reported as being uncertain of her marital status following a drunken ceremony at Glastonbury, in an interview with Metro magazine. She recalls hazy memories of a marriage ceremony in the after-party at Shangri-La, but has no idea where her festival “hubby” could be, revealing that they lost touch. She is reported as expressing her hope that the ceremony wasn’t legally binding. It’s highly unlikely that Foxes has cause for concern, as there are various requirements for a marriage ceremony to constitute a legally binding marriage, including giving notice and the ceremony having to be performed by…

Thinking about writing a will can be depressing, because no one wants to contemplate the day when they will pass away and leave behind their friends, family and children. However, it is very important to craft a will so that it will be easier for your loved ones to deal with your affairs when that day comes. Without a Will, your assets could be divided in a way that doesn’t suit your wishes or your young children could end up in the care of someone who wouldn’t be your first choice. Having a Will is the only way that you…

Could an employer be legally bound by a broad statement that they would make no further changes to their pension scheme, even though this was not written into a contract? Yes, where this leads to a reasonable expectation on the part of the employees. Background IBM wanted to change the terms of its ‘final salary’ pension scheme. The changes they wanted to make included closing the scheme to future benefits, and closing an option to retire early on beneficial terms. IBM had previously carried out 2 exercises to change its pension schemes and, importantly, had previously said that there would…

More and more ex-service veterans are putting forward PTSD claims. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can disrupt lives significantly, but Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing can be highly-effective treatments. Sometimes a range of treatments can be used including medication to achieve the right results. The charity PTSD Resolution are offering what has proved to be a highly-effective service so far for veterans, reservists and families of people suffering from PTSD. The one-to-one treatment offered by PTSD Resolution means that patients can avoid significant travel, long waits and group therapy. The charity has built up a network of therapists across the UK…

Couples are have been told by the Law Commission that pre-nuptial agreements (prenups) should be legally binding in UK divorce settlements – as long as the needs of any children and the couple themselves have been considered. The Commission says that new guidelines should be drawn up to offer couples a more coherent idea on how their needs would be looked at in the event of a divorce. The report, entitled ‘Matrimonial property, needs and agreements’ does not propose a full overhaul of English marital law but does offer ideas on gradual reform to cope with cultural shifts. The Commission says that…

The last few days have seen a surge in interest in the possibility of pre-nuptial agreements becoming binding and the effect that that might have on the use of divorce lawyers versus DIY divorce solutions. The Law Commission’s Proposals First came the Law Commission’s recommendation on 27 February that ‘qualifying nuptial agreements’ (covering pre and post-nuptial agreements) should become binding.    In addition, the Law Commission proposed that investigations should be made as to the practicality of producing a (non-binding) formula capable of allowing couples to divide their finances on divorce by themselves. This prompted a rash of articles heralding a…

Radical reforms to family law services in 2014 mean fresh challenges for family lawyers and numerous difficulties for parents and couples. Family lawyers have already had to cope with huge changes in 2013, including the withdrawal of public funding (legal aid) for most family law cases and the closure of several local courts. Although, family law firms have risen to these challenges – for example by launching competitive fixed fee services – Emma Pearmaine, Head of Family Law at Simpson Millar LLP fears some clients may be hard hit by the fresh wave of reforms. “From April 2014 the single Family…

To say that this year’s legal aid cuts and changes to eligibility were contentious is something of an understatement – in June, hundreds of solicitors protested outside the Ministry of Justice condemning cuts and reforms to the system. The aim, the MoJ have said from the outset, is to make multi-million pound savings on a £2.1bn annual spend – one of the highest in the world. After raising a few eyebrows (to put it mildly), the cuts have come under renewed criticism from the Human Rights Joint Committee who, this month, claimed that the legal aid changes in their current…

The first thing to consider is what do people really mean when they talk about a compensation culture? Are they referring to a compensation culture amongst accident victims of exaggerating or making up their injuries in order to claim compensation, or are they thinking about the claims industry and the No Win/ No Fee compensation culture of dreadful TV adverts, nuisance telephone calls and unwanted texts? I am sure most of you would say both and whilst I agree; I think it’s important to put the accusations of a compensation culture of false and exaggerated clams into some context. From…

What does no win no fee mean? is a question that is asked a lot. We frequently hear banded about in the UK. It’s formal name is CFA – which means Conditional Fee Agreement. The no win no fee era was set in motion at the end of the  means tested, personal injury legal aid, in 1995. The idea behind it is that justice should be available for all, regardless of stature and financial position, arguably, as it should be. A no win no fee claim is a claim undertaken in the case of a client who has suffered physical…

Tip 1: Claiming for injury: act fast. It can be very important to make sure begin your claim as quickly as possible following an accident for a number of reasons. Firstly there are time limits for certain types of accident claims. And you wouldn’t want to miss out on your compensation that you might be due because you took too long to claim would you? Usually personal injury claims must be made within three years from the date of the accident (or date that you knew your injury related to the accident). If this time passes before you claim then…

The government has proposed enabling private firms to take over NHS hospitals’ operational management, particularly those facilities that have long-term financial difficulties. This type of hospital is frequently referred to as ‘failing’, even if they are persistently avoiding medical negligence compensation cases and are achieving excellent standards of clinical care. These financial struggles are being compounded by a drive to deliver efficiency savings worth £20 billion, as well as the requirement for all NHS hospitals to become part of foundation trusts before 2014. As a result, the government suggests that efficiency could be improved by increasing the private sector’s role…