Archive for February, 2012

Employment Law What are your Rights?

February 20th, 2012 by admin

The legal rights of workers in Britain have evolved steadily over the past few centuries, moving from a system in which child and slave labour were accepted to one that confers numerous rights on employees. Though employment law is subject to change, its principal aim to ensure the equitable treatment of people in the workplace continues to provide employees with a degree of security.

Solicitors
Employment law advice is available from various sources, but few can claim to be as knowledgeable, helpful and capable as specially trained employment law solicitors, whose job it is to understand the law and apply it in the interests of their clients. Employment law solicitors are usually only called upon when disputes arise in the workplace, such as when employees believe they have been dismissed unfairly.

Areas of Employment
Some branches of employment law share common ground with other specialities, including personal injury, contract and human rights. The areas of employment law most often dealt with by lawyers include claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, redundancy, working hours, discrimination, harassment, occupational illness, maternity and paternity rights, employment contracts, TUPE (mergers), dispute resolution, minimum wage, salaries and bonuses, disclosure and civil litigation. Each of these areas is likely to feature numerous types of legal issue.

Dismissal
Employment law solicitors are no more useful than when they help clients win back their jobs – or receive damages – after being unfairly or wrongfully dismissed. Lawyers can assist clients by briefing them before and during an employment tribunal, although many cases are resolved earlier through mediation. Employment law aims to balance the sometimes competing interests of employers and employees to reach settlements that are legally just or equitable.

Discrimination and Harassment
Two other important areas in which employment law serves to protect workers are discrimination and harassment. Discrimination can adopt various forms, but most claims are based on issues of sex, religion, age or disability. Every person ought to have an equal chance of succeeding in the workplace, but many find that employers limit their prospects for reasons that are not connected to ability or performance. Workers can also take legal action against their employers or supervisors if they are harassed or bullied in the workplace.

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Do we Believe all we see on TV!

February 20th, 2012 by admin

In the last few years, the TV advertising landscape has changed dramatically, particularly in the field of daytime viewing. Where once advertising tended to focus on household products and consumer goods, nowadays there is a huge presence of companies promoting themselves as personal injury experts and specialists in dealing with the legal matters arising from such claims.

Compensation Claims
This form of advertising has led a far more aggressive compensation market, which has been actively encouraging the public to make injury claims at work, even if the incidents are several years old. They advise people to hire lawyers to seek compensation from the companies, employers or individuals involved.

Many of these offers are advertised on a ‘no-win, no-fee basis’, with large figures relating to previous client successes flashing across the screen. And they certainly have been effective, with record numbers of applicants contacting these lawyers and pursuing out-of-court settlements or taking claims to court.

The Consequences
The effects have been serious. For every person who claims for a personal injury, a large number of non-claiming customers bear the costs through rises in insurance prices. Witness, for example, the rising cost of car insurance resulting from these claims and the increasing number of drivers who drive without insurance, saying they can’t afford it.

The litigation culture has also led to a heavily regulated health-and-safety culture and the cancellation of activities deemed to be ‘too dangerous’, such as school trips, where the public-liability insurance premiums are too expensive for schools and youth groups to pay.

Scammers
The fact remains that for every personal-injury claim that is genuine and deserves compensation, there are other claims which need careful assessment to assess how genuine they really are. Weeding out ’scammers’ is a time-consuming, expensive job that unfortunately continues to have an impact on the everyday insurance costs that the public must pay to cover such activities. It continues to curtail some enjoyable activities, as the burden of regulation and other ‘protective’ measures becomes too much for the public to bear.

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Local Solicitors and their benefits

February 13th, 2012 by admin

The process of claiming compensation for an illness or injury that was caused by somebody else’s negligence is one that many people assume to be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. Very often, this proves not to be the case.

Choosing a Solicitor

Once diagnosed by a doctor, perhaps after suffering whiplash in a car accident or developing hearing loss in the workplace, the prospective claimant is tasked with finding an honest, reliable solicitor. This is usually not a problem in major cities throughout the UK. Home to some of the country’s leading personal injury solicitors Liverpool is no stranger to acts or omissions of negligence, which is why accident victims in the area are advised to choose local solicitors over national firms.

Why Local?

Local solicitors are ideally positioned to deal with personal injury claims because they are able to provide their clients with a personal service during an extremely difficult time. Of course, local solicitors are not merely useful for handling claims involving personal injury; some types of legal work necessitate the involvement of local firms.

Conveyancing is one area of legal practice that ought to be carried out by local solicitors. Possessing knowledge of an area and almost certainly having connections with local surveyors and estate agents, solicitors situated near to the client (or their property) are able to offer the best advice at the lowest cost. Local solicitors are also on hand to deal with any last-minute contract alterations, disputes and legal issues.

Other areas of the law in which local solicitors may be considered the preferred choice include commercial litigation, wills and probate, equitable trusts and professional negligence.

Removing the ‘Middleman’

One of the most compelling reasons to use a local solicitor rather than a national firm is that the latter often consists of various ‘middlemen’ who complicate the legal process. Personal injury claims, for example, are often dealt with by accident management firms or ad hoc legal departments. Removing the middleman by dealing directly with local solicitors invariably saves both time and money.

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Divorce a hard time for families

February 13th, 2012 by admin

There are few darker experiences for a family to endure than divorce. Whilst spouses spit and scream towards separation, children often ask why, querying what went wrong, how it happened and who was to blame. Some children end up blaming themselves.

Legal Issues

Divorce can be made much worse when couples fight. The end of a marriage that was meant to last forever could be acrimonious, protracted and financially ruinous, which is why help should be sought from family law solicitors.

Home to some of the country’s finest divorce solicitors Stockport experiences its fair share of marriage break-ups. If divorcing parents choose to contest custody of their children or fight over personal property, it is essential that divorce lawyers are called on to provide expert mediation. Solicitors often help to broker divorce settlements long before arguments descend to costly battles in court.

Children

The emotional, intellectual and psychological development of children can be greatly disrupted by divorce. If parents choose to end their marriage, it is important that they communicate the reasons why to their children, who should not be left to ponder the possibility of their playing a part in the break-up. As much as possible, attempts must be made to divorce children of blame when a marriage hits the rocks. Children must be afforded the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns at every stage of the divorce process, if only to prevent them feeling isolated and culpable.

Parents

A divorce is also difficult for parents, even if the decision to end a marriage is mutual. There are many reasons why couples resort to divorce. According to the Office for National Statistics, adultery was the grounds for 18,745 (16 percent) of the 119,425 divorces in England and Wales in 2010, whilst behaviour was listed as the cause in 57,702 (48 percent) of cases.

Amid the emotional turmoil of divorce, couples should take a moment to reflect on how others, particularly children, may be affected by the dissolution of a marriage. Though concerning matters of the heart, logic and reason must be applied to reach an equitable solution for everyone.

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