Member News

The current coronavirus pandemic has truly turned the world on its head with worrying implications for individuals and businesses alike.

One shining light in all of the gloom is the ability of some businesses to adapt.  We have seen our local pubs and restaurants, seemingly doomed following the Prime Minister’s address on the 20th March, now setting up as take away and ready meal suppliers. Brewers across the country are turning their production lines over to the production of hand sanitiser, possibly the new liquid gold.

Other manufacturers have got in on the act looking at ways they can turn their production lines to new products.  Even a small business in Bury St Edmunds, normally making replica model buildings for model train enthusiasts is turning its hand to PPE equipment for our under pressure NHS.  On a larger scale, car and other manufacturers are being asked to make safety equipment, ventilators and new hospital beds.

Turning production to new product lines is not immediately straightforward however.  Businesses will have major practical and regulatory issues to overcome, but the desire, demand and skills are there and it is inspiring to see the sector rise to the challenge to meet the new “war effort”.

There are of course many existing product lines out there helping the international effort against the virus.  Some manufacturers are producing working on new, stripped down products which can be fabricated quickly and in volume.  All of these products can be licensed to other manufacturers, both in and outside of the UK spreading the load and reducing bottlenecks in the supply chain. 

These arrangements do require careful documentation though. Intellectual property rights and confidentiality need to be protected and it is vital that the rights and obligations of all the parties are clearly defined along with the methods of remuneration, most likely to be a commission. 

Whilst our healthcare professionals and scientists spearhead the effort to beat the virus, our manufacturers have a key role to give them the tools they need to keep us and themselves safe, so hats off to them.

Geoff Hazlewood, Partner

This information is correct at 2.30pm on 26 March 2020.

We are seeing enforced or elected isolation with one’s spouse having a negative effect on the relationship of some married couples. Evidence from China suggests that divorce rates have risen significantly as a direct result of couples spending much more time in each other’s company than otherwise would have been the case.

Undoubtedly, couples can plan to use this new found time together constructively but where there are already significant fractures in the relationship, the added pressure of constant time together might well prove the tipping point which pushes the marriage over the edge.

Police sources have confirmed that they anticipate an increase in domestic violence whilst this pandemic persists which will result in added pressure on the Courts, Women’s Aid and other organisations whose advice and assistance is sought. It is important that whatever the circumstances anyone who experiences any form of domestic violence reports these issues immediately to the Police, seeks legal advice and obtains emotional and practical support. For many it will be the final nail in the marital coffin. So what should you do if you sense that the marriage is now sliding into an abyss?

Those affected need honest and no nonsense advice from an experienced lawyer who can help them chart a course through this difficult period and advise them on any immediate and urgent steps that need to be taken in order to safeguard themselves or their assets. They have to have access to initial free legal advice in order that they can be helped to understand the options that they have, explore the assistance that might be available, understand their rights and decide what form of action best suits their circumstances.

Baroness Shackleton and other divorce experts have, in the light of the pandemic, said that they anticipate increasing numbers of divorces in this country and the need to obtain appropriate and experienced advice will rise.

It is important that any advice sought comes from a source that is very experienced in dealing with all the complexities that divorce situations produce – from lawyers that have many years of experience in helping people through the stress and difficulties of divorce and are able to guide people to achieve a secure financial future. The professional ability that Ashtons are able to bring to bear on a case means that our clients often come to seek our advice not only from East Anglia but also from many other parts of the country and internationally.

If you are starting to think that your marriage may not endure for what may be a significant period of enforced or elected isolation, then please do get in touch with our family team on 0800 915 6037 or go to https://www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/your-life/family-law-solicitors/. We will arrange a completely confidential and no cost telephone discussion with you so that the ending of your marriage might well be the start of a new, secure and happier life.

Stephen Williams, Partner.

This information is correct at 12.30pm on 26 March 2020.

Businesses processing personal data need to keep protection of customer and employee data at the front of continuity planning as they tackle the coronavirus threat.

The increased risk of data security lapses

Staff are likely to be working remotely or under different circumstances which could make customer information more vulnerable to data breaches with cyber-criminals ratcheting up their fraudulent scams. Alongside, data relating to employee health during the pandemic may be subject to special security requirements.  

Businesses are implementing contingency planning with staff working from home and using domestic internet and possibly personal devices to access cloud-based software and systems, making it more important than ever to keep data safe and secure.  

While data protection law doesn’t stand in the way of homeworking, or the use of personal devices, it demands even greater attention to security measures as the ones that you use in the office will need to be tailored to suit these new circumstances.

The human element is often the reason for most data breaches and without direct supervision and colleagues to consult, these may be more likely to happen. Certainly, there are reports of a steep rise in attempted cyber fraud, with many more phishing emails, malware and social engineering, where fraudsters dupe staff into revealing information or making money transfers. 

Handling data belonging to affected people

The other major threat to data security during the crisis is the handling of individual information about staff and visitors, which might include who has travelled to high risk areas, symptoms, test results and when self-isolation has taken place. This is personal data protected by GDPR, but where it concerns health it may be specially categorised data under Article 9 of GDPR, which requires further grounds for processing this kind of data.

Employers will most likely want to rely on the ground in Article 9(2)(b) (“employment, social security and social protection”) to process special category data about their employees. In the UK the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 says that companies must take steps to look after the health, safety and welfare of staff. This means that it is reasonable, and normal, for businesses to collect certain information as part of their general duty to their staff. There is a clear limit to what employers can collect however, just as the new guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19 from the government makes clear that they expect most employers to collect data about coronavirus just for the purposes of assisting their staff, rather than making plans or a strategy for dealing with it, which are to be left to the NHS. There may be other grounds that businesses can rely on – these will depend on the circumstances and the likely impact of doing so.

Employers should also still be very mindful of the overarching data minimisation principle; that they should only collect what is strictly needed for the task in hand. This means applying limits to what they ask and not having a ‘one size fits all’ approach, since what may be relevant for one person could be irrelevant for another, and collecting that irrelevant information would infringe the minimisation principle.

The ICO has published guidance 

Following the drastic measures announced last night on the grounds of public health, there have been many questions as to what this means for separated families throughout the country.

The government have issued some guidance which can be found in the attached document.

The crucial point for separated families is at bullet point three of the first section. The footnote to this bullet clearly sets out that where applicable, it is possible to move children under the age of 18 between the houses of two parents. This means that if you have an order in place providing for your child to spend time with both parents, or if there is an agreement that you have with a former spouse or partner in respect of your children, that this should be adhered to. 

It is important when dealing with the practicalities of this to ensure that the guidance on social distancing is followed where possible during handover, and that if for any reason it is necessary for the household of which the child is apart to quarantine due to illness that NHS advice is followed.

In those situations, it is still possible to consider indirect contact between a child and the parent with whom they are not able to have contact – various social media platforms such as FaceTime or Skype and other forms of indirect contact will make it possible to ensure that a good relationship continues between a child and it’s remote parent. 

It is also important to remember that co-parenting in this situation is crucial and should you need any advice about practical steps that can be taken to try and achieve this, please consider the CAFCASS website https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/

Should you have any specific questions as to how this relates to your family, please contact Joanna Cotgrove or a member of Ashtons’ family law team on 0800 915 6037 or go to https://www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/your-life/family-law-solicitors/

This information is correct at 10.30am on 24th March 2020.

Help Please is a new LinkedIn Group, created by Brian Bush, that is dedicated to connecting businesses who have a need or problem with people/businesses who can help.

It’s simple, if you need help with something post it onto the group, and if you can help with something or direct to an introduction please do likewise.

You can find the group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12385978/

Like many businesses across the country, construction projects are being hit by uncertainty, and for many clients, the prospect of their sites being at a standstill for months is a cause of real concern.

Whether it be staff shortages due to self-isolation, or a government-ordered lockdown there is no doubt that this will have ramifications for both employers and contractors, but there are steps you can take now which can minimise your exposure.

At Ashtons Legal we have a specialist construction team who can assist you deal with these difficulties in a commercial and pragmatic way. Sarah Duncan, who has over 19 years experience in the sector has the following comments:

1. Don’t panic but do prepare! Ask your legal advisor or contract administrator to check the position in the contract, if an issue arises regarding staff shortages this is likely to be a grey area, in the event of a government-ordered “lockdown” this is likely to be a force majeure event which would entitle the contractor to additional time and money if they operate the contract procedures correctly.
2. Consider ways to minimise your exposure to additional preliminary costs, could you take partial possession of part of the site?
3. Speak to your contractor and contract administrator and agree on a way forward, the contractor has a duty to try to mitigate costs and delay as much as possible, and taking a conciliatory approach will reduce costs in the long run.
4. Consider drawing up the agreed terms in a formal agreement, including any options regarding payment terms and drawdown so that both parties have cost certainty.

We are here to support your business through this difficult time, to give you the best opportunity of minimising costs taking early and specialist advice is crucial.  If you have any queries, please contact Sarah Duncan directly on 07484 047524

This information is correct at 1.00pm on 20th March 2020.

On Friday 20 March 2020, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced significant support for businesses in the UK to deal with the effects of COVID-19.

The most significant from an employment perspective is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The details of this scheme can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

The scheme will be available for all employees currently paid via PAYE and will be backdated to 1 March 2020. he scheme will be open initially for three months but the period may be extended if needed

As a business, the guidance states that you will need to:

1. Designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change. We consider that ‘furloughed workers’ means keeping the employees on the payroll rather than laying them off or making them redundant. Changing the status of employees to ‘furloughed workers’ is subject to existing employment law, therefore, you would need to agree to any changes with your workforce (unless you have set lay off, etc provisions in your contract of employment). The workforce would be likely to agree to any changes if the alternative is redundancy or lay off. If you have more than 20 employees affected by any changes to terms and conditions or proposed redundancies, our team would be happy to speak to you about collective consultation obligations.
2. Submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required).

HMRC will then reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC is working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. Although it is not clear yet, it is likely that the £2, 500 per month will be a net figure to be placed into the hands of employees and include pension etc. However, we will need clarity on this point.

Please note that it will be the employer’s decision on whether to designate employees as ‘furloughed workers’ therefore employees cannot just be given this status without the agreement of the employer.

Further information

For specific advice for your business, please get in touch with our specialist Employment Law team through this website or by calling 0330 404 0778.

For all of our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) advice, please visit https://www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/coronavirus/

Our partners at Ashtons HR Consulting may also be able to assist you.

This information is correct at 10.30am on 23 March 2020.

I have been so touched at the level of #coronakindness over all socials and the kind offers of support in our region – it is heart warming at such a difficult time.

We would like to extend our support  to colleagues and and are in a great position as a business to help you reach out to your most important asset – your teams. We have designed a bespoke team survey for your use (free of charge) which has been written following conversations with businesses across many sectors to ascertain the type of insight that will be of use. Questions such as how you are communicating with teams and your customers and do they have the right tools for their roles in the current circumstances requiring new ways of working for some. The survey is anonymous for participants.

Understanding how your teams feel at this current time will be crucial in making sure you are making the right decisions for them and your business, as we ride out the pandemic.  Having vital colleague insight at this time will enable you to make decisions quickly. 

It is totally FREE of charge including the outputs from the report.  To sign up and receive your unique link please follow this one.

 https://www.insight6.com/form/coronavirus-team-survey/

Stay safe everyone.

Judy

judy.randon@insight6.com – 07909 542737

With businesses suddenly having to manage a considerably more remote workforce due to the impact of coronavirus, we asked ourselves, how can we at Safepoint help?

To help support businesses in these tough times we’ve put together some free resources, as well as providing Safepoint completely free to anyone that needs the extra support.

Did you know that staff who work from home are considered ‘lone workers’ by the government? If self-isolation is your first experience with hiring lone workers, it’s recommended that you create a ‘lone worker policy’. Don’t worry, you can make one using our free document builder here: https://www.safepointapp.com/lone-working-policy-builder

We also know that, despite Covid-19, some essential services can’t operate from home. To help, we’re offering a completely free month of Safepoint for anyone who needs it. Sign up at https://www.safepointapp.com/ and use the code PROTECTMYSTAFF at checkout.

Fifty HR professionals from across the Eastern region attended the latest HR Energy event hosted by Pure and Mills and Reeve.

The HR Energy breakfast sessions, founded by Pure’s Senior Managing Consultant Becky Wilson and Mills and Reeve’s partner James Kidd, provide learning and networking opportunities for those in the HR sector.

The latest session, held on Tuesday 10 March at Mills and Reeve’s offices in Norwich, was based on the topic of Relationship Intelligence.

The aim was to explore how HR professionals can enhance alliances across organisations by building stronger relationships and how to maximise the impact and influence of HR to positively influence people and engage action.

Guest Speaker Joe Mills, MD and Founder of consultancy firm The Tree Academy, helped to bring the subject of Relationship Intelligence to life. Joe explained how Relationship Intelligence is the applied awareness of people’s motives and strengths to communicate in the right style and achieve goals faster.

Becky, who specialises in HR recruitment, said: “This was another fantastically inspiring event and Joe was a really engaging speaker. Understanding people’s emotional responses and their main motivators is a powerful tool for maximising the impact of HR. It builds more effective communications, as well as helping to create and maintain a culture of psychological safety and trust which increases employee engagement. This resonates even more in our current challenging times.”

Joe explained how understanding the motivations and reasoning behind someone’s decisions enables people to communicate more effectively, and more emotionally, leading to faster results and stronger relationships. Delegates also explored the three main motivators which influence people’s emotional responses; people and wanting to help others, performance and wanting to achieve results or process and wanting to establish order.

For more information about future HR Energy events contact Becky Wilson on becky.wilson@prs.uk.com or 01603 216 450.

Please note that Trading Standards have received details of Coronavirus (COVID19) related community scams. We are continuing to issue our alerts and post messages via social media of any scams or information we receive. For more information about the current scams or rogue trading in Norfolk sign up to Trading Standards Consumer or Business Alerts at: www.norfolk.gov.uk/scams or follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/norfolktradingstandards Twitter: twitter.com/NorfolkCCTS You can report scams to us via our partners, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 or via their online reporting form

MHA Larking Gowen Corporate Finance Partner, and business coach James Lay discusses how to ‘keep things in perspective’ amidst current uncertainties.

There’s no doubt about it, the COVID-19 pandemic is deeply concerning for everyone. And it is everyone!

Other than World Wars, it’s difficult to think of anything which has or ever will affect so many of us across the world simultaneously. Although a glib comparison, even when global sporting events take place, there are huge swathes of the global population who pay absolutely no attention. But this is clearly different and hugely important. For those who aren’t affected by the virus directly, there’s little way of avoiding the restrictions being put in place across all of our societies. 

Who could have possibly seen this coming? Well, anyone who has seen Bill Gates’ TED talk from 2015 will see his alarmingly accurate warnings. Clever chap that Bill! But there’s little point looking back with hindsight at the ‘if onlys’. We must all pull together and support those who are directly affected by the virus. And for everyone else, we must take responsibility for how we choose to respond to the 24/7 rolling media coverage which is creating understandable anxiety across the globe. 

The American Psychological Association (APA) has put out some tips to manage this anxiety which are more grounded in reality, compared to much of what we are reading in the general media.

The five tips are:

Keep things in perspective. Most people should not get seriously unwell; even those over 70 can take steps to minimise the likelihood of getting the virus. As more data becomes available the analysis suggests the death rate is relatively low.

Get the facts. Avoid getting caught up with sensationalised media coverage and focus on reports from the relevant authorities.

Communicate more. Share qualified data with others. If we remain calm, it builds confidence and reduces anxiety in others.

Keep connected. Maintain a sense of normality with all your personal and business connections ‘electronically’ using face-to-face technologies like Zoom, Skype and Facetime. Use texts, emails and social media if you must, but they don’t create the same level of connection. Of course, there’s always the phone and hand-written letters too!

Seek help. We’re all in this together. No one is alone. Let’s look after ourselves and proactively support other people. In working relationships this should be true both up and down the chain of command. Leaders should be supporting their team members but, just as importantly, team members should be looking out for their leaders. And, if anyone is feeling an overwhelming nervousness, sadness, or other reaction, then they really ought to consult a mental health professional to manage their stress. 

In terms of businesses, of course, they are all currently dealing with a short-term heightened level of disruptive change associated with potential working from home changes, new policies, home pressures and concerns, disrupted customers and new technologies that need to be implemented quickly. What we are seeing is that around one third of businesses are now exceptionally busy (and doing OK), for the next third it is roughly business as usual, and the final third are experiencing significant trouble. Of the final category, maybe half of those businesses may prove difficult to save. So, as you can see, the impact of COVID-19 is maybe not quite how it is being portrayed in the media, and in truth every business will need help and support in differing ways. 

Watch out for a series of further posts and videos over the coming days with practical business tools and advice to support people and businesses. We are also available through Skype to provide business coaching to businesses – please just get in touch – james.lay@larking-gowen.co.uk.

Stay safe. 

James Lay

Partner