Member News

The Leathes Prior Employment Team represented Blakeney Manor Hotel at Norwich Employment Tribunal, in the defence of a constructive dismissal claim brought by a long serving manager.

Rejecting the claim without criticism of the Hotel, Judge McMahon held that the employer had at all times acted reasonably and that the manager had not been entitled to resign and consider herself unfairly dismissed.

Dan Chapman, Head of the Employment Team, appeared before the Tribunal as the advocate, and the case had been prepared by Catherine Hepworth (shortly to qualify as a Solicitor).

This summer Air Malta will again operate weekly charter flights to/fromseven regional airports in the UK between May and October 2013. In linewith demand and operations in previous years, Air Malta will operatecharter flights to/from Birmingham and Cardiff with two flights every weekon Tuesdays and Fridays, and weekly flights on Tuesdays to/from Bristol,Exeter, Newcastle, Norwich and Glasgow airports.

These charter flights increase accessibility to the islands from regional UKairports and thus offer travellers the opportunity to travel out and backfrom their nearest home airport. Furthermore, such flights also attract theinterest of the Maltese traveller to visit family and friends in various citiesin the United Kingdom. The operation of such regional services was madepossible thanks to the support received from tour operators and traveltrade partners in the areas.Commenting on these services, Philip Saunders, Chief CommercialOfficer said, “Air Malta is building on its position in the UK as a leader inthe market to Malta. Our summer charter operations further confirms theairline’s commitment to boost incoming tourism to Malta from the UK, andto bring Malta closer to their home. These flights also make it much easierfor the Maltese market to visit the British regions.”Air Malta operates such charter services as a supplement to the regularscheduled services to/from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester, andlikewise offers 20Kgs for checked in baggage and up to 10Kgs as handluggage allowance for each passenger. Seats are available also for salevia the airline’s portal www.airmalta.com and via the international Call-Centre on 00356 21 66 22 11.

Norwich International to Malta operates 07 May – 22 October 2013.

Tour operators that will take allocation on the flights and offer package holidays are listed below: Belleair Sunspot/Mercury Direct Thomson Thomas Cook Cosmos Prestige Holidays Classic Collection Flexible Trips Superbreak

Flights and package holidays from Norwich International to Malta can be booked via your local travel agent.

Norwich International Airport’s travel show has been re-scheduled to take place on Saturday 23rd February from 9am to 3pm in the airport terminal building with free entry and free parking for all visitors in the short stay car park.

The event, now in its fourth year, is a great way to start planning for your 2013 holiday and offers local holidaymakers the perfect opportunity to meet and talk with tour operators and airlines flying from Norwich International and to pick up brochures including Fly Norwich 2013 which is being launched at the event.

Over 25 tour operator, airline and business stands including local hotels, and flying schools will be on hand throughout the day to chat, offer first-hand destination and product advice on their Norwich departures.

There are also great opportunities to save money with exclusive offers and fantastic booking incentives available on the day including 5% off and free Norwich airport parking for all holidays booked.

Plus, the chance to win fabulous prizes in the Grand Draw being held at 2.30pm with the main prize a fabulous holiday for 2 to Lake Garda, other prizes in the draw include; short break to Isle of Man, return flights to Aberdeen, holiday vouchers, flying lessons and much more. Additional free to enter competitions will be taking place throughout the day with many more great prizes to be won.

A must visit event for all your travel needs from Norwich International!

For further details please call 01603 428700

Employees from the Norwich branch of Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) put their decorating and gardening skills to excellent use this week by renovating a garden wall at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) in Quidenham. As with all of the charity’s hospices, Quidenham cares for life-threatened children and their families by providing short breaks, care at end of life, bereavement support, and many different activities and therapies.

Eight volunteers, split into two teams, spent Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th February giving the wall in the hospice’s sensory garden a revamp. As a place of relaxation for children and young people with life-threatening illness, it is vital the area is kept in excellent condition.

The volunteering builds on a long-term relationship between Pure and EACH, whose Royal Patron is The Duchess of Cambridge.

Joseph O’Sullivan, Pure Office Manager and one of the volunteers, says, “We really enjoyed volunteering for EACH Quidenham. First, the wall had to be cleared of ivy – one brave team member even climbed the six foot wall to get rid of it! We then sanded it down and gave it a coat of bright yellow paint. It was an inspiring day that makes you realise you can do something to help others – you just need to give a little bit of your time.”

Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure, says, “Pure is proud to continue our support of EACH not just in Quidenham, but across the East of England. Volunteering is a wonderful way to help EACH keep the hospice in great condition for the children, young people and their families. Our volunteers also feel a great sense of satisfaction knowing they are helping.”

Gary Cook of EACH, says, “Our children and young people need pleasant, cheerful and calm surroundings so they can be as comfortable as possible. We are delighted that staff at Pure in Norwich were able to give their time to help us provide a home-from-home for everyone who visits – be it for one day or for an extended period.”

The Pure volunteering project kicks off another year of charity activity; the company already has fundraising events planned in Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge and Chelmsford, to raise funds for EACH and other charities in the East of England. To find out more about Pure’s charity support, contact Anna Hill, Marketing Manager on 01223 209888 or Anna.Hill@prs.uk.com.

Deanna Auker has joined the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) as marketing manager, bringing with her a wealth of experience in marketing for national and international clients.

In a career spanning more than 13 years, Deanna has worked successfully and closely with international airlines KLM, Flybe and bmi in her role as commercial and marketing manager at Norwich International Airport, and has been responsible for the marketing strategies and all communications as marketing manager for M&H Plastics and The Castle Mall, Norwich.

Most recently Deanna led communications and events focused on a clinical restructure of more than 4,000 staff at the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. “I am really pleased to be joining EEEGR at such an exciting time for the organisation and the energy industry,” said Deanna.

“I am really looking forward to meeting existing stakeholders and establishing relationships with new ones. By using my knowledge and experience of marketing on a global scale I hope to present new opportunities for members and to help grow EEEGR, while building on the continued success already achieved by my new colleagues.”

EEEGR chief executive Simon Gray said: “I know all the team and directors will welcome Deanna to this exciting position which is so essential for the organisation’s future prospects. I’m sure her ability and experience will add even more to what our excellent EEEGR team has already achieved.”

Steeles Law’s employment team would be delighted to welcome you to our next employment law update briefing, which will be held on Thursday 21 March 2013 at St Andrews House, St Andrews Street, Norwich, NR2 4TP, 8.00am (for 8.30am start) to 10.00am.

The briefing will be delivered by qualified and experienced lawyers who specialise exclusively in employment law, with the emphasis on the practical implications of the law for your business. Delegates find these briefings a fantastic opportunity to keep up-to-date with the latest legal developments:

“An excellent update, a must attend for the HR professional. Very good value for money!”

“I find these briefings to be an essential part of keeping up-to-date with varying employment matters. You give real information and practical guidance to take away and apply. Thank you.”

Wide-ranging and radical reforms of employment legislation are due to take place during 2013 and beyond. The briefing will cover essential recent and forthcoming developments in employment law, including the following topics:

• Termination of employment: Looking at new plans for pre-termination negotiations and “settlement agreements”, as well as changes to compensation awards for unfair dismissal and a review of some recent cases in this area.
• Tribunal rules of procedure: A brief overview of major changes to the tribunal rules taking effect in April 2013 including the introduction later in the year of fees for lodging tribunal claims as well as plans for compulsory pre-claim conciliation.
• Redundancy: Outlining changes to the rules on collective redundancy consultation due to take effect in April and some recent cases on redundancy dismissals.
• Family-friendly rights: Looking ahead at plans for shared leave as well as extensions to flexible working and parental leave rights.
• Working time: Reviewing the latest developments in relation to sickness absence and holiday, and plans for reform of the Working Time Regulations.
• Employment status: Considering the impact of recent case law and looking at Government plans for the introduction of a new “employee-shareholder” status from April 2013.
• TUPE: Outlining major proposals for reform of the existing TUPE Regulations and key case law developments in this area.
• Religion and belief: Looking at recent high-profile decisions from the European Court of Human Rights and considering the potential impact for employers.

We can offer confirmation of attendance for CPD purposes for those delegates who require this.

Booking details

The briefing will start at 8.30am on Thursday 21 March 2013 (breakfast will be served from 8.00am) and will finish at approximately 10.00am, allowing you to attend with minimum disruption to your working day. Parking is available nearby at St Andrews car park.

The cost of the briefing is just £30 plus VAT per person and includes a buffet breakfast, which will be available before the briefing. If you book a place by 4 March 2013, you can book a second place at half price, for just £15 plus VAT.

If you would like to attend please contact Gemma Pendleton, Marketing Manager, with details of delegate name(s), job title, full company name and address, telephone and email contact details, and details of any dietary requirements.

Zing Insights have been awarded the research contract for Europe’s biggest trade show event for the retail industry. Zing will be conducting research with visitors at Spring Fair International which runs from during February, using their innovative iPad Research Pods.

David Langrish, Global Head of Brand Marketing at i2i Events Group said “It is important to us that we have real-time data collected during the show to provide our sales team with the insights they need to aid the exhibitor re-booking process. Zing came highly recommended and they have an innovative, flexible way of collecting large amounts of data, fast, during the event and not having to wait until after the show for results.”

Zing director Jo Walther said “Our research pods are the perfect data collection solution for any high footfall area, we’ve used them in retail outlets, in tourist attractions as well as at events to capture customer views at the point of consumption”. We’ve also found significant differences in results captured during an ‘experience’ vs. those captured after using online research methodologies because online samples are self-selecting, results are often much more polarised and extreme, positive and negative, whereas our samples are more reflective of an overall customer perception.”

Zing Insights is an award winning research and insights consultancy run by a team of highly skilled research professionals with over 40 years experience of delivering world class business insights. Zing were highly commended as a finalist for the EDP Business Award – best new business 2012 and are in this year’s EDP Future50.

This is Week 4 of behind the scenes of the furniture. The Norfolk Broads inspiration has put together two versatile occasional tables for anyone’s fancy

Check out our website for the full collection www.devirsity.com

Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/DeVirsity2012

and Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Devirsity/211923178941065

Trainee Solicitor Marija Markovic considers the impending changes and the impact on the civil litigation process.

In 2010 Lord Justice Jackson published his report dealing with the issue of disproportionate costs in civil litigation. He said: “In some areas of civil litigation costs are disproportionate and impede access to justice. I therefore propose a coherent package of interlocking reforms, designed to control costs and promote access to justice.”

Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations were taken on board and evidenced in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). The Act received royal assent in May 2012 and is to be implemented in April 2013.

There are certain changes within the recommendations that affect many matters that we deal with on a daily basis in the dispute resolution team at Steeles Law. Such changes include:

• Non Recoverability of Success Fees
• Introduction of Damage Based Agreements
• Non Recoverability of After the Event Insurance premiums
• General Damages Increased by 10%

Non Recoverability of Success Fees

Under s44 of LASPO, other than for mesothelioma claims, success fees under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) will no longer be recovered from the losing party. Currently, the winning party’s legal representatives are able to enjoy an uplift of up to 100% on their costs as a success fee. However, post 1 April 2013, the winning party will pay the success fee from the damages awarded to him/her. To replace the current CFA arrangements, Damage Based Agreements are proposed instead.

Damage Based Agreements (DBAs)

Also known as “Contingency Fees”, DBAs are very similar to CFAs in that the legal representative is only paid if the client wins his/her case. If the client loses, the legal representative receives nothing. Under a DBA, the client is obliged to pay to the legal representative a pre-agreed percentage of the damages he/she is awarded. Upon success, the client’s representatives are still able to recover their costs from the opposing party in the first instance. In cases where the amount recovered from the opponents is not the total amount to which the legal representatives are entitled under the DBA, they may then recover from the client the difference between the agreed percentage under the DBA and the amount recovered from the opposing party.

For example, if the client and representative enter into a DBA with an agreed fee of 25%, and the client receives £10,000 in damages, the representatives will then be entitled to £2,500. However, if the losing party has paid £2,000 to the representatives in respect of costs, the client will then “top up” that amount by £500, meaning the total amount paid to the representatives is £2,500.

There are limits as to the amount a legal representative can recover under a DBA:

• There will be a 25% cap on the amount of damages that can be taken as the legal representative’s fee in personal injury cases (excluding damages for future care and loss)
• There is an existing cap of 35% for damages in employment tribunal cases
• There will be a cap of 50% for all other cases under a DBA in civil litigation

Non Recoverability of After the Event Insurance (ATE) premiums

The purpose of ATE is to cover the opponent’s legal costs in the event that the client loses the case. In the event of success for the client, the losing opponent currently has to pay the insurance premium. As with success fees, with effect from 1 April 2013, the client will be liable to pay the ATE premium from the damages he/she receives upon success.

It is important to note that CFAs and ATE policies entered into before the implementation date of 1 April 2013 remain unchanged.

General Damages Increased by 10%

The above reforms appear to be one-sided and of greater disadvantage to the claimant than the defendant. To balance this, the government has introduced an increase of 10% on general damages in respect of the following:

• Pain, suffering and loss of amenity in respect of personal injury
• Nuisance
• Defamation
• All other torts which cause suffering, inconvenience or distress to individuals

The extra 10% is designed to allow for premiums and fees payable by the claimant, so that the damages the claimant actually receives upon success are not reduced too considerably. An example of this can be found in the first case to embrace the reform, Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1039.

Comments

As is shown, compared with the current framework, it seems the reforms are of a greater disadvantage to the claimant than the defendant. The claimant is responsible for paying the success fee and ATE premium, both of which can be significant amounts. Depending on the case, an increase of 10% to general damages may not be sufficient to cover these costs.

It is also important to consider the wider implications. If a claimant’s claim has a strong prospect of success, the claimant may choose not to purchase ATE in order to avoid having to pay the premium, thus having an adverse effect on insurers. It may mean insurers having to lower their premiums to continue to operate within the civil litigation arena.

For legal representatives, the absence of the 100% uplift on success fees may not be a favoured part of the reform. However, despite not being as lucrative, the availability of DBAs at least provides a replacement mechanism to reward representatives for the success of claims.

Currently, claimants are able to pursue the “give it a go” attitude with “no win no fee” – they have nothing to lose. This can lead to costly litigation. The reform is likely to provide a mechanism for preventing the spiralling of costs in some cases when a CFA is involved. For those that have strong and genuine grounds for a claim, the avenue is there for them to pursue it but for those that wish to try their luck, as of 1 April 2013, it will be worthy of careful consideration.

Employers inthe East of Englandare stepping up recruitment of temporary staff, despite new government regulations that have boosted the cost of employment. According to a survey carried out by specialist recruitment company, Pure Resourcing Solutions, 85 per cent of employers recruited more or similar levels of temporary workers during 2012 compared with the previous year. Almost all employers questioned said that the Agency Workers Regulations introduced in October 2011 would not affect their volume of temporary recruitment, nor the length of time they recruit for. The regulations give temporary workers the same basic employment and working conditions as permanent staff, and it had been feared that this would put employers off employing temps for more than 12 weeks, after which the main elements of the regulations kick in. The survey, carried out across East Anglia, found that the main reasons organisations recruit temporary staff are for special projects or to cover maternity leave. However, other important reasons to engage temporary staff include: sickness cover or as an interim solution while a permanent appointment is being made. Anyone thinking of temporary employment should be aware that the two most prized qualities are special expertise and the ability to work in a team. This Eastern region data from Pure is more bullish than a similar national survey carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation late last year. “We are delighted to find that employers in our specialist sectors of professional support are not being put off recruiting temporary workers”, said Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure Resourcing Solutions, “However, we acknowledge that sectors such as manufacturing may be experiencing a greater effect. Temps are a highly flexible and cost effective way of acquiring expertise quickly, and today’s organisations need to be able to react faster than ever before.” “Employer legislation continues to evolve”, adds Gill. “Many responsible employers will already have processes in place.” Other new regulation which businesses need to be aware of and which will start to affect businesses of all sizes include a requirement to automatically enrol workers onto a pension scheme. Pure Resourcing Solutions carries out regular surveys into employment issues across the East Anglia region.

Copies of the full survey findings are available from Anna Hill, Marketing Manager at the company.

Rapidly-evolving energy production technology services company Proserv has secured two major contract wins worth in excess of £15 million for work in the North Sea, further strengthening the company’s market-leading position in the subsea controls and communications field.

The first deal is with TAQA for the control of subsea wells approximately 16.5km from the Tern platform in the Cladhan field. Proserv will implement a system to control three subsea wells as part of a significant development project for the company. Using Proserv’s proprietary Open Communications Controller (OCC) technology, the system will provide a high-speed network capable of communication speeds up to 1.3Mbps.

The second contract award is with another leading operator and also involves work to control the subsea wells. Proserv will use a cutting-edge system, which will control a number of wells and manifolds. This features a fibre-optic communications system using Proserv’s Open Communications Hub (OCH) technology for fully transparent communications and high-speed data monitoring from the subsea multi-phase flow meters and control modules.

Proserv’s facility in Great Yarmouth will be the focal point for both contracts with all the manufacturing work taking place in the Norfolk town.

Commenting on the recent award wins, David Lamont, Proserv’s chief executive officer, said: “Both contract wins reflect Proserv’s industry-leading position and strong track record for delivering high-value integrated technology systems on time and within budget.

“Proserv’s fast-growing suite of technologies have been developed based on the company’s ‘ingeniously simple’ philosophy and are underpinned by the company’s international talent pool of technical and engineering expertise which has expanded considerably through organic growth and strategic acquisition.

“As a result, Proserv continues to expand both globally and particularly in the North Sea where our strong and expanding client base is testament to our levels of technology and service. We look forward to working with two leading operators in the region.”

In 2012, Proserv made two high-profile acquisitions which not only bolstered its capabilities but saw its global headcount increase by more than 600 people to over 1,600.

Proserv specialises in exploration & production, drilling, and infrastructure technical solutions and services to the global energy industry. The company operates worldwide from 30 sites in 6 geographical regions namely North UK & Africa, South UK & Europe, Scandinavia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa and the Far East & Australia.

NORWICH, Monday 11th February 2013 – Airport supports local scout group Norwich International Airport had pleasure in providing 2nd Hellesdon Scout group with 60 hi-visibility vests for the Beavers and Cubs. The vests will enable the young children to enjoy a range of activities and visits safely.

Jean Grimbly, Beaver Scout Leader for 2nd Hellesdon Scout Group said “We are delighted that Norwich International has been able to support us to ensure the road safety of our young Beavers and Cubs. The vests are paramount to ensuring the road safety of sixty children aged 6 to 10 years of age. It will also ensure that our Beavers and Cubs can safely gain their hikes away badge and will work with our sections for them to gain their safety badge”

Emma Grimbly, Assistant Scout Leader for 2nd Hellesdon Scout Group said “I am grateful to the Norwich International Airport for the support we have received. What started out by me as simply being a plea to local organizations and businesses has been welcomed with support and partnership from the marketing team at Norwich International. I am overwhelmed that they have been willing to provide these hi-visibility vests something that I saw our group was in desperate need for. Now thanks to Norwich International Airport we have the resources to keep our young people safe on all activities throughout the year regardless of how light it is outside in the evenings when we run our activities”

Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International Airport said “As an airport we are committed to work with and contribute to the local community and we were very pleased to be able to help the scout group with funding this project”