Member News

Steeles Law Associate Jean Parkinson and Trainee Solicitor Laura Tanguay discuss the new Private Member’s Bill on littering.

A new Private Member’s Bill on roadside littering was heard in the House of Lords last week. The aim of the Bill is to ‘close the loophole’ in the existing provisions and enable councils to hold someone accountable when litter is thrown from a vehicle.

At present, it is a criminal offence under sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (CNEA) 2005 which includes within the definition of ‘litter’ smoking related litter and chewing gum) to throw litter from a vehicle. Those found guilty of the offence can receive an £80 fixed penalty fine from the council, or a maximum fine of £2,500 for more serious offences tried in the Magistrates Court.

There is, however, a serious evidential difficultly in proving which particular person in the car was responsible for throwing the litter, and consequently, these provisions are rather ineffective in practice.

Because of this, the London Local Authorities Act 2012 was enacted this year to enable councils in Greater London to issue civil penalties for littering to the registered owner of the vehicle, thereby removing the evidential burden of the existing criminal provisions. The penalties operate in the same way that speeding fines, seat belt, and parking offences do, with the owner of the vehicle automatically liable but able to nominate the guilty individual to bear the penalty.

The proposed new Bill seeks to extend this civil penalty to local authorities across England, allowing those councils outside of London to benefit from the provisions, thereby removing the current anomaly and rounding the legislative circle.

The new Bill has the support of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), with CPRE Stop the Drop Campaign Manager, Samantha Harding, stating, “if people think they can toss litter from their cars, councils should have an effective way to fine them and that’s what this bill delivers.”

Clearly, littering is of widespread concern, not only because of the associated harm to our countryside and wildlife, but also because of the huge cost implications to Local Authorities in removing the rubbish from our streets. Green Flag reports that the cost to taxpayers of clearing up litter on the roadside is £850 million a year. Similarly, Keep Britain Tidy estimates that over 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from our streets every year at a cost of £885 million per year.

For further information on this topic, please contact Jean Parkinson on 020 7421 1720 or jparkinson@steeleslaw.co.uk.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently considered whether it was fair to dismiss two employees for taking preliminary steps towards setting up in competition with their employer. Employment Principal Lorna Townsend reports.

Following hot on the heels from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Ranson v Customer Systems plc (see our previous briefing), in which an employee who set up in business with his employer was held not to be in breach of his contract of employment, the EAT has considered the dismissal of two employees who had taken preliminary steps towards setting up in competition with their employer.

The two employees in this case, K and H, had put together a detailed business plan for the purpose of seeking investment in their own company, which would be competing with their employer’s business of operating residential care homes for children.

Both employees were suspended and then dismissed for gross misconduct following separate disciplinary hearings. The misconduct was described as a breach of the “fundamental trust and confidence” essential to the employment relationship. The employer relied in particular on the fact that K and H had used company resources, including information on costings, in the preparation of their business plan.

The employees’ claims for unfair dismissal were rejected by the employment tribunal, which concluded that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses open to the employer, following a reasonable investigation.

The EAT upheld the employees’ appeal and remitted the case to be reheard by the tribunal. The EAT was not satisfied that the information used by the claimants in the preparation of their business plan could necessarily be categorised as ‘confidential information’, the unauthorised use of which would amount to a fundamental breach of contract. The tribunal had not fully considered the question of whether the employees were acting in breach of their contract of employment by using company information in the preparation of their business plan.

Comment

The EAT in this case has provided a useful reminder that whilst employers have a considerable freedom to define what they will treat as gross misconduct, it is not in itself gross misconduct for an employee to make preparations for conducting a future business after his employment with his current employer has terminated. It is likewise not necessarily the case that every piece of information the employer has, and that the employee may be aware of, can properly be regarded as ‘confidential information’ within the strict legal meaning of the term.

Employers should exercise caution before terminating an employee’s employment in this situation. It would be prudent for employers to make sure that employment contracts and policies make the employee’s duty of confidentiality, and the consequences of breaching that duty, very clear.

A copy of the EAT judgment is available here

Steeles Law Head of Planning & Environment David Merson previously reported on Coalition proposals to revise the planning system and in particular proposals to amend the Use Classes Order. He now looks at Communities Secretary Eric Pickles’ announcement today highlighting the proposals to remove restrictions on temporary use of empty high street shops.

Temporary or so called ‘pop-up’ shops often use empty high street shop premises until a permanent tenant can be found.

The time and cost associated with securing the necessary consent required to comply with any planning rules controlling what type of business a shop can be used for can often make the difference between the venture ever getting off the ground or not. In addition, empty high street shops give rise to many problems: lost revenues, blight, economic stagnation and anti-social behavior.

It is now proposed that Landlords would be free to temporarily change the use of an empty shop for two years where the use would be low impact which the Coalition believes can help reinvigorate the high street. Appropriate temporary uses changes are though likely to be within use classes A1 (e.g. retail shops, hairdressers, post offices), A2 (e.g. banks, betting shops, employment agencies), A3 (e.g. restaurants and cafes) and B1 (offices).

Details of the consultation exercise can be found here. The consultation period runs for ten weeks from the date of publication on 3 July 2012 and end on 11 September 2012.

If you require further information or advice on any issues raised in this article or any other planning & environmental matter please contact David Merson on 020 7421 1720 or dmerson@steeleslaw.co.uk

New routes and more choice for sun seekers from Norwich International Airport

Thomson and First Choice are pleased to announce that for Summer 2013 they will be doubling capacity at Norwich International Airport through the introduction of three brand new routes to Dalaman in Turkey, Enfidha in Tunisia and Tenerife – as well as the addition of another weekly flight for existing route Palma.

The move to introduce these routes is part of the UK’s largest tour operator’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly from their local airport and stay at the best hotels in some of the most exciting destinations.

Not only will customers from East Anglia now be able to visit new destinations, they will also have the opportunity to choose varying durations – not just the standard seven and 14 night stays. The changes also mean that Thomson and First Choice customers will now be able to fly to Palma and sail on the Thomson Dream cruise ship visiting a number of ports across the Mediterranean. An increase in capacity on the existing Norwich to Corfu route will also see a further 50 seats a week available to local customers.

Local Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire customers will now have access to some of Thomson and First Choice’s most highly scoring flagship hotels including; the five star Sensatori Tenerife, which gives customers a luxury holiday experience, featuring world class spas and gourmet dining; and the Holiday Village Tunisia which delivers everything a family could want in one place – great entertainment, food, kids clubs and lots of activities to keep the whole family occupied.

Paul Cooper, Airport Negotiations Manager for Thomson and First Choice, said of the move:

“Doubling capacity demonstrates our continued commitment to the region and Norwich International Airport, which has always been a popular departure point for our customers. The increase in capacity comes as a direct result of customer feedback – our customers want to fly from their local airport.

“Modernising our operations across the UK is a key part of our overall strategy and this move is definitely a step in the right direction towards creating an enhanced holiday experience for our customers.”

Andrew Bell, the airport’s Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted that Thomson and First Choice have announced these fantastic new destinations and increased the frequency on two of our most popular holiday flights. This decision demonstrates their commitment to the airport and reflects the high level of demand from customers wishing to fly from Norwich.

“An easy, hassle free start to a holiday cannot be under estimated. With short journey times to the airport compared to London airports, on-site secure car parking next to the terminal, a friendly welcome when you arrive, efficient check-in and security procedures and no endless corridors to navigate with your bags, Norwich International Airport puts some of the pleasure back into flying.”

Bigfork have just launched a new website for Flooring Supplies Anglia, the regions leading flooring products distributor. Using our strategic approach to website design we produced a digital marketing plan which included a website content plan, search engine optimisation and a broadly appealing, easy to use design. The new website is supported by our Content Management System which allows FSA to manage all content inhouse. See the new site at www.flooringsuppliesanglia.co.uk

A new set of Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure has been published, following a fundamental review carried out by Mr Justice Underhill. Professional Support Lawyer Elizabeth Stevens looks at the main changes.

In November 2011, Mr Justice Underhill (former president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal), was asked by the Government to conduct a fundamental review of the existing Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure. This review has now been completed and a new set of draft Rules has been published, which will be the subject of a formal consultation later this year.

The new draft Rules are intended to be more straightforward and easier to understand, particularly for unrepresented parties. They are written in simpler language and are less than half the length of the existing Rules.

Some of the key proposed changes are as follows:

• Introducing a new ‘sift’ process at an early stage of the claim, aimed at identifying weak cases and dismissing them without a full hearing if they are regarded as having no reasonable prospects of success;

• Combining the existing separate case management discussions and pre-hearing reviews into ‘preliminary hearings’;

• Requiring tribunals to give reasons for all decisions on disputed issues;

• Allowing tribunals to set strict timetables for oral evidence and submissions;

• Simplifying the rules relating to default judgments;

• There will be no change to the substantive criteria for the award of costs or making deposit orders, but the new Rules will remove the current cap of £20,000, above which costs awards must be referred to the county court for assessment (meaning that tribunals will be able to assess costs above that limit themselves).

There will also be new versions of the prescribed claim (ET1) and response (ET3) forms, which will also be subject to consultation later this year.

A copy of the new draft Rules is available here

Employment Team win Tribunal for Golf Club

Leathes Prior’s Employment Team successfully represented Sheringham Golf Club at an Employment Tribunal this week.

Faced with high value claims for alleged disability discrimination brought by a former Club Secretary/Manager, claims always strenuously denied by the Club, Dan Chapman (Head of the Employment Team) represented the Club during the course of three days before Bury St Edmunds Tribunal. All claims were unanimously dismissed.

The litigation was complex and lasted for almost two years, and the outcome thus comes as a huge relief – not to mention vindication – for the Club. Dan commented; “We are delighted for the Club, and particularly those committee members and officials who have had to give evidence in these proceedings and give up so much of their time helping me and my team defend these claims. Without their support and endeavour, we would not have been able to deliver the successful outcome which was not only essential for the future of the Club, but absolutely just in the circumstances.”

The Government has confirmed the level of fees for bringing an employment tribunal claim, to be introduced from next year. Professional support lawyer Elizabeth Stevens reports.

Following the consultation that was issued in December last year (see our previous briefing), the Government has issued its response confirming plans to introduce fees for bringing a claim in the employment tribunals.

Fees will be charged in two stages: the first will be payable when a claim is issued; the second will be payable prior to the hearing. The level of the fee will be determined by the type of claim:

Level one claims are generally straightforward claims involving a defined sum of money, such as unauthorised deductions from wages and redundancy payments. Such claims will require an initial fee of £160 when the claim is issued, followed by a further £230 is the case proceeds to a hearing, making a total fee of £390.

Level two claims are those involving more complex issues, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and equal pay. Such claims will require an initial fee of £250 followed by a hearing fee of £950, making a total of £1200.

Fees in claims involving multiple claimants will be increased by a factor depending on the number of claimants. A fee of £600 will be introduced for judicial mediation (which is currently free of charge). Fees will also be introduced for bringing an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Those on low incomes will be subject to the remission system that currently applies in the civil courts, meaning that they may not be required to pay the full fees. In addition, the tribunal will have the discretionary power to order the losing party to pay the fee incurred by the successful party. This will mean that if an employer loses a claim brought against it in the employment tribunal, it may be ordered to reimburse the fees paid by the claimant.

One of the Government’s stated aims for introducing fees is to encourage parties to think carefully about whether to lodge a formal claim, or whether it can be settled informally via mediation or conciliation. The Government wants to ensure that tribunals are used as ‘the option of last resort to resolve employment disputes’. The introduction of fees will also go some way to meeting the £84 million cost of running the employment tribunal system.

It is proposed that the new fee structure will be introduced from summer 2013.

A copy of the consultation response is available here

The firm’s Franchising Team is boosting its international profile by sponsoring a team of three students who are undertaking the 9,500 mile journey from Goodwood to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Rally’s rules state that maximum engine capacity is 1,200 cc and that the car must be less than 10 years’ old. In other words a “banger”. So the team of Teddy Chadd, Poppy Rainer and Pete Henriques, known as the “Three Mongateers”, is driving a turquiose 1.2 litre Vauxhall Aguilawith LP’s banner.

The route takes the team through Europe and on to Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Russia before arriving in Mongolia around 6 weeks later. The Vauxhall Aguila is making good progress and has just crossed the border into the Czech Republic. The money raised by Teddy and his team will be split 50:50 between Help For Heroes and Lotus Children’s Centre Charitable Trust.

Whilst Western Europe has a developed franchising sector many of the other countries which the Vauxhall Aguila will encounter are somewhat behind the curve. Jonathan Chadd, head of Leathes Prior’s Franchising Team explains:

“Much of the impetus in franchising over the last 25 or so years has come from the US and Western Europe. We have seen an accelerated impact of franchising in countries like Australia and Brazil. However, whilst India and China are fast becoming franchising heavyweights much of the rest of Asia is still deemed to be a relatively untapped market. The principal benefit of franchising is it allows developed businesses with globally recognised brands to be adopted and replicated by entrepreneurs in developing countries with relative ease. We are delighted to have been able to support the rally and the initiative of the Three Mongateers in participating and raising funds for such good causes. We have asked them to report back on their experiences and in particular to identify the opportunities that exist for franchising and licensing into the diverse Asian countries through which they will pass.”

Steeles Law called in to Wymondham based communication solutions provider and fellow Chamber member APR Telecoms on Friday to deliver the champagne prize won through its Norfolk Show business card draw.

Steeles Law Business Development Executive Matt Reed presented the bottle to Matthew Coe, who is part of the executive team at APR Telecoms.

This year’s Show saw Norwich, Diss and London based firm Steeles Law increase its presence at the event, with a spot in the new All About Business networking marquee, in addition to its continued sponsorship of the bandstand.

Steeles Law Property Disputes Associate Jean Parkinson and Trainee Solicitor Laura Tanguay discuss the recent gas safety prosecution of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

The most recent statistics available from the Health and Safety Executive (“HSE”) reveal that there were 264 gas related incidents in the last recorded year, causing a total of 18 fatalities and 399 non-fatal injuries. But despite these tragic outcomes – and indeed, the serious consequences of flouting gas safety legislation – we are presented with another example in the news of a local authority landlord in breach of its obligations.

Following on from our article, “Safe as Houses? Required Gas Safety Checks for Landlords”, we are prompted to revisit this topic by the recent prosecution of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

On 11 July 2012, the local authority was fined £83,600 for failing to arrange annual safety checks on gas appliances in its tenanted properties. Investigations by the HSE revealed the authority failed to provide adequate certification in respect of appliances in many of its properties between April 2008 and July 2010.

At the hearing, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard evidence that the various breaches had been uncovered following a tenant complaint that gas safety certificates were not available. Upon inspecting that property, it was found that the gas safety record had expired on 4 April 2008 – 15 months previously.

By law, landlords are required to arrange annual gas safety checks (undertaken by a Gas Safe registered engineer) and maintain gas safety records for every tenanted property in its portfolio as per the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (the “Regulations”).

The local authority in this instance was prosecuted under Regulation 36(3)(a) of the Regulations. Under Regulation 36(3), landlords must:

1. check every gas appliance for safety within 12 months of being installed by the landlord and every 12 months thereafter;

2. check every gas appliance owned or installed by the landlord for safety within the 12 months prior to a new lease commencing; and

3. keep records in the manner prescribed by the Regulations of appliances checked and retain these for a period of 2 years thereafter.

The authority pleaded guilty to all nine breaches of the Regulations and was fined a total of £83,600 and ordered to pay full costs of £15,553. At the Crown Court, a breach of these Regulations can in fact be punishable by imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

There are a host of further gas safety requirements in addition to the above to which landlords must adhere, a summary of which can be found on the HSE website. Should you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Jean Parkinson on JParkinson@steeleslaw.co.uk.

On Tuesday 10th July, Norfolk training company, the Red Cat Partnership, travelled to London to be honoured in the House of Commons by the President and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

Husband and wife team, Sarah Daniels and Richard Mills, who established The Red Cat Partnership in April 1999, made the trip to receive the awards for CIEH Health & Safety Training Centre Of The Year, as well as CIEH Trainer of the Year, for their delivery of the CIEH Level 4 Award in Health & Safety in the Workplace. They were joined by Sarah Moss, one of their course delegates, who is Branch Office Administrator for the Samaritans in Norwich. Sarah beat nearly 2000 other candidates who took the course in 2011 to be awarded Highest Scoring Student of the Year, with an impressive result of 95%.

This is the second consecutive year that The Red Cat Partnership has been awarded these highly prestigious honours from the CIEH, which is the professional voice for environmental health; setting standards, accrediting courses and establishing qualifications for the education of members and other environmental health practitioners. In addition, the CIEH gives information, evidence and policy advice in the public and private sectors, as well as providing qualifications for over 50 certification training programmes, hosting events and supplying support materials on topics relevant to health, wellbeing and safety, to develop workplace skills and best practice.

The Red Cat Partnership is based in central Norwich and offers a wide range of courses and expert consultancy in health & safety and food safety compliance. They are one of over 6,000 training centres for the CIEH, which enforces the highest standards from all of their registered centres, trainers and staff, as well as presenting clear guidance on what to expect from trainers and training centres and outlining procedures for candidate enquiries.

The CIEH awards aim to recognise the trainer and training centre which has supported the delegate who achieves the highest exam score for their Level 4 Award in Health & Safety in the Workplace, worldwide. The awards are results based and companies cannot nominate themselves or others. Instead the awards are judged by the CIEH based on exam results and course delivery.

The course itself is delivered over five days and is designed for owners, senior management and those in a supervisory role of small to medium sized businesses, and for those who have a hand in higher level management of larger businesses, such as hotel managers or residential care home managers. It aims to equip delegates in applying the basics of an appropriate management cycle to their business, and to have a more detailed understanding of key Health and Safety issues, such as hazard areas. Assessment is by a formal written exam, and a controlled assignment, in the form of a case study of the delegate’s own business, which is also carried out under exam conditions.

Richard Mills, Director of The Red Cat Partnership, said: “We work very hard to use a wide variety of activities and case studies to ensure the five day course is interesting and stimulating, as well as an effective learning environment. The course itself is equivalent to degree-level studies and requires a great deal of work, so it is important that our delegates are passionate and enthusiastic about their learning experience.”

Sarah Daniels, Director of The Red Cat Partnership, said: “We are obviously over the moon to have been honoured by the CIEH for the second consecutive year. It is particularly rewarding that these awards are based on the success of our delegates, which obviously speaks volumes and there is no better testament to the successful delivery of any course than when our delegates achieve outstanding results. We would like to congratulate Sarah for doing so fantastically well and to thank her for her passion and enthusiasm.”

Sarah Moss, Branch Office Administrator for the Samaritans, said: “The course was extremely interesting and informative – I really enjoyed the five days with Sarah and Richard and felt I learnt a great deal. The course was invaluable in introducing me to the legislation underpinning health and safety, as well as helping me to identify and understand workplace hazards and how to assess and reduce risk. The course also helped me to understand how to manage health and safety in the workplace, so that by the end of the course I felt well-equipped to go on and apply what I had learnt in a practical way, in my role with the Samaritans.”

Heather Griffin, Deputy Director for the Samaritans, said: “Achieving her CIEH Level 4 Award in Health & Safety in the Workplace has been invaluable for Sarah in her role with us here at the Samaritans. For her to be honoured with this award, therefore, really is the icing on the cake and we would like to thank Sarah and Richard at The Red Cat Partnership for supporting Sarah in achieving such a great result.”

For details of the next course contact the RedCat Team on 01603 502136