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Posts for January 2012
Business success: your 2012 calendar launched
January 27, 2012
Surrounded by the brightest and best of the UK’s entrepreneurs, business minister Mark Prisk MP launched rather a useful tool for the UK’s small businesses at BIS HQ this week – a definitive calendar of events to help small business throughout Britain for every month in 2012.
Targeted at pre start ups as well as established and new businesses, the calendar marks the first time all Britain’s best business events feature on the same site in a searchable format. There are 600-plus events listed already – and Mark Prisk is aiming to get 1,000 online in the near future. He said:
“We want 2012 to be the year of enterprise, where entrepreneurs can unlock their business potential. Enterprise events don’t just take place on one day, or during one week, but they appear throughout the year and across the country.
“We need to make sure people know that there is support and advice available, that it is easy to get, and it is often on their doorstep.”
With shows, talks, workshops, schemes and local networking events listed, the calendar does just that. And the country’s diverse business support organisations – ranging from teachers who inspire primary school children to mentors of hi-tech start ups - are showcasing their event offers on the site too. Rajeeb Dey, one of the founders of the Government’s StartUp Britain campaign, said:
“The Enterprise Calendar is about helping businesses go for it. It will shine a spotlight on the broad range of plentiful resources that exist for people wanting to start or grow a business in 2012.”
The most up-to-date version of the calendar is online to search or download – and even upload your own event. Many events are free, so the calendar could well become an invaluable tool for you – and at the very least should benefit you with a couple of days of advice, inspiration and a range of handy new contacts.
Ending sex-discrimination - an Olympic feat?
January 26, 2012
As if ticket provision for London 2012 couldn’t get any more tricky, a new dustcloud around the Games box office is threatening to turn into a full-blown storm. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is insisting that even newborns – who wouldn’t have been conceived at the time of ticket allocation - will now require their own paid tickets to attend the Games.
Despite raised eyebrows from event organisers, including cinemas and theatres, who regard children under two years old as non-paying infants, and howls of protest from the public, LOCOG is standing firm. Now web forum Mumsnet is, unsurprisingly, complaining about the policy, which effectively prevents a breast-feeding mother from attending the Games.
This week the European Court of Human Rights looks set to enter the fray over whether or not this policy is actually discriminatory. Here’s what the 2010 Equalities Act says about maternity discrimination in public places and services:
(2)A person (A) discriminates against a woman if A treats her unfavourably because of a pregnancy of hers.
(3)A person (A) discriminates against a woman if, in the period of 26 weeks beginning with the day on which she gives birth, A treats her unfavourably because she has given birth.
(4)The reference in subsection (3) to treating a woman unfavourably because she has given birth includes, in particular, a reference to treating her unfavourably because she is breast-feeding.
LOCOG defends its decision by pointing out that many major sporting venues operate the same policy. Does that mean that the organisers are in the right, or simply that, until now, these venues have not been challenged?
The court’s decision could well impact on this country’s small businesses. Small firms may have read the rule book on employment legislation and equal opportunities but haven’t yet applied the same legislation to the services they provide customers.
As for the Olympics, maybe it’s time they provided unlimited on-the-day tickets for all babies. After all, they are unlikely to be occupying their own seat and hogging all the hot dogs – but they may get the gold for loudest audience members.
Separated parent information
January 23, 2012
As the divorce peak reaches its annual high in the early months of the year, you may want to know what courts actually do about living arrangements for your children. You might, for instance, be sent on a Separated Parent Information Programme (SPIP) – but if you’re dreading yet more argument, cost and conflict, Frances Place explains this is the last place you’ll find it…
Separated Parent Information Programme
If you are separating or divorcing and you have made an application to the court to sort out living arrangements for your children the court may have ordered you to attend a Separated Parent Information Programme (SPIP). You may feel reluctant to attend. You may want to know more what is involved.
Attending a SPIP will give you the opportunity to meet other people in conflict with their ex-partners over arrangements for the children and give you the opportunity to hear from two experienced trainers, often mediators, about the impact of divorce and separation on children and to discuss ideas to help reduce conflict and improve communication between you and your ex-partner. Research has shown the separation doesn't have to harm children if it is handled well; it is conflict that has a negative effect.
You will watch a DVD made by children that follows a family through a separation. The film focuses on what children feel as their parents separate and what they need from their parents.
There are discussions and tips on how you can try and communicate better with your former partner, even if they are being very difficult and do not seem to be cooperating. There are discussions about the emotional aspects of divorce and separation, tips on helping you look after yourself and on how you can move forward, putting the past behind you.
Parents are sometimes reluctant to attend but most parents who do attend find it a very helpful experience.
Putting the past conflict as a couple behind you isn't always easy; talking to other parents in similar situations and hearing from experienced trainers can sometimes help give you ideas on how to move forward and find ways of working together as separated parents.
Amongst other things, you will learn that:
1. You should try not to fight in front of the children or ask them to choose sides.
2. Your children may have different feelings to yours.
3. You should think about what you can do, not what your ex-partner should or shouldn't do.
4. You should focus on what has worked, not on what hasn't worked.
5. Small steps can lead to big changes.
6. Look after yourself and be the best parent you can.
So if you are ordered to attend a SPIP don't be negative or try and avoid going; you will hopefully find it a useful and informative day.
Frances Place is a qualified solicitor and partner in a family mediation service.
Employment Law 2012
January 11, 2012
Employment law will be reviewed in 2012.
While many dates are not fixed, one major change to go ahead will be that from April 2012, employees need two years’ continuous employment in a job to bring a claim for unfair dismissal (not one year as it stands currently). Tribunal procedure changes have also been announced:
- Unfair dismissal claims will be heard by a lone judge, not a panel
- The limit the deposits that tribunal claimants pay will increase from £500 to £1,000. Costs limits will rise from £10,000 to £20,000.
- The current practice of asking witnesses to read out statements to the tribunal will stop, and witness statement will usually be taken “as read”. Subpoenaed witness expenses will be paid for by the parties who call them into the tribunal. The judge may order the losing party to reimburse the successful party for witness attendance costs.
Tribunals will be able to levy cash fines on employers who breach employment legislation in a way that has “aggravated features”, which are not defined but are likely to be non-accidental. Penalties will normally be equal to half of the total award made by the tribunal in that case (subject to a minimum of £100 and an overall cap of £5,000) and are payable to the state, not the ex-employee (s).
Other changes are planned, but not in force yet. They include introducing compulsory mediation and an increase in use of compromise (aka settlement) agreements, including agreements for Equality Act claims. In addition, the Government is considering special dismissal arrangements for firms with under ten employees, where unfair is replaced with compensated no-fault dismissal (compensation to be equivalent to redundancy, it is thought), but these changes are not yet certain.
My thoughts on the Family Justice Review
January 05, 2012
This week, traditionally the busiest time for family lawyers dealing with post-Christmas-stress divorce enquiries, here are Colin Mitchell's reflections on the implications of December's Family Justice Review.
So, the long-awaited Family Justice Review, by the former senior civil servant David Norgrove, has now been released. One particular issue which made the headlines is that children should not automatically have the legal right to split their time equally between the mother and the father after their parents have separated (as Norgrove had suggested in his interim report might be one of his recommendations). Some fathers’ action groups have been disappointed with this, as they had hoped to be granted the legal guarantee that their children would have to spend an equal amount of time with them, rather than the children possibly spending the majority of time with their mother.
However, although the fathers’ action groups are disappointed by this part of the Review, the underlying principle of Children Law remains the same; the welfare of a child remains the paramount consideration.
Therefore, what the Family Justice Review has done is recognised that every case is different and that a “one rule fits all” approach is not appropriate in family cases. Current Family Law must still be considered in light of a family’s unique circumstances. When a judge has to make a decision, the law still allows him or her to tailor that decision to fit the unique needs of the children concerned. In some cases, this may result in children spending more time with their mother, but in other cases the time the children spend with their parents can be split more equally. Sometimes, the children spend the majority of time with their father.
However, it’s almost always better that a family problem is resolved outside of court, perhaps using Mediation or the Collaborative Family Law process. These processes not only provide a tailored solution but also provide the opportunity for non-legal professionals to become involved to help the parents focus on the children, not just themselves.
What any decent family law specialist needs to provide is bespoke advice on how exactly the law can apply to particular circumstances, by recognising that every case is
different, whilst also working with experienced and skilled non-legal partners.
Blog taken from Poole Family Law's blog, written by Colin Mitchell, a Collaborative Family Law/Divorce Solicitor working for Coles Miller Solicitors LLP
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