Legal Updates

On the 6 July a team of four intrepid climbers from Sydney Mitchell Solicitors will take on the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge. 12 hours, 3 Peaks, 64 pairs of socks and an abundance of plasters, is in between them and victory.

They are taking on this gruelling challenge to raise funds for two worthy causes, Age UK Solihull and The Buddy Bag Foundation.

Age UK Solihull is a charity with a mission to improve the lives of older people within the Solihull Borough. Age UK Solihull provides many services including social clubs and befriending programmes to tackle feelings of isolation and loneliness many within the older generation are going through.

Please click on the following link to learn more: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/solihull/about-us/

The Buddy Bag Foundation provides comfort to children who enter emergency care after fleeing violent situations at home. Buddy bags help to restore a sense of safety and security into a child’s life during a traumatic time.

To learn more about The Buddy Bag Foundation click on the following link: https://buddybagfoundation.co.uk/our-mission/

To sponsor our “Peaky climbers” in their aim to raise money for these two charites please click on the link below and donate, all donations are welcome.

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/PeakyClimbers-Sydneymitchell

Watch out for more information. Hour by hour coverage will be posted on the 6 July on our Facebook page @SydneyMitchellSolicitors

Our lawyers are recommended in The Legal 500 United Kingdom 2018 editorial (listed below)

WEST MIDLANDS
Dispute resolution - Commercial litigation - Birmingham
- Dean Parnell
- Kamal Majevadia

Dispute resolution - Debt recovery
- Kamal Majevadia
- Hayley-Jo Lockley
- Gemma Parker

Finance - Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Leanne Schneider-Rose

Human resources - Employment
- Dean Parnell
- Samantha Glynn

Insurance - Clinical negligence - claimant
- Mike Sutton
- David Lydon
- Adam Hodson
-Stephen Jesson

Insurance - Personal injury - claimant
- Mike Sutton
- David Lydon
- Adam Hodson

Insurance - Professional negligence
- Sundeep Bilkhu

Private client - Contentious trusts and probate
- Kamal Majevadia (leading individual)
- Tracy Creed

Private client - Family - Birmingham
- Karen Moores
- Mauro Vinti

Private client - Personal tax, trusts and probate
-Tracy Creed ~
- Nicholas Bennett
- Ravinder Sandhu

Public sector - Health
- Dean Parnell
- Fahmida Ismail
- Tony Harris (Deceased)

Real estate - Commercial property - Birmingham
- Georgina Walsh
- Div Singh
- Fahmida Ismail

Real estate - Property litigation
- Sundeep Bilkhu
- Kamal Majevadia

In an era of apparently ever-increasing property prices, many young people rely on the so-called ‘bank of mum and dad’ to help buy their first homes. In a ground-breaking decision, the High Court took that into account in awarding the three dependent sons of a road accident victim more than £200,000 in damages.

The twice-divorced father was aged 52 and had a son, aged 22, and twin boys, aged 12, when he was knocked off his motorbike by a car, suffering fatal injuries. The motorist’s insurers admitted liability for the accident on his behalf but disputed the amount of compensation due to the sons. The Court was therefore required to assess the financial value of their dependency on their father.

In ruling on the matter, the Court noted that the father was a self-employed project planner in the building industry who earned in the region of £55-60,000 annually. It was apparent from the evidence that he was a loving and generous father who took an active interest in the lives of his three children. Although his oldest son was an adult when he died, he had only just left university and was still to some extent financially dependent on his father.

Noting the difficulties that young people nowadays face in climbing onto the property ladder, the Court found that the father would have contributed to the cost of buying his sons’ first homes. He would, amongst other things, have given the boys presents and paid towards the cost of their holidays, birthday parties and weddings if they chose to get married. He would also have paid regular maintenance in respect of the twins and funded their continuing education, including driving tuition.

The total award in respect of the sons’ loss of dependency on their father came to £203,741. The Court awarded a further £10,765 to the father’s estate to reflect the pain and suffering he endured before his death and various costs, including funeral expenses.

For help or advice on this or other personal injury claim matter, please speak to David Lydon d.lydon@sydneymitchell.co.uk

Over 65 attended the Sydney Mitchell LLP ‘Movers & Shakers’ Midlands Networking event at Ginger’s Bar, Purnell’s Bistro in Newhall Street Birmingham.

Karen Moores, Partner said: “An excellent turnout; with many guests commenting on the relaxed atmosphere and the good cross–section of professionals joining in from the city. The food as always was superb; provided by Glyn Purnell and his team.”

Sydney Mitchell specialist teams include employment, commercial property, company and commercial services, litigation, insolvency, licensing and gambling law. Private client teams include family law, residential property, dispute resolution and wills and probate, tax and trusts and personal injury.

Pictures - link

A professionally drafted will is something every adult should have. Not only does it provide certainty as to who should inherit your possessions after your death, but it will also make things a lot easier for your executor at a time that is usually very stressful.

A recent case illustrates this point. It concerned the death of a man whose failure to make a will stating his intentions threatened to deprive his ex-wife and two children of their rightful inheritance when he died suddenly.

During the course of his first marriage, the man and his wife had lived modestly and worked hard to bring up their children and to establish a thriving family company. When they separated and divorced, however, he was the company's sole owner. After he remarried, the company was sold and he received a sum of almost £5.2 million, which was paid into his second wife's bank account.

Following the divorce, the man had maintained a good relationship with his first wife and their children. He promised that he would pay for them to be housed comfortably and that he would cover the costs of the children's private education. However, he had done neither of those things before his premature death.

His first wife and children launched proceedings under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 with a view to obtaining reasonable provision from his estate. A declaration was also sought that the proceeds of the company's sale fell into his estate.

The man's widow contested the case, however, on the basis that the millions he paid into her account were a non-returnable gift. It was also submitted that, as an American citizen, the man was not domiciled in the UK and the Act therefore had no application to the case.

Following negotiations, a settlement of the dispute was agreed whereby his first wife would receive money and property worth a total of about £1 million. A further £950,000 would be divided between the two children. In approving the settlement, the High Court noted that it properly reflected litigation risks and avoided the trauma of what would otherwise have been a hotly contested trial.

Says Hayley-Jo Lockley,

The situation could have been easily avoided by the deceased taking advice and executing a Will stating his intentions regarding the distribution of his estate.  However, clients often contact us after the event when an estate has already become contentious. In those situations, negotiation is sometimes a sensible way to resolve a dispute, as litigation can be expensive and has a less certain outcome.

For help or advice on dispute matters, please speak to Hayley-Jo Lockley on 0808 166 8860 or email: h.lockley@sydneymitchell.co.uk; alternatively to ensure your Will is robust and fit for purpose, please speak to Debra Lourenco on 0808166 8860 to arrange a meeting with a member of our private client team.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, commonly known as Acas, has issued new guidance for employers and managers on age discrimination, which is surprisingly one of the most common forms of unfair treatment in the workplace.

Over-50s now make up nearly a third of the UK workforce and no matter what the age, can experience discrimination based on their age.

The guidance explains how age discrimination can occur, how it can be prevented, how to deal with it if it does happen and how different treatment because of age can be allowed in certain situations, what we call objective justification.

The overview of age discrimination includes links to the following factsheets:

• Age discrimination: key points for the workplace. See http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/o/1/Age_discrimination_key_points_for_the_workplace.pdf;

• Age discrimination: ten obligations for employers. See http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/p/d/Age_discrimination_ten_obligations_for_employers.pdf; and

• Age discrimination: top ten myths. See http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/p/l/Age_discrimination_top_ten_myths.pdf.

The guidance also gives details of the key areas where age discrimination may happen, points out the danger of stereotyping because of age and gives examples of the type of ageist language that could be perceived by the individual addressed as discriminatory.

It is very important to note that in discrimination, it is how the recipient perceives the words, which matters more than the intention of the person saying them.

There is also a short video on the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

To find out more on this and how it affects you, contact Emma Hewitt today on 0808 166 8860 or email e.hewitt@sydneymitchell.co.uk.

Leading West Midlands’ law firm Sydney Mitchell celebrated their 11th successful quiz at The Studio in Birmingham, raising over £3000 for its nominated charities. 90 people took part in the action packed Quiz with Stoo Pittaway, of SpeedQuizzing as Guest Quizmaster. It was a fast and furious event with a few twists. Teams were able to buy chance cards, giving teams the opportunity to leap to first place, add or deduct 10-30 points during the competition.

The winner of the much coveted Sydney Mitchell Charity Quiz Trophy for 2019 was Cornwall Street Barristers ‘Cornwall St Quizzers’ who were fast and accurate on the buzzers in the last round despite Dains ‘the Forlorn Hope’ fleetingly jumping to first place after the chance cards had been applied.  Close on their heels in 2^nd place was No. 5 Chambers ‘Hoof Hearted’ and in 3^rd place Eastcote Wealth ‘11 Donald Trump’s IQ’.  Voted best team name waswon by Brewin Dolphin with ‘Don’t EU love me baby?’. 

Karen Moores, Sydney Mitchell Partner, commented:

We look forward to the quiz each year and it is great to see so many regular supporters coming year after year.  Overall we raised over £3000 from entry fees, raffle and the Chance Cards sold.  We thank everyone for their support and to Cornwall Street Barristers for the hamper raffle prize. It was great fun and raising money for two fantastic causes.

Angela Henry, Trustee of the Buddy Bag Foundation, thanked all for supporting the fundraising for their charity.

 Thank you to Sydney Mitchell for choosing us as their chosen charity. It is so great to be able to help youngsters flea perilous situations at home and the foundation would not be able to function without the generous support from our sponsors and fundraisers.

Rebecca Jacob, Digital Marketing and Fundraising Officer for Age UK Solihull, addressed all quizzers:

We are proud to be able to help our older and vulnerable residents in Solihull and Age UK Solihull would not be able to do this without the support of you all at events such as the Sydney Mitchell Charity quiz.

Sydney Mitchell is a Midlands based award winning law firm, with offices in Birmingham City Centre, Sheldon and Shirley with additional facilities in Sutton Coldfield. Offering a range of specialist legal services for both businesses and individuals, Sydney Mitchell is listed in the Top Tier of the Legal 500, Lexcel accredited and has been shortlisted for Regional Law Firm of the Year in 2019; having previously won the award in 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011 and 2008 (5-15 partners) in the Birmingham Law Society Legal Awards.

The firm’s specialist teams include employment, commercial property, company and commercial services, litigation and insolvency. Private client teams include family law, residential property, dispute resolution and wills and probate, tax and trusts and personal injury.

Pictures from the event - Sydney Mitchell 11th Charity Quiz 2019
Winners, 2nd Place and 3rd Place plus voted Best Team Name:

1st Prize - Cornwall St Barristers – Karen Moores, Partner presented Champagne to Winners
(Andrew Tucker, Karen Moores, Georgia Griffiths and Simon Bradshaw) (Cornwall Street Quizzers)

2nd Prize -   No. 5 Chambers - Eamon Hurley-Flynn, Gemma Roberts, Peter Mottram and Karen Moores Sydney Mitchell LLP (Hoof Hearted)

3^rd Prize – Eastcote Wealth - Ben Brayshaw, Rob Kenyon, Alex Haynes, Karen Moores (Sydney Mitchell LLP) (Donald Trump’s IQ)

Brewin Dolphin – Paul Fielding, Paul Hepherd, Debbie Liburne and Paul Sargent -  Don’t EU love me baby?  Best Team name presented by Stoo Pittaway

About our charities
Age UK Solihull
Age UK – Solihull provides help and support to older people in the borough of Solihull. The Vision of Age UK Solihull is of a world where older people flourish and our Mission is to improve the lives of all older people in the borough. The Core, Central Library Building, Solihull, B91 3RG
0121 704 7840 info@ageuksolihull.org.uk  @ageuksolihull Charity number 1055887

Buddy Bag Foundation
The Buddy Bag Foundation was created in response to the rising number of children who enter emergency care after fleeing violent situations at home.  The Foundation helps restore a sense of safety and security into a child’s life during a traumatic time.  By providing these children with a few essential items, the charity can help make the transition into emergency care a little easier.  Over 48000 children require emergency accommodation each year in the UK.  Founder Karen Williams launched the Buddy Bag foundation in 2014 after being inspired by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation in Australia. hello@buddybagfoundation.co.uk
www.buddybagfoundation.co.uk @buddybagsuk Charity No. 1164916

Great news... Sydney Mitchell shortlisted for Regional Law Firm of the Year and excellent client service for its Dispute Resolution team .

click image for full list

See coverage in the Birmingham Post

Abolition of the "Swedish derogation”

The draft Agency Workers (Amendment) Regulations 2019, which are due to come into force on 6 April 2020, will remove the Swedish derogation from the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 to give agency workers a right to pay parity with direct employees after 12 weeks.

Written statement of terms and holiday pay

The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1378) due to come into force on 6 April 2020. These regulations bring in a right to be provided with a written statement of terms on the first day of employment, rather than within the first two months as required by the Employment Rights Act 1996, and add to the amount of prescribed information which a written statement must contain. They also amend the Working Time Regulations 1998 to increase the reference period for determining an average week's pay (for the purposes of calculating statutory holiday pay) from 12 weeks to 52 weeks. This will protect workers with no normal working hours whose pay fluctuates.

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018

This is expected to come into effect in April 2020. Under the new legislation, which received Royal Assent on 13 September 2018, all employed parents will be entitled to a day-one right to two weeks' leave if they lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy.

For help and advice on employment matters please contact Emma-Louise Hewitt on 0808 166 8827 or email e.hewitt@sydneymitchell.co.uk

January

On 7 January 2019 the Court of Appeal will hear the appeal in BMC Software Ltd v Shaikh, considering whether an employer's breach of the implied sex equality clause could constitute constructive dismissal.

Later in January, the Court of Appeal will hear the appeal in Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth, in which it will consider whether the suspension of a teacher accused of having used unreasonable force against children, purportedly to allow a fair investigation to take place, constituted a repudiatory breach of contract.

On 21 and 22 January 2019, the Supreme Court will hear the appeal in Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd, in which the Court of Appeal found a six-month non-compete restrictive covenant to be invalid. The restriction, which sought to prevent a former employee from being concerned or interested in any competing business, was deemed impermissibly wide because the phrase "interested in" included holding one share in a publicly quoted company. This will be the first case involving construction of an employment restrictive covenant to be decided by the Supreme Court (or the House of Lords) in over a century.

February

Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey, which will be heard by the Court of Appeal, is the first case to directly address the issue of direct discrimination based on perceived disability under the Equality Act 2010.

The Court of Appeal will hear the appeal in Bamieh v Foreign and Commonwealth Office, following the EAT's ruling that an employment tribunal had territorial jurisdiction to hear whistleblowing claims brought by an employee of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office against two colleagues regarding alleged events which took place while all three were on secondment to an EU Mission in Kosovo.

April

The Court of Appeal will hear the appeal in Kocur v Angard Staffing Solutions Ltd, in which it will consider the interpretation of regulation 5(1) of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 which gives agency workers "the same basic working and employment conditions" as permanent employees after 12 weeks.

X v Y (a case about the retraction of legal advice privilege where there is a strong unambiguous case of injustice) is expected to be heard by the Court of Appeal on 2 October 2019. In this case the email suggested “cloaking” discrimination in a redundancy exercise.   

Finally, we can expect the Supreme Court to hear the appeal in Uber BV and others v Aslam, in which the Court of Appeal recently held, by majority, that Uber drivers are workers. The Court of Appeal gave Uber permission to appeal.

For help and advice on employment matters please contact Emma-Louise Hewitt on 0808 166 8827 or email e.hewitt@sydneymitchell.co.uk