Employers have a legal duty consult collectively with staff in locations where more than 20 redundancies are made. If workers are not properly consulted, and this is found to be so by an employment tribunal, workers can be compensated with a “protective award” of up to 90 days wages, capped at £4,353 each.

Failing to collectively consult is one of many pitfalls that employers can fall in to with redundancy processes, leading to compensation claims former staff.

If you don’t want to leave your company open to claims after redundancy, speak to one of our employment law experts on +441213184707.

The charity, which was set up in 2009 to serve the six towns that makeup Sandwell, is part of the Lions Clubs International the largest service organisation in the world. Originally set up in 1917 to help people with sight problems and blindness, the charity has already improved eye health and eye care in particular for hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, the charity continues to grow with the Lions Club International aiming to impact over 200 million lives through service by 2020.

Gurdas and his Lion’s in Sandwell help to do this by supporting a range of people across the country and the world. As you may have seen in our previous post about the Sandwell Lions, whilst Gurdas has been volunteering with them he has, amongst many things, participated in fundraising, welfare and social activities. Most notably Gurdas has worked to support the local food bank, helped the Friends of the Thimblemill Brook with litter picking, and personally visited Guru Nanak Mission Netarheed Birdh Ashram in Punjab, India to donate to the residential educational facility for blind people across Punjab.

Gurdas joined the Sandwell Lions to selflessly help others and, as President, hopes to support the charity and its members to give back even more to those in need locally and further afield, to allow individuals to realise their full potential. We look forward to seeing some of the great work that Gurdas and the Sandwell Lions continue to do.

Sadly, the elderly members of our community are often dependant on relatives and paid carers, some of whom are devoted and caring, and others not so. Unfortunately, it seems that more and more old people are being subject to domestic violence, abuse both mental and physical, though emotional neglect and torment to financial abuse that is nothing short of theft and fraud.

At RMP , as members of Solicitors for the Elderly with a published protocol as to how we deal with the elderly and vulnerable, we take the time to see each client on their own. We give them as much time and help that they need to make sure they put proper structures in place to protect them from abuse in their personal and financial affairs as much as is possible. This may be through Lasting Powers of Attorney or, where capacity is lacking, by means of an application for a Deputyship order.

If you or a loved one wants further advice and help about any matters raised in this article, please do get in touch with our friendly team of lawyers in the Private Client Department.

Don’t delay, call RMP today

For a week starting on 21^st May the Alzheimer’s Society launch Dementia Action Week to encourage the public to take action to improve the lives of those affected with dementia and work towards a dementia friendly culture within the UK so that those suffering with the illness or caring for such people are included.

During the week, people are being challenged to explore ways, both small and big, to help make everyday life better for those with dementia.

At RMP we value every person and many of our staff are Dementia Friends, so we know what to look out for in those suffering with dementia and how to help create an inclusive environment to encourage those who are able, to ensure that they put their affairs in order both now and for the future as their health may deteriorate and for when they die.

We can carry out capacity assessments and, where we have any doubts as to the understanding and ability of any person to sign legal documents we have links with qualified assessors who can often turn around an assessment within a couple of weeks of being instructed at a fair and reasonable price.

If you or a loved one has had a diagnosis of dementia or have any concerns about falling capacity, please do book an appointment to see one of our friendly team before it’s too late to make sure your affairs are put in order. At RMP we will ensure you have all the time and explanations you need to make the right decisions for you and those you care about.

Don’t delay, book an appointment today.

A recent article in The Times, ‘Before the golden years begin to tarnish, set up a Lasting Power of Attorney’, highlighted this exact message. Have a read of it here.

There are many steps that need to be taken by organisations, including (but by no means exclusively) data audits and policy reviews, the publishing of updated privacy notices for clients, customers, employees and job applicants. These need to show what data is collected and how the data is used.

Organisations need to review third party contracts to ensure that the third parties are GDPR compliant. Such third parties could include payroll providers, recruitment or consulting services in addition to many others.

Further information can be found on the Information Commissioners website at ico.org.uk

If you require any assistance please do not hesitate to call us on +441213184707

Next weekend there is a two-week festival (from 10^th May) in and around Birmingham entitled “A matter of Life and Death”, running alongside the National Dying Matters Awareness week. This is an ambitious programme of creative events designed to help people to connect and engage in a non- threatening way with the whole subject of death and dying. This follows on from a similar festival organised by BrumYODO last year.

Having seen the level of engagement in such a festival last year, RMP wanted to be a part of this exciting and dynamic initiative, encouraging early and meaningful conversations by all those facing death or serious illness.

We have seen first-hand how using creativity and the medium of the arts can facilitate proper attention to the issues that need addressing at such a time: from end of life care, to planning your own funeral, from writing a will to putting in place an effective Lasting Power of Attorney

RMP are very excited at having teamed up with this festival, alongside the international professional body STEP (Advising Families Across Generations) to help open up those all-important conversations, so that not just the practical, but also the legal, aspects of death and dying are addressed in a timely and measured way. All too often such discussions are postponed until very late in the day when emotions are running high and often time and capacity is running out.

We have events at the John Lewis Community hub all day on Friday which are free, including how to plan a fabulous funeral, a creative “precious” arts and crafts workshop, putting your affairs in order and a Death Café to discuss all things to do with death and dying. On Saturday much of the focus is at the Birmingham Library and is focussed on the family including exploring the effect that death, terminal and serious illness or disability has on siblings within the family and an exhibition of child friendly literature dealing with death, as well as a puppet show exploring grief. In the evening there is a Death over Dinner event hosted by Stirchley Baths. On Sunday more events are planned in and around the city, including a walking tour around the city, an exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and also exhibitors from funeral directors to hospices, legal organisations to palliative carers.

Other events are planned either side of the weekend from 10^th – 26^th May. These include film showings at the Electric Cinema, events at the Ort Gallery and the Barber Institute.  Our last event being a tour of a local crematorium and natural burial ground.

Many of the festival events are free, although places may be limited so do book in if you plan on coming and don’t want to be disappointed. Other events are subject to a payment of a fee and again the website can direct you to how to book and pay for these events.

We look forward to welcoming you to one or more of our events.

You may see all sort of events advertised this week around the Midlands and Black Country. These provide opportunities to explore this subject in a non threatening, real and sensitive way and are designed to encourage us to talk about our concerns, fears and thoughts about life and death for ourselves and those close to us. The events try to break the silence that so often surrounds this subject by involving all sorts of people whose jobs and experiences involve death and dying in some way.

At RMP , we are involved in a Death Café at Sandwell Library on 10^th May 11am – 3pm. It offers a drop in time when different people representing funeral directors, lawyers, doctors, counsellors and Palliative doctors and carers will be running drop in and interactive sessions which provide information about all aspects of this important subject in an accessible way

There are also a further series of events all weekend of 12^th-14^th May at Midlands Arts Centre, Edgbaston which are mainly free, but you may have to book to guarantee your place.

People are often scared of talking about the subject and possibly offending others. They may be anxious about opening up to how they really feel or maybe even think that by talking about it somehow it is opening ourselves up to it becoming more of a reality. This week seeks to address this taboo.

Take a look at the Dying Matters website to see what events are happening near you http://www.dyingmatters.org/events.

There are all year round local events too designed to encourage people to talk more freely and openly about this vital subject that affect us all. BrumYODO is a local collective established with the aim of helping the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands have more open and honest conversations about death and dying. Have a look at their website to see who is involved in this and what other things are happening near you throughout the year http://www.anaturalundertaking.co.uk/brumyodo

You’ll be most welcome at all the events planned. We look forward to meeting you.

If you aren’t able to come along to one of the events, please feel free to arrange an appointment to get your affairs in order before it’s too late to protect your loved ones.

Don’t delay, book an appointment today!  Call RMP on 0121 5112233.

With the snap election called, the government then attempted to push through this legislation quickly with a mind to increase the fees as planned early next month. However, challenges were threatened that such action was “ultra vires” (not within their powers) as the fees resembled more of a tax than a court fee at a potential increase of up to 13000% for the larger estates. The government took legal advice to determine if the fee increase was “intra vires” (within their powers) and the advice they were given was that it might not have been.

So, at the end of last week these unpopular and controversial plans were put on hold until at least after the next Parliament has formed following the election in June. Whether the plans will be revisited remains to be seen, and whether the fees will be toned down even if the plans are revived remains unclear.

What is clear is that this government was determined to raise the court fee, whatever the overwhelming view of the public about the fairness of the proposal.

If you have recently suffered a bereavement in the family or if you are an appointed executor we recommend that you seek legal advice now to enable a Grant of Representation to be applied for as soon as possible and minimise the risk of a hefty fee increase.

Don’t delay, book an appointment today!  Call our team on 0121 5112233.

RMP has joined a number of organisations representing older and vulnerable people to raise serious concerns around the Government’s online tool for creating Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).

An LPA is a powerful legal document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important decisions about care and finances on their behalf, in the event of a loss of mental capacity through an accident or illness such as dementia.

In May 2014, the Government’s Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) launched its online LPA tool, which it claims allows people to create the documents without the need for professional advice from a solicitor.

But a new report, published by a coalition of organisations led by SFE, warns that anyone creating an LPA without taking specialist legal advice faces a significantly higher risk of being left with an ineffective legal document, incurring additional application fees, and even becoming a victim of fraud or coercion.

The report also raises concerns around the potential of a completely digital system proposed by the OPG, whereby ‘wet signatures’ – the physical signing of the document – would no longer be required.

Elizabeth Whybrow is a Full Accredited member of SFE, agrees that the prospect of being able to submit an LPA application entirely digitally is extremely concerning, and raises some serious questions around the potential for fraud and financial abuse.

During a study conducted for the report, participants were invited to create LPAs using the OPG’s online tool and other ‘DIY’ methods. The study revealed that:

• Some of the forms did not accurately express the way in which participants would want their affairs and welfare to be handled in the future
• Documents made using DIY methods were more likely to contain elementary mistakes, rendering them ineffective and requiring additional application fees
• Following consultation with a solicitor, most participants made significant changes to the permissions of their documents regarding how and by whom their affairs were managed

June McSparron, a 75-year-old who participated in the study, said: “You’re exposing yourself to a lot of risk by filling this form in on your own. There are so many bits that you can get wrong, and you can easily be pressured into making choices that you’re not entirely comfortable with.”

The number of LPAs being registered has increased steadily since the launch of the online tool, with over half a million registered in 2015/16 alone. The OPG is actively trying to convince more people to apply for LPAs online, having set a target for the service to comprise 30% of all applications from April 2016 to March 2017. In its latest Annual Report, the OPG even admits it is willing to take ‘risks’ in striking a balance between ‘empowering and safeguarding’.

With the OPG already receiving over 1,000 calls to its contact centre every day, the organisations behind the campaign say the Government body is potentially exposing people to unacceptable levels of risk and in doing so may be compromising its ability to safeguard those who are most vulnerable.

An LPA is by far the most powerful and important legal document an individual can have, because it allows you to pass potentially life-changing decisions about your affairs on to a third party.

It’s absolutely right that people should be planning ahead for the future with LPAs, but granting someone this sort of authority over your affairs is an extremely big responsibility for all parties involved. This is a specialist area of the law, and we recommend that anyone considering an LPA goes to a legal expert to ensure they get the right advice, consider all the options, and safeguard themselves for the future.

To download the report ‘The Real Cost of DIY LPAs’ go to: http://www.sfe.legal