Ringrose Law Lincolnshire Solicitors Boston Lincoln Grantham Sleaford and Newark

Employment Law Advice - Discounted Fees

I am Rachel Bond, a Trainee Legal Executive in the Employment Department and I am offering a 25% discount for my Fixed Fee Interviews in April 2011 only.

If you are having difficulties with your employer, I would be delighted to meet with you and advise on your situation. I initially meet clients for a Fixed Fee Interview and usually charge £100 plus vat.   However, if you book your appointment before the end of April 2011, my charges for a Fixed Fee Interview will be just £75 plus vat.

During the Fixed Fee Interview I will go through the following with you:-

• The background of your situation
• Potential claims that you may have
• The value of those claims
• Any time limits that are applicable to you
• Possible funding options going forward
• Next action you could take 

Following our meeting, I will confirm all my advice to you in writing.

If you require assistance regarding unfair dismissal, disciplinary issues, wrongful dismissal or other Employment Law advice and would like an appointment with me at any of our offices in Boston, Lincoln, Grantham, Sleaford, Newark or North Hykeham; take advantage of this April 2011 offer and call me on 01522 814760 or email me at rachel.bond@ringroselaw.co.uk 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Employee of the Month March 2011

The winner of Employee of the Month for March is Keith Harris.

"No job is ever too big for Keith and he is often juggling jobs between all departments within the North Hykeham office as well as between all the offices generally.  When given a task he always establishes when it is needed for so he has it completed in time and doesn’t let anyone down.

He always helps with nightmare photocopying without complaint.  Some of the copying he is given is of substantial amounts and often more difficult than simply feeding it into a machine. 

He can always be relied upon to provide help at short notice (for example helping a client carry boxes of files and going to Newark office to sort out the printer etc).  If someone is late with the DX he is more than happy to wait around until it is ready to go. 

Nothing is ever too much bother or effort for him and he goes out of his way to help everyone.  He is a true star who can be relied upon and deserves to be recognised for his genuine and uncomplaining manner.

Well done Keith"

Compensation for victim of medical negligence in prison

Laura Simpson, Personal Injury and Medical Negligence Paralegal, has successfully negotiated a settlement in the sum of £5,000.00 for a female prisoner who received negligent medical treatment whilst in prison. Laura's client sustained a broken nose in an accident at the prison but was not taken to hospital for treatment for some time, which meant that she then had to undergo an unecessary operation on her nose to re-set it. The NHS Litigation Authority quickly admitted liability on behalf of the Primary Care Trust who administers care in the prison and the claim was settled within four months.

Laura advised her client that she had a good claim for damages, and that she could take her claim on a Conditional Fee Agreement (i.e. a No Win No Fee Agreement).

Laura’s client was extremely happy with the settlement achieved and Laura was pleased to have helped.

If you have been the victim of negligent medical treatment and would like Laura or any member of the Medical Negligence team to help you, do not hesitate to contact any one of our offices in Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Sleaford, Newark or North Hykeham to arrange a free first interview.

Compensation for victim of medical negligence

Laura Simpson, Personal Injury and Medical Negligence Paralegal, has successfully negotiated a settlement in the sum of £5,000.00 for a lady who underwent a hysteroscopy operation under general anaesthetic to remove a polyp from her uterus and, at the same time, to have an IUD coil fitted. Unfortunately, the surgeon did not remove the polyp and she had to undergo a further, unecessary operation to have this done, following which she developed a post-operative infection. The NHS Litigation Authority quickly admitted liability and Laura settled the claim within three months.

Laura advised her client at her free initial interview that she had a good claim for damages, and that she could take her claim on a Conditional Fee Agreement (i.e. a No Win No Fee Agreement).

Laura’s client was thrilled with the settlement achieved and Laura was pleased to have helped.

If you have been the victim of negligent medical treatment and would like Laura or any member of the Medical Negligence team to help you, do not hesitate to contact any one of our offices in Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Sleaford, Newark or North Hykeham to arrange a free first interview.

Assaulted At Work

Ringrose Law have successfully recovered almost £100,000 for a client who was shot whilst going about her usual work duties. The person responsible was prosecuted but our client was left psychologically scarred for life.

John Knight, a partner in Ringrose Law's personal injury team represented the client right through to an Appeal hearing before the Criminal Injuries Tribunal Service in Nottingham. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority had previously offered £4,900.  John advised our client to reject that offer; he was convinced that such a serious incident deserved significantly greater compensation. The Appeal went ahead and the client was delighted with the outcome.

If you, or anyone you know, has suffered as a result of an assault, call your nearest Ringrose Law Office in Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Sleaford, Newark or North Hykeham and ask for our specialist personal injury team for a free consultation.

Already submitted an Employment Tribunal Claim?

Here at Ringrose Law, we have advised many clients who are already in litigation at the Employment Tribunal. In our experience, many clients seek our advice after they have submitted their claims because:-

• They issued proceedings themselves but now need assistance with the Employment Tribunal process or Case Management Orders.
• They issued proceedings using the solicitors they were told to use by their legal expenses insurers and they are now unhappy with the way their case is progressing.
• They have received an offer to settle their claim through ACAS and want to know if they should accept it.
• They want "a second opinion" on the merits or value of their Employment Tribunal claim
• They just want some employment law advice.

If any of these situations apply to you, we can help. We are happy to talk to clients who have already submitted their claims; whether they want to change their representation or perhaps just need a little help with the process and employment law advice. If we can help you, contact your nearest Ringrose Law office in Grantham, Lincoln, Newark, Lincoln, Sleaford or North Hykeham and ask for the Employment Law Team.

Increases to National Minimum Wage

The Government has announced an increase to the National Minimum Wage to take effect from 1st October 2011.

New rates will be:-

• 15p increase for workers aged 21 or over; £5.93 to £6.08 per hour

• 6p increase for workers aged 18 – 21; £4.92 to £4.98 per hour

• 4p increase for workers aged 16 – 17; £3.64 to £3.68 per hour

• 10p increase for apprentices’ £2.50 to £2.60 per hour.

If you have an employment law problem, please contact your nearest Ringrose Law office in Newark, Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Sleaford or North Hykeham. We want to help.

Client Settles Employment Tribunal Claim For £6,000

I was delighted to help a Lincoln client with his Employment Tribunal claim.
 
My client, Mr S, met with me for a Fixed Fee Appointment.  He explained he had been dismissed by his employers for gross misconduct.  He was extremely distressed by his employer's behaviour.  He had worked for the company for over ten years.  They then dismissed him for minor matters which he did not consider were misconduct issues at all.
 
I went through the full situation with Mr S and we discussed in detail the disciplinary allegations against him.  The allegations were about the standard of his work and, as Mr S had said, were all trivial matters which should not have been considered as misconduct, let alone gross misconduct.
 
I therefore advised Mr S that he had been unfairly dismissed.  I also noted Mr S had not been given a contract of employment by his employer and, further, had been prevented from having a colleague or trade union representative with him at his disciplinary meeting:  therefore Mr S had additional claims for these matters.
 
Mr S instructed me to issue an Employment Tribunal claim on his behalf.  We discussed how that claim would be funded and I suggested to Mr S he may be able to use his legal expenses insurance which he had as part of his home and contents policy.  I contacted Mr S's insurers to secure funding for his legal fees and then issued an Employment Tribunal claim on his behalf.
 
I met with Mr S on a monthly basis to discuss the progress of his claim and to take instructions on our next steps.  In the event, I was able to negotiate a settlement of Mr S's claim without the need for him to attend a hearing.
 
Mr S was delighted with the settlement and I was pleased to have helped.
 
If you have an employment law or unfair dismissal problem, contact your nearest Ringrose Law office in Newark, Lincoln, Grantham, Boston, Sleaford or North Hykeham.  We want to help.

Family Issues - can you force a parent to have contact with their child?

Every child has the right to have contact with both of their parents, unless it is not in their best interests to do so.
 
Unfortunately, the resident parent (the parent whom the children live with) cannot force the other parent to have contact and the Courts are now recognising that finances often make it difficult for the non-resident parent to regularly see their child.
 
In a recent case, His Honour Judge Ingles highlighted that it was obvious the non-resident parent wished to have more regular contact with the children and that the children would benefit from this but due to financial restraints, this was not possible.  A tragic situation where costs prevent both a parent and child from enjoying regular contact with each other.

Trainee Solicitor - Samantha Durrant

I am pleased to announce that I have recently started my Training Contract with Ringrose Law. I am currently working in the Family Department and Mental Health Department which I thoroughly enjoy and my intention is to practice in Family Law when fully qualified.