Pregnant worker unfairly dismissed after director’s ‘panic about HR issues’
June 10th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR An office worker was subjected to a ‘hostile, humiliating and offensive environment’ after she informed her employers that she was pregnant shortly after joining the company. Eilise Walker started working for Arco Environmental in November 2017, taking over the role of office manager. After three weeks, Walker informed her bosses that she was pregnant. Walker claimed that the company’s financial director and…
Woman with diabetes was ‘humiliated’ by her employers
June 7th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR A woman who suffers from diabetes has been awarded £14,000 after being humiliated at work. Holly Carr, who had type 1 diabetes, worked as a fleet administrator at Weston Homes for two months. She told her line manager, Lauren Goodwin, and events co-ordinator Gaynor Impiazza, about her condition at a staff lunch to welcome her. She said she wouldn’t be drinking alcohol…
Government issues new guide on how to sell your home
June 6th 2019By Sam Bulman Conveyancer The government has issued a new set of guidelines to help people preparing to sell their home. The document, How to Sell, was produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and covers everything from ensuring your home has ‘kerb appeal’ to making sure you get good legal advice from a qualified solicitor. People who haven’t sold a property for many years may notice…
Landlords insist a specialist housing court is needed
June 3rd 2019By Mark Aspin Director Landlord groups have called on the government to establish a dedicated specialist housing court to speed up the process of legitimate evictions. The move comes after the Ministry of Justice published figures showing that it is now taking longer for private landlords to evict problem tenants. The average time between a landlord making a claim to the courts to repossess a property, and it actually happening,…
New director appointed to board at leading legal firm
May 31st 2019ONE of Cumbria’s leading legal firms has appointed a new director, as its farming and agriculture department moves from strength to strength. Mark Jackson becomes the youngest member of Cartmell Shepherd’s board at the age of 35, bringing the number of top table representatives to nine. With a desire to focus on traditional values whilst implementing the most up-to-date legal practices, he is looking to further grow the agriculture and…
Latest figures show slight reduction in gender pay gap
May 28th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR The latest figures on the gender pay gap in large businesses show a slight reduction on last year. Legislation introduced in 2017 means that every employer with 250 or more employees has to publish the differences between what they pay their male and female staff in average salaries and bonuses. This is the second year that employers have been required to report…
Replacing Incumbent Systems with Proclaim Practice Management Solution to enhance efficiencies firm-wide
May 24th 2019We are in the news this week! Eclipse Legal Systems have written an article about the new legal software we are installing. Cartmells’ Practice Manager, Scott Garson talks about why we chose Proclaim Practise Management to take our productivity to the next level. Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has announced it is implementing its Proclaim Practice Management solution at award winning law firm Cartmell Shepherd. Cartmell Shepherd…
Female administrator paid 15% less than her male replacement
May 23rd 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a female finance administrator was discriminated against when her male replacement was paid £3,500 more than her. The case involved Mrs J Broom, who had been employed in various roles by Alternative Care Ltd for nearly two years. At the time she resigned from the company, she was a finance administrator with a salary of £18,000.…
Judge orders homeowner to pay builder in full for repair work
May 20th 2019By Laura Bright Solicitor The High Court has ordered a homeowner to pay the full cost of repair work carried out on his property by a building company. The court heard that the homeowner, Sylvein Pinto, had asked ICCT Ltd to stop leaks in his basement. The work was not paid for so ICCT took the matter to arbitration and Mr Pinto provided the adjudicator with pictures of the leaking…
Headmaster told disabled teaching assistant: ‘I can do what I like’
May 15th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR A teaching assistant was discriminated against by her employer, who did not take the necessary steps to allow her to work in comfort with her disability. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving an assistant who worked at Aycliffe Village Primary School in County Durham from February 2006. Mrs S Clifford suffered with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue…
