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ARE YOU FACING THE EXIT AT WORK?

YOUR PENSION NEST EGG

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EFFECTIVE CREDIT CONTROL

KICK STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

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CRB - WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT?

CONTACT DIRECTORY

Ipswich, an asbestos hotspot

O�cesIpswich31-41 Elm Street, Ipswich, IP1 2AYTel: 01473 211121info@gotelee.co.uk

Hadleigh6 Church Street, Hadleigh, IP7 5DUTel: 01473 822102info-hadleigh@gotelee.co.uk

On your side, at your sideit’s got to be Gotelee

Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the United Kingdom. More than 4,500 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year, and this �gure is expected to peak in 2016.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen with four main diseases caused by its exposure includingmesothelioma which is always fatal.

Ipswich has been identi�ed as a national hot spot for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer of the external lining of the lungs and stomach. It has a long latency period from �rst exposure to development and diagnosis which can be as long as 60 years.

Traditionally asbestos related diseases have been associated with men because the diseases were a legacy of past heavy industrial asbestos use. However, there was a sharp increase in exposure amongst women around 1948, re�ecting the increased number of women in manual workduring and immediately after the Second World War.

The latest available �gures reveal that 23 people died in Ipswich from mesothelioma between 2006 and 2010. This death rate is above average for industrial disease and pushes Su�olk into the top ten worst counties in England for deaths relating to asbestos exposure.

Gotelee’s Personal Injury team see many asbestos victims who once worked at Cli� QuayPower Station, Cranes Foundry, Ipswich Sugar

Beet Factory and other factories in the area. The periods of employment are generally fromthe early 1950s to the late 1960s, and each victim has a familiar and consistent story of ignorance of the dangers that they were exposed to by their employer and the lack of any protection or warning of the dangers.

There are also victims of environmental exposure to asbestos including wives of workers who contracted the disease from washing thework clothes of their husbands, and people who have been exposed to asbestos whilstworking in schools.

On 23 March 2012 after more than �ve years of legal battle, the country's highest court ruled that insurance companies' liability had been “triggered” when individuals were exposed to asbestos dust and not when symptoms of the mesothelioma emerged decades later. As a result of the decision the insurance companies of victims’ employers may have to pay out as much as £5bn in compensation.

When our team are instructed to help clients in what really are the worst of circumstances, we know that it will be a di�cult time for them

James Davies------------------------------------james.davies@gotelee.co.uk01473 298159

On your side, at your side

We are committed to providing e�ective andaccessible advice to local individuals and businesses.

Autumn 2013

This strategy is working, and the rankings of our services and the enthusiastic commentsfrom clients speak for themselves. Thank you.

We have also appointed Alistair Lang, previously CEO of Birketts, as Strategy Director to helpreinforce our position in the market place and to help us to continue to deliver the services you want in a way that you value.

This newsletter focuses on issues related to work and the workplace. I hope you �nd it interesting.

I have good news to report in this edition of our newsletter. The Legal 500 publication, which gives an impartial view of law �rms in England, paints a clear picture of Gotelee as the strongest �rm based solely in the Ipswich locality.

Martin Whitworth---------------------------Managing Partner

and their families. We are genuinely and

it’s got to be GoteleeLeading the way

emotionally committed to our clients to ensure that making a claim for compensation or applying for state bene�ts is as stress free as possible.

02

On your side, at your sideit’s got to be Gotelee

Are you facing the exit at work?

Your pension nest egg

Peter Crix--------------------------------peter.crix@gotelee.co.uk01473 298112

continued...

There are many reasons why the working relationship can come to an end – redundancy, performance or health issues and potential misconduct issues to name but a few. The law expects these situations to be handled reasonably and following a fair procedure. But can an employer explore other options, such as an exit package?

Since 29 July 2013, employers and employees can enter into con�dential negotiations with a view to reaching mutually agreeable terms to end the employment relationship. The Government has introduced the right to have a ‘protected conversation’ in an e�ort to reduce the red tape. The idea is to allow for frank discussions on options (including termination of employment) to bring a rocky employment relationship to an end but in an amicable fashion and without tribunal claims being brought.

Why has this change been brought in?In the past, parties engaged in a disputecould speak on a “without prejudice” basis. This generally prevented any statements that were made in a genuine attempt to settle an existing dispute from being put before the court as evidence.

However, this presented real di�culties in the employment context. Employees and employers would frequently prefer to have an exploratory conversation about options, including potential exits, long before anything as concrete as a dispute had arisen. This is particularly the case given that a grievance raised by an employee would not necessarily constitute a "dispute".

Employers are understandably cautious about initiating conversations with employees about a possible parting of the ways before the relationship has gone really sour. This is because of the associated risk that the employee could claim constructive dismissal or argue that any

subsequent procedure must be a sham, and pursue a claim for unfair dismissal.Now, an employer (or the employee) could have a protected conversation, before a dispute has arisen.

A protected conversation does not give carte blanche to the employer to do or say what they want. The rules only apply to standard unfair dismissal cases and not disputes about discrimination or breaches of contract.

If you are ever asked to take part in a protected conversation you should contact us for early advice. In addition, if your employer is behaving improperly (which covers a multitude of sins), then the con�dentiality ofthe protected conversation may not apply.

We can help you plan on how to respond to an employment situation so that your interests are fully protected.

Don’t miss out on the inheritance tax bene�ts of your pension fund. It makes good sense to make provision for a pension on retirement and there are many valuable tax incentives to encourage you to do so. However, there is a risk that some of those tax bene�ts will be lost without careful planning.

Many people have death-in-service bene�ts through their employment, or through death bene�ts under a personal pension policy or Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). These bene�ts are generally not considered to be an asset of a person’s estate as technically they are paid at the discretion of the pension scheme trustees.

As a result, they are usually free from inheritance tax (IHT).

Very often these death bene�ts are nominated to be paid to a surviving spouse and invariably the pension scheme trustees pay out in accordance with that nomination. The problem is that the value of the death bene�ts can create an IHT liability when the surviving spouse eventually dies. For example, if on the �rst death a lump sum is paid to the survivor this becomes an asset of their estate. On their death, an IHT charge of 40% will arise in respect of all assets thatare in their estate at the time of death over

and above the nil rate band (currently £325,000 per spouse).

Nominating the death bene�ts into a trust (often known as a “spousal by-pass trust”) can avoid this problem. The surviving spouse can have the full use of both income and capital from such a trust or could have funds loaned to them by the trust which would create a liability on their estate, reducing its value for IHT purposes.

Spousal by-pass trusts are not limited to death-in-service bene�ts and pension bene�ts. They can be used in conjunction with any form of life insurance. Anyone with any type of term life insurance or mortgage protection insurance should consider placing the bene�t of the policy into such a trust, though care must be taken to ensure that critical illness and other lifetime bene�ts are not included.

Spousal by-pass trusts can be set up quickly and easily. A nominal sum of say £10 is all that is required to pay into the initial trust fund. We can advise and prepare a trust document suitable for your needs.

Andrew West------------------------------------andrew.west@gotelee.co.uk01473 298102

Image sourced from stockfreeimages.com

03

E�ective credit control

Kick starting your own business

Holly Sadler--------------------------------holly.sadler@gotelee.co.uk01473 298193

Max Harnden--------------------------------max.harnden@gotelee.co.uk01473 298139

Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the United Kingdom. More than 4,500 people die from asbestos-related diseases each year, and this �gure is expected to peak in 2016.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen with four main diseases caused by its exposure includingmesothelioma which is always fatal.

Ipswich has been identi�ed as a national hot spot for mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer of the external lining of the lungs and stomach. It has a long latency period from �rst exposure to development and diagnosis which can be as long as 60 years.

Traditionally asbestos related diseases have been associated with men because the diseases were a legacy of past heavy industrial asbestos use. However, there was a sharp increase in exposure amongst women around 1948, re�ecting the increased number of women in manual workduring and immediately after the Second World War.

The latest available �gures reveal that 23 people died in Ipswich from mesothelioma between 2006 and 2010. This death rate is above average for industrial disease and pushes Su�olk into the top ten worst counties in England for deaths relating to asbestos exposure.

Gotelee’s Personal Injury team see many asbestos victims who once worked at Cli� QuayPower Station, Cranes Foundry, Ipswich Sugar

In the same way that trimming your sails makes you sail faster, e�ective credit control will help your business run more cost e�ciently. Having to write o� bad debts is bad practice, but fortunately it can be largely avoided by employing a structured and robust credit control system.

In brief, the main points to address are:

Know your customer It is essential to obtain all relevant information about a new customer and their business. Carry out a credit check against individuals or a company check against businesses to highlight any insolvency concerns at an early stage. You might also request references from banks and organisations who have dealt with the customer previously.

The information obtained will enable you to identify whether and to what extent setting a credit limit is advisable. If in the future it becomes necessary to sue the customer, you will be armed with su�cient information to do so.

Have Terms and Conditions you can rely onAny agreement for supply of goods or servicesshould be governed by terms and conditions

The terms should also be incorporated into any invoice you provide to the customer to avoid any dispute about which terms apply.

Follow a disciplined systemEmploy a disciplined system for chasing up any customers who have exceeded your terms to ensure that any debts are recovered e�ciently.

Adopt a diary system prompting you to chase a customer for payment on the day the debtsbecome overdue and at regular intervals thereafter. Speak to the customer directly toestablish any reason that a debt remains unpaid. This should help to promote a healthy business relationship and avoid further disputes.

Many people will be reluctant to start up a new business given current market volatility and economic uncertainty. For those with the insight to create a unique product or service however, business opportunities may exist.

If you decide to take the plunge, a business plan can help create a pathway to achieving success. It is an essential step to provide a blueprint for running the business and identify a series of benchmarks against which you can check your progress.

The Business Plan will need to contain:

An executive summary of your business proposal. Although this is probably the last section to be written, the summary will go on the �rst page. It clearly outline the advantagesof your product or service and the market opportunity you have identi�ed. Judgements will be made by those from whom you seek advice or funding, so keep to plain English and avoid jargon.

Identi�cation of the markets in which you plan to operate and your likely competitors. This will dictate the pattern of how you will manage your business. You may become a sole trader or alternatively set up a company or partnership with the privilege of limited liability.

Sales forecasts. Keeping a sense of realism will be important to achieving your �rst sales

forecast for the business. Your potential for building a customer base will dictate the levelof success in the early years. You should ask yourself searching questions as to how longeach lead will take to line up and whatpercentage of leads you anticipate will turn into sales. A realistic sales forecast will form the basis for all your other �gures.

A cash�ow forecast will show how much money you expect to be �owing in and out of your bank account; it will need to show enough access to funds for the business to survive.

A well written business plan is the key to identifying all the formalities required to take your �rst steps to success. Your business will also need a robust constitution and trading contracts to secure its supplies and services. The aim is to �nd a trading position that re�ects the correct balance of risk and reward for you and your business.

For advice on all aspects of business start up and company law contact Max Harnden.

which have been tailored to meet the needs of your business. They will specify when a payment is due, when interest is payable and at what rate, and any other rights you wish to reserve, such as the right to recover goods and services which are not paid for. These written terms of business will be relied upon should you need to issue court proceedings to recover any unpaid debts.

Take actionFinally, once internal credit control methods have been exhausted, be prepared to instruct a solicitor to attempt to recover the debt without any further delay. The quicker action is taken, the better your prospects of recovery.

Image sourced from FreeDigitalPhotos.net [graur codrin]

04

Hugh Rowland----------------------------------------hugh.rowland@gotelee.co.uk01473 298141

CONTACT DIRECTORY

Accident and Injury claimstim.humpage@gotelee.co.uk01472 298122

Criminal Defencehugh.rowland@gotelee.co.uk01473 298141

Dispute Resolutionhoward.catherall@gotelee.co.uk01473 298190

Elderly Client Adviceemma.woollard@gotelee.co.uk01473 298109

Employment problemsbrian.morron@gotelee.co.uk01473 298130

Family and Relationshipshelen.stuart@gotelee.co.uk01473 298101

Medical Negligence Claimstim.humpage@gotelee.co.uk01473 298122

Personal Injurysian.mullane@gotelee.co.uk01473 298131

Powers of Attorney and Court of Protectionemma.woollard@gotelee.co.uk01473 298109

Residential Propertyrhonda.pryke@gotelee.co.uk01473 298136

Trusts and Tax Planningpeter.crix@gotelee.co.uk01473 298112

Wills and Probateemma.woollard@gotelee.co.uk01473 298109

Services for you Services for businessBusiness Lawmax.harnden@gotelee.co.uk01473 298139

Commercial Propertycatherine.abbott@gotelee.co.uk01473 298115

Corporate Crimehugh.rowland@gotelee.co.uk01473 298141

Dispute Resolutionhoward.catherall@gotelee.co.uk01473 298190

Employment Lawbrian.morron@gotelee.co.uk01473 298130

If you know someone who has been convicted of a criminal o�ence, you may understand the pain and distress caused by the court process. After that comes a time of re�ection and one thought may be the e�ect any conviction will have on employment and future applications for jobs.

The rules surrounding the disclosure of criminal convictions have changed recently. The old Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) and the body known as the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have merged to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and we now need to talk about DBS checks rather than CRB checks.

The DBS exists to help employers make safer recruitment decisions particularly in relation to working with vulnerable groups, such as children. On a standard disclosure application form from a qualifying prospective employer, the DBS is able to disclose convictions (spent and unspent), police cautions and sex o�ender noti�cation requirements.

So how do you �nd out what might be recorded against your name and whether it is correct?

There are two ways to check:

• You can apply for a basic disclosure that will provide only unspent convictions. A basic disclosure is most easily obtained through Disclosure Scotland (www.disclosureScotland.co.uk).

• Alternatively you can make a subject access request to your local police force under the Data Protection Act 1998. That will provide a list of all information held on the Police National Computer. Including all convictions (spent and unspent) and intelligence information including not guilty verdicts, cautions, reprimands, �nal warnings, no further action decisions and �xed penalty notices for disorder. A subject access request costs £10 and will be processed within a maximum of 40 days.

Can an employer ask all prospective employees to provide a subject access report? No, such a requirement would itself be a criminal o�ence under the Data Protection Act.

The important thing to remember is that not all employers are entitled to make requests for disclosure to the DBS. Only prospective qualifying employers can apply for basic disclosure as well as, in some cases, more advanced levels of disclosure. Importantly, an employer can only apply for disclosure after a decision has been made to o�er employment. The content of this disclosure will be reviewed before the o�er is con�rmed.

On another issue related to personal data held by the police, The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 comes into force in October 2013. After that time, although �ngerprints and DNA samples of all adults convicted of any o�ence and under 18's convicted of serious o�ences will be retained inde�nitely, the retention

period for under 18's convicted for the �rst time of a minor o�ence will be �ve years. Where a person is arrested but not charged the samples must be destroyed.

The Act has taken a while to come into force because the police have been busy destroying millions of DNA samples of those who had been arrested (whether charged or not) for a minor o�ence. That process will be completed before this part of the Act is brought into force.

CRB - what’s that all about?

Finger print image sourced from FreeDigitalPhotos.net [digitalart}