OFFICE POLITICS? – Remote working in a post COVID-19 world

Lynne Brooke is a solicitor with a wide knowledge of corporate and commercial law with a particular emphasis on SMEs and Social benefit. In this Blog he writes about the effect of COVID19 on the working environment and the future of offices.

As we enter a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where business is being encouraged to re-open their offices, are we about to lose a real opportunity to revolutionise the way we work?

The issue of remote working is not new.  It is addressed in E F Schumacher’s thesis ‘Small is Beautiful’ first published in 1973.  Schumacher could see impending globalisation and proposed using technology to ‘bring into existence millions of new workplaces’ outside of the cities.

Small is Beautiful is now feasible because technology is advanced enough to enable remote working on the basis of distributed networks.

As we battle our way through the COVID-19 pandemic a debate has arisen about whether post COVID-19 it is better to go back to the office or to work remotely.

Leaving aside the restrictions and constrictions of our current situation the underlying point of discussion is whether the creation of larger operations in one or several large spaces, is the best way to carry on business or whether better results can be achieved where the business is carried on, on a distributed network basis?

Before COVID-19 (BC) there were two distractions from the underlying argument – two systems that, it was suggested, could lead to a harder working, more effective and more profitable workforce:

  • Hot-desking, where multiple workers use a single work station or work-space at different times
  • Co-working, where small units of a business share office space and infrastructure with units from other businesses.

Both systems are fundamentally the same, based on squeezing more people into a smaller space believing that they can be more productive and that there is some miraculous synergy that increases effectiveness and well-being as a result of conversations at the water cooler or shuffling up to colleagues to discuss an issue.

Then the pandemic occurred, making a virtue out of necessity.  It has not been possible to go into the office, large or small, and many people have had to work remotely.  This has introduced a new dimension possibly beginning the realisation of the Schumacher principle because technology has reached a stage where working remotely can be effective.

BC, 1.7 million people worked mainly from home in the UK. That was about 5% of the workforce of 33 million.

BC the facts were that:

  • 30% of the working population described themselves as unhappy at work.
  • 40% felt that they were neglecting other aspects of their life because of work
  • 27% felt depressed, 34% felt anxious and 58% felt irritable
  • Nearly two thirds of employees experienced a negative effect on their personal life such as a lack of personal development, poor home life and physical and mental health issues
  • Stress accounted for nearly half of all working days lost.

Over the past 4 months, millions more have joined remote working and have created a work-space in their home.  Now more than 30% work remotely. A number of surveys of UK businesses over the last few months confirm the benefits of working remotely:

  • Flexible hours and working
  • Better work life balance
  • Greater motivation
  • Better levels of efficiency and productivity
  • Lower levels of absence, sickness and stress
  • Improved customer/client service

The majority of remote workers are more productive and more communicative. Communication is actually more regular and efficient.  How often have you been in office meetings which are unnecessary, too long, unfocused and where people don’t communicate? Video conference meetings tend to be more sharply focused, quicker and, surprisingly perhaps, more collegial.

It is clear that remote working can result in a better quality of life and better work/life balance with the person still being part of a team and part of the overall enterprise. In addition, the cost of time and travel has been eliminated.

Schumacher suggested that the three things people most want are to be creatively productive, to render service and to act in accordance with their moral impulses. Good work life balance helps people achieve those and benefits both themselves and the business in which they work.

We could be at the dawn of a new era for businesses and for employee relations. And yet…government policy is pushing us back into the office. Could that policy be not a necessity but rather a political act aimed at restoring vitality to the commercial property sector?

Could the move back to the office be counterproductive to people’s wellbeing and therefore productivity?

Business has an opportunity to boost its bottom line and improve its relationship with the workforce by harnessing current technology to take advantage of the benefits of remote working and to build a nationwide (and global) distributed network of remote working employees. Remote working now means that we have a method where the principles of ’Small is Beautiful’ can be achieved for the benefit of both business and its workforce. Let’s take advantage of that and build our business not around commercial real estate but around people.

The Brooke Consultancy is a law firm and business consultancy offering Business Advice in the Round. We help businesses and individuals prosper. Click here to contact us.

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COVID-19 Update: Court hearings in the time of the pandemic

Kerem Alev is an experienced litigator and advocate with higher right of audience who acts for businesses and individuals. Here he looks at the changes to the court system driven by COVID-19

The global outbreak of Covid-19 and strict lockdown measures imposed by the UK Government on 23 March 2020, which resulted in the banning of many people from leaving their homes caused disruption and undoubtedly interfered with the progress of claims in the Courts in England & Wales.

The Lord Chief Justice recognised the likely impact of Covid-19 on the administration of justice even before the lockdown in his announcement of 17 March 2020.

Following the lockdown, it wasn’t to be business as usual with the Courts. Indeed, it couldn’t be so we saw significant changes to the Courts processes.

 

In the beginning

Most Courts were closed for personal attendance. Many (but not all) parties with existing claims saw their forthcoming interlocutory hearings or Trial, which had been listed before the lockdown for hearing after 23 March 2020, adjourned, and quite often with late notice either on the day of the hearing or preceding day. With little direction from the relevant Court before notice, this meant parties (and their representatives) found themselves having little option but to continue investing valuable resources in complying with directions and preparing to attend a hearing which was in the scheme of things unlikely to be heard. For many, this would have caused extreme frustration.

Certain types of claims were also suspended. For some time Winding Up Petitions to wind up Companies were not listed for hearing at all.

Some Courts and Tribunals remained open for urgent matters only. For example, the First Tier Property Tribunal at 10 Alfred Place in London, and the Court of Appeal have not been issuing any new claims or applications until recently.

Residential property claims and some other claims falling within the scope of CPR 55, which normally make up a bulk of the County Courts weekly list remain stayed until the end of August 2020.

 

More recently & the future.

The Courts have adapted pretty quickly to the disruption caused by the pandemic with hearings and some Trials continuing remotely via telephone or video.

Actually, telephone hearings themselves are not new. They have been around for quite some time, but their use has been inconsistent, and probably they have been underused. One problem which has probably prevented their wider use is the need to book a specific time and this can be quite tricky for a busy Judge having to deal with a busy attended Court list as well.

However, there are many positives to be learned from this and it’s obvious that technology has a vital role to play in the administration of justice. We are now likely to see the use of video and telephone hearings more often. Senior Costs Judge Gordon-Saker issued a practice note for the Senior Courts Costs Office making it clear that remote hearings will continue to have a significant part in the future of that Court even after social distancing requirements are removed.

Mrs Justice Cockerill told a meeting of the Commercial Court Users Group recently that Court staff and Judges were actively thinking about keeping remote hearings as a default position.

Further, the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS have been working on a new video platform which enables remote cases to be heard by the Civil and Family Courts. Called the Cloud Video Platform it will presumably replace the likes of Skype for Business and Zoom which are currently used by the Civil Courts for video hearings.

Improvements are still needed in respect of electronic filing in the County Courts and Tribunals, and Court users must learn to improve how electronic documents and bundles are presented for use (some guidance on preparation of PDF Files with bookmarking, OCR and ensuring PDF page numbers are in sync with the bundle pages have been issued already), but it is apparent that we are in a new era. The pandemic has helped spur change to how Court hearings and Trials are typically conducted and had it not been for the lockdown, Courts would likely have continued to resist, or at least not prioritise, change.

Remote hearings, if used properly, can help minimise attendance costs as well as save time.

 

 

The Brooke Consultancy is a law firm and business consultancy offering Business Advice in the Round. We help businesses and individuals prosper. Click here to contact us.

 

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Thinking Of Becoming A Charity Trustee?

Lynne Brooke is a solicitor with a wide knowledge of corporate and commercial law and is a trustee of Westminster Mencap and Kith & Kids and the Lifetime President of Disability Law service. In this Blog he writes about what to do if you’re considering a role as a Charity Trustee.

 

I have been involved in the Charity sector for over 40 years both as a legal adviser and as a Charity Trustee, and count many Charity Trustees as my friends.

Charity Trustees generally do a very good job, but it is easy to get it wrong; you may have read in the press about the recent problems at the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

My notes below have been designed to help someone thinking of becoming a Charity Trustee.

Trustees have overall control of a charity and are responsible for making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do. Trustees may be known by other titles, such as directors or committee members.

A Charity has a Governing document setting out the objects (i.e. the aims) of the Charity and other important provisions.

Where the Charity has no separate legal personality then its governing document is likely to be a Trust Deed and:

  •  the Trustees will generally hold the legal title to the Charity’s assets
  • the Trustees will be directly personally liable to third parties in respect of contracts entered into by the Charity eg relating to employees, premises, and suppliers
  • the Trustees will be personally at risk if the Charity runs out of funds and is unable to meet its liabilities.
  • the Trustees should ensure where possible that contracts include a clause limiting the liability of the Trustees to the amount of the Charity’s assets.

Where the Charity has a separate legal personality, such as a charitable company limited by guarantee or Charitable Incorporated Organisation then its governing document is likely to be the entities Constitution and:

  • the separate legal personality will generally hold the legal title to the Charity’s assets
  • the Trustees will not be personally liable to third parties in respect of contracts entered into by the Charity.

Given the differences in personal liability, once you have become a Charity Trustee it is worth considering changing the Charity so it has a separate legal personality.

Before becoming a Charity Trustee:

  • familiarise yourself with the Charity’s Governing document, and keep it readily available for your reference as you should know its contents and comply with it
  • familiarise yourself with the Charity Commission Guides which are available on its website and in particular read the ‘Essential Trustee’ Guide
  • check that the Charity has appropriate insurance and its scope/caveats in respect of its activities
  • check if the Charity is be permitted by its Governing Document to indemnify its Trustees who have acted in good faith and in accordance with their duties
  • if the Charity has Trustee Indemnity Insurance, which gives Charity Trustees limited protection, check its scope/caveats, and whether you have to pay towards the premium

Becoming a Charity Trustee can be an extraordinarily rewarding experience but it is it is an important and serious role so if you decide to become a Charity Trustee remember:

  • keep the Charity’s governing documents readily available at all time so you can refer to them and make sure everything done complies with them
  • you may be subject to personal legal action by the Charity Commission or fellow trustees for breach of trust
  • you may incur personal liability if the charity operates while it is insolvent. If there is any such risk the Trustees should protect the Charity and themselves by instructing an experienced insolvency practitioner at an early stage to monitor and formally advise; letting matters drift without such advice is a recipe for incurring personal liability.

Lynne Brooke is a solicitor with a wide knowledge of corporate and commercial law and is a trustee of Westminster Mencap and Kith & Kids and the Lifetime President of Disability Law service.

The Brooke Consultancy is a law firm and business consultancy offering Business Advice in the Round. We help businesses and individuals prosper. Click here to contact us.

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VouchedFor – How To Find Reliable Professionals

VouchedFor is a review site with thousands of genuine reviews. All reviews are written by clients of solicitors, financial advisers, mortgage advisers and accountants.
You can search reliable advisers and read over 110000 reviews. All reviewers are identified, and the site never removes or edits reviews – unless potentially fraudulent (or abusive) activity is detected during monitoring. VouchedFor asks the professionals to verify each reviewer is a real client.

Every adviser is authorised by their governing body and the site admins check details such as qualifications and fees. Visit VouchedFor.co.uk. All solicitors are checked against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Law Society of Northern Ireland or the Law Society of Scotland.

The extensive check ibest solicitors via vouchedfor platform s based on stringent criteria.

In enabling the public to view professionals and their performance leads to the improvement of the overall standard. Genuine client reviews are more important than professionals trying to impress prospective clients with trendy offices. High standard of service and lower (overhead) cost – is one of the trends solicitors started to embrace.
Reviews are powerful stories of success and satisfaction where specific needs of businesses and individual professionals were met timely, to a high standard, thus creating a win-win for everyone involved.

Lynne Brooke belongs to UK’s best professionals. The Times included his name and areas of excellence in their guide of top solicitors.

 

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Data Protection Act 2017 deals with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

You need to prepare now for the new law that starts in May 2018

The New Law

The Date Protection Act 2017 (DPA 2017) is currently going through Parliament.  It will enshrine the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in English law and it will come into force on 25 May 2018.  The UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect the commencement of GDPR.

Our Solution

You will have received lots of material about GDPR that set out the problems, but which doesn’t guide you to practical solutions.  This article is different because in addition to pointing out the problems we are proposing a solution that involves us working with you and technology expert, Bernard Heilpern of Technically Clear.

What you need as a business is an analysis of how the DPA 2017 will apply to you and a technology solution that will identify the issues and how they can be resolved.

Outline of the Main Issues and what you will be required to do

First let us outline the main issues and what businesses are required to do; this list is not exhaustive:

  • analyse and document what personal data you hold about living people, where it came from and who you share it with, and decide what procedures you need to put in place.
  • seek and obtain positive ‘opt in’ written consent to the sending of marketing material to a recipient, have a facility so such consent can be withdrawn easily, and maintain an up to date list of those who currently consent. Any existing ‘opt out’ consents will not suffice.
  • have a GDPR compliant Privacy Policy
  • be able to respond to requests by clients or customers, such as:
  1. Right to be informed
  2. Right to rectification (to correct the information held)
  3. Right to access
  4. Right to erasure
  5. Right to restrict processing (to know how the data will be used)

general data protection regulation 2018Fines

The Act significantly increases maximum fines up to the higher of 2% of annual turnover worldwide or €10m.  In certain cases, it can be the higher of 4% of worldwide turnover and €20m but that scale of fines will be only likely to apply to large corporations. Also, the Information Commissioner’s Office may order processing to stop until an organisation is GDPR compliant, which would be disruptive. However, the level of fines for small to medium sized companies will be high. Compliance must therefore be taken seriously.

Obtain a report from us at a cost of £200

We are working in collaboration with Bernard Heilpern of Technically Clear, an IT specialist.  Therefore we offer a service of providing a report which includes liaising with Bernard in order to:

  • analyse the scope of the service required to comply with DPA 2017
  • consider jurisdiction and the transfer of the data to other countries
  • assist with the compliance program and software including data audits, data-mapping and supplying compliance reports
  • settle policies procedures and contracts

Summary: For the fixed price of £200 we will deliver a report that will analyse your needs and will outline a combined legal and technology solution. It will recommend what needs to be done, how to present data information and how to prevent access to your data information.

Contact us: If you would like us to help contact Lynne Brooke on 07717 813925 or via email.

 

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Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Risk Management

Statistics:
According to YouGov Study:
• On average small growth companies have 8 legal cases per annum
• Costs of legal failings, £13.6bn

The study surveyed 20 different sectors and 1,000 companies, asking respondents to indicate losses related to a wide range of legal issues. The most common legal issues faced by business owners were related to employees and suppliers, regulatory matters, tax, disputes, and software. 80% of small SMEs fail in the first 5 years and the cost of failing to take advice is c.£13.6bn.

Affordability of Legal Risk Management
These statistics show that the failure to take legal advice is enough to destroy most businesses no matter how well they do.

You don’t have to choose between getting a product to market and legal risk management.

Of course, you want to concentrate on your product, getting it to market, branding, social media and sales and not pay for legal risk management but you can afford it and the structure of that is set out in the summary.

legal expenses insurance

Legal Risk Management
Business owners need to pay attention to legal risk management designed to stop sudden expenses or claims drive you off course or out of business.

• To be able to combat claims from clients and customers. These need to be contained in your own bespoke trading conditions.
• Employment Policies and Conditions: Compensation for discrimination claims are unlimited and can sometimes not be warranted forcing you into a settlement.
• Protect your IP and your branding: It’s the most important thing you will have on your balance sheet.
• Corporate governance: That includes resolution of disputes, what happens (to shares) if a partner / shareholder dies. It governs who you are or will be in business with, regulatory issues. You can set the rules now.
• Correct Corporate vehicle: Are you using the entity that suits your business objectives, limits risk and is tax efficient.

You will need to have all this in place to raise investment by third parties in your business.

Legal Expenses Insurance You need to take out legal expenses insurance, it’s not expensive. It means that when you need to defend a claim or make a claim you can rely on your legal expenses insurance so that you can resist or make claims without the fear of the financial consequences if you lose.

Summary
Legal risk management and correct corporate structure is a necessity. The Brooke Consultancy can put this in place by adapting to your financial resources and cash flow.

The Brooke Consultancy is a source of multi-disciplinary advice from one source, to learn more about that download our free Big Business Booklet on our website, contact Lynne Brooke on 07717 813925 or email to have an initial free conversation about business development, legal risk management and affordable costs.

Sources: The Brooke Consultancy, The Letter of The Law

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General Data Protection Regulation – Prepare Now For New Law In May 2018

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every organisation that processes personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), unless they are exempt. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

Unless one of the exemptions applies, individuals should generally be able to choose whether or not their personal data is disclosed to another organisation. If your intention to disclose information in this way was not made absolutely clear at the outset, at a time when the individual had the option not to proceed in their business relationship with you, then you will usually have to get the individual’s consent before making such disclosures.

data protection

Businesses need to prepare now to ensure they will be compliant with changes to data protection laws when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25th May 2018.

The government has confirmed that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect the commencement of the GDPR.

We suggest you visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website. This includes practical guidance, including:-

A. Overview of the GDPR. This is for those who have day-to-day responsibility for data protection.

B. The 12 steps to take to prepare for GDPR. This has been relaunched, with updated guidance and with increased focus on the need to act now to prepare for May 2018. The steps start with:

  1. Awareness

You should make sure the decision makers and key people in your organisation are aware that the law is changing to the GDPR. They need to appreciate the impact this is likely to have and identify areas that could cause compliance problems under the GDPR. It would be a useful start to look at your risk register if you have one.

  1. Information You Hold

You should document what personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with. You may need to organise an information audit across your organisation.

The GDPR requires you to maintain records or your processing activities. If you have inaccurate personal data and have shared this with another organisation, you will have to tell the other organisation so it can correct its records.

C. Getting Ready For the GDPR. This is a checklist divided into Steps.

The GDPR will significantly increase the maximum fines, so compliance needs to be taken seriously.

You need to start looking at how to comply now before it is too late.

If you want help, in the first instance, contact Lynne Brooke via Email or our Contact page.

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UK’s Top Solicitor – Lynne Brooke

Successful people hire and cooperate with reliable professionals. VouchedFor is a website presenting solicitors, accountants, financial and mortgage advisers.

certificate of excellence for Lynne

All professionals are reviewed. In order to keep everything transparent and fair, all reviewers are verified. Lynne Brooke belongs to best solicitors – as chosen by his clients. Visit the VouchedFor platform and read all reviews Lynne received.

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Social entrepreneurship: Challenging Traditional Methods, Offering New Solutions

Social entrepreneurs address social and environmental challenges in their unique and creative ways. They drive transformation in fields like education, environment and health. Social entrepreneurs often combine poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial acumen and enthusiasm. They challenge traditional business methods and practices and encourage new solutions.

Similar to business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs create stable and sustainable organisations which are established either as not-for-profit or companies.

The Brooke Consultancy LLP helps and advices social entrepreneurs regarding business structure and about becoming a member of the Social Stock Exchange. Although social entrepreneurs focus first and foremost on the social value creation, they aim at optimising the financial value too.

Thanks to a successful cooperation with The Brooke Consultancy LLP, Home From Home Care achieves with its activities a greater impact on the society. Home From Home Care (HFHC) specialises in residential services for adults with learning disabilities and special needs. HFHC focuses on offering quality services and care to improve the lives of people with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), Sensory impairment, Mental Health Issues.

home from home care

Home From Home Care was created in 2004 by parents of a child with learning disabilities who understand what it means to want a person with special needs to live a happy life and reach their potential. Combining their family perspective and vision with the services offered by professionals, HFCH employs today over 300 staff.

In order to meet the criteria of The Social Stock Exchange (SSX), Home From Home Care cooperated with The Brooke Consultancy to complete an Impact Report. Becoming a SSX member leads to greater impact through capital allocation or capital raising.

Today’s social entrepreneurs like Home From Home Care are innovative, creative and resourceful. They aim at positive solutions to care to improve lives of many people. It is meaningful to change the perception of individuals with learning disabilities.

The Brooke Consultancy LLP assists entrepreneurs with the preparation of the Impact report which is necessary for a company to become a member of the SSX. Contact us to receive more information about Impact reports and SSX.

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Lynne Brooke according to VouchedFor one of the country’s top legal professionals

It’s important to hire an expert to make sure, your situation is handled effectively and professionally. VouchedFor is an independent service, a platform where you can find, rate and review professionals. The identity of all reviewers is verified.

You can search thousands of financial and mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants. Not only can you find a professional you can also voice your opinion and contribute to trust online. Solicitors specialise in different areas of law, and therefore, look for one whose reviews are about similar issues to yours.

lynne certificate of excellence

In April 2016, The Sunday Times published via VouchedFor a guide with UK’s top solicitors. Next to Lynne Brooke’s name were the following listed areas: Employment, Immigration, Business, Disputes, Intellectual Property, and Finance.

All top solicitors have received the highest volume of positive client reviews in the past two years – visit the VouchedFor platform to read reviews Lynne received. VouchedFor lists over 10,000 professionals, and over 40,000 clients have reviewed their advisers, solicitors and accountants.

Lynne Brooke belongs to UK’s best professionals as chosen by his clients.

Sources: The Brooke Consultancy, VouchedFor.co.uk, The Sunday Times

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