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A decision by the Court of Appeal in relation to the cost consequences of a refusal to mediate has reinforced the value the Court places on parties engaging in some form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’) to resolve matters before they come to Court.

The recent case centred on a claim by a commercial landlord against a former tenant for dilapidations. The original claim was for a total of approximately £1.9million. Various offers were made throughout the case and the Claimant ultimately accepted one of the Defendant’s offers the day before trial. That offer had been made a significant time earlier in the proceedings.

Under the normal rules the Defendant should have been able to recover their legal costs from the Claimant from 21 days after they made their offer, but the Claimant argued that they had offered to mediate on two occasions and the Defendant had ignored these requests. They therefore argued the rules should not apply. The Court hearing the initial matter agreed with the Claimant and did not order them to pay the Defendant’s costs in the normal way.

The Defendant appealed to the Court of Appeal stating that they had not refused to mediate, they had not responded because they did not believe that mediation would have any chance of success. The Court of Appeal rejected this argument and stated that silence in the face of a request for mediation was the same as a refusal. They went on to state that the Defendant should have stated their reasons for not wanting to mediate at the time – but that even if they had done this, those reasons would have needed to be reasonable, which in this case they did not consider them to be. They therefore affirmed the original Court’s decision to refuse the Defendant their costs, although they stopped short of ordering the Defendant to pay the Claimant’s costs (as the Claimant had requested at the appeal).

This case further highlights the importance of ensuring that attempts are made to resolve disputes using alternative methods, and the importance the Court will place on a party failing to engage in such a process where the other party has offered to do so. Consequently, anyone involved in a dispute should make sure that they understand the consequences of an offer to participate in ADR/Mediation, and it is likely that requests to do so will continue to rise.

Most family lawyers report an increase in the volume of enquiries after the festive period and in the first few weeks of January. Counsellors and GPs will also see an increase number of patients seeking support during the anguish of a relationship break down. After the Christmas period when most people have spent a longer time than normal with their families, cracks can begin to show in their relationships. Indeed, some may take the view a new year requires a new start.

Family lawyers frequently report that though January heralds an increase in enquires, it is not the only time of year when relationships struggle. Another spike in the number of enquiries is usually in September just after the school holidays when the pressure of entertaining the children and the cost can take its toll.

It is important to bear in mind that divorce and separation can be progressed in a dignified manner without costing the earth if a sensible approach can be adopted. Here is my top 10 guidance steps that may help if you are faced with this new year dilemma:

1. Make sure you have tried all options available to you to see whether you can make the relationship work. Have you looked at couples therapy or taken other professional guidance to see whether or not changes can be made to make the relationship work or to help you (both) manage the transition.
2. If your partner has told you the relationship is over burying your head in the sand and denying it is happening will almost certainly not help you or your partner. A great number of my new clients say they were terrified about the prospect of taking legal advice but the majority all say that after an initial consultation they feel much better, just for being armed with helpful and clear information reducing their fears and concerns of the unknown.
3. Think carefully about the benefits of having the help of a professional lawyer as compared to a DIY approach. Many people who attempt to deal with matters themselves come unstuck later down the line and it can prove more expensive to try to rectify these errors. Even if you decide to use the DIY approach you can still use a solicitor to provide background information and advice to ensure that the “wheels do not fall off”.
4. Be careful if you think you have agreed something verbally with your ex partner and then seek to rely on it. Agreements do0 need to be a formalised in writing – preferably with a court order.
5. Don’t be fearful of uncontrolled legal fees. You can seek to agreed them at the outset.. Make sure you are given a clear breakdown on how fees are charged and calculated so you understand what these are and be comfortable with them before you confirm your instructions to a lawyer.
6. Try to be pragmatic and reasonable if you can, and try to settle the matter rather than litigating which is timely and expensive. Arguing over matters of principle is rarely productive and will be stressful, time consuming and, probably, expensive.
7. Don’t think withholding details or information is the best way to proceed.as Almost invariably a lack of honesty and transparency with your lawyer will lead to an increase in your costs and can detrimentally impact upon your case.
8. Attempting to hide money is never a good idea and all lawyers will advise against this. Good forensic accountants and clever lawyers will always find hidden money. If you have done it, it will lead to severe court penalties, and a court order can be set aside (discharged) if the money is located after an agreement or court order has been obtained.
9. Make sure that you only settle the financial aspects of your divorce when you are happy with the quality and extent of the information that has been provided as once an agreement has been made in relation to finances it is difficult to alter and change.
10. Children- No matter how the divorce or separation has come about always try to keep your mind focussed on your children. It’s not their fault, and unless your divorce is managed carefully they are the ones who will probably suffer long into their adult lives. Consider creating a pack (often known as a parenting plan) with your ex, setting out “rules” and principles as to how you will co-parent. You should do this even as the divorce process starts, as it’s never too early to start working on this.

In conclusion, go and meet your lawyer and decide whether you are happy with him or her and that you feel comfortable with the advice they give you. Divorce is one of the most personal aspects of law you can ever be involved in and you need to be comfortable with your legal representative.

If you would like more information in respect of the contents of this article please contact Ginny Colman LLP on 01603 756431

If you happen to be a natural introvert, the very thought of promoting yourself at work probably feels more like an unwelcome chore rather an opportunity to develop your career. Also, the Brits’ rather polite culture can make self-selling seem a bit crass.

However, there are moments in our working life when we really shouldn’t shy away from the spotlight – especially when everyone stands to benefit.

We all know someone who talks very loudly about their numerous accomplishments and, understandably, you may prefer to avoid becoming known as the office bragger. Yet, it’s very possible to get the attention you deserve without over-egging it. And there’s even a place for subtly.

At Pure we meet very talented professionals from Cambridgeshire, Essex Norfolk and Suffolk who feel daunted by this aspect of career progression. We don’t want you to risk being overlooked at work; read on to find out how you can self-promote without feeling too pushy!

1. Start with your confidence

You think that you’re great at your job. You may also suspect very strongly that if you left, your employer would find it difficult to replace you. Turn such beliefs into certainties: write down your key accomplishments and how they’ve helped the company. This can help build a strong foundation for greater self-assurance. People will notice without you uttering a word – confident body language does all the talking for you.

2. Bid farewell to fear

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” So proclaimed former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt,. Take his words as inspiration. Look at what you’re afraid of when it comes to talking about achievements or putting forward ideas. Is it rejection? Are you scared of looking foolish? Acknowledge your doubts, but simply put them to one side and do it anyway. The chances are that you’ll discover you had nothing to worry about and that your ideas have made a valuable contribution

3. Impress others

Finding your voice isn’t just about communication. Passion is infectious and people want to work with colleagues who value what they do. Be open with colleagues about why you enjoy your job. Turn problems into obstacles that can be overcome by adopting a positive approach. Deliver consistently great work and offer to support others with advice. This way you’ll raise your profile while building solid relationships across the company.

4. Go beyond your comfort zone

If you want to be noticed for your achievements, you need to take steps to create them in the first place. By seeing things from different perspectives and exploring outside you’re usual routine you get to develop your skills and discover new abilities. You might even catch the eye of a senior colleague who needs someone like you to help create new opportunities for the business.

5. Be smart

Aimless bragging is not the way forward. It’s annoying for others and it can smack of over-compensating for lack of real skill. If you want to voice your opinion or highlight a recent success, choose your moment wisely. For instance, reminding your line manager of the big, new deal you’ve just reeled in at a team meeting probably won’t go down well if colleagues have been struggling and the mood is strained. It’s simple: think before you speak – timing is everything!

6. Show integrity

If you have a fantastic idea, make sure you have the knowledge and background research to back up why you think it would work. You need to be ready to answer questions without fudging it. A little preparation to construct your business case – whether it’s for a meeting or a one-to-one – will help keep you focused and confident.

Finding your voice without treading on toes may take effort, but it’s the sensible alternative to becoming the human version of a flashing neon sign. Let your talents glow and persuade, rather than dazzle and daze. It’s time to get out there and show them what you’re made of!

The Food Information Regulations 2014– what do these mean for your business?

The Regulations, which come into force in December 2014, will require allergy information to be provided on non pre-packed foods including those sold in Catering & Licensed businesses such as pubs, hotels, restaurants, take-aways, staff canteens and cafés. In addition foods supplied at events will also be covered, e.g. wedding buffets. Under the rules, the 14 food allergens listed in the Regulation, including peanuts, milk, eggs and cereals containing gluten, will need to be specifically highlighted to customers.

The purpose of the Regulations is to reduce the incidence of allergen adverse reaction by consumers eating undeclared allergens.

Food Business Operators will be able to provide allergy information in the ways that best suit their individual business. Some businesses will have fixed menus, others menus that are changing frequently. The provision of information on a menu, a chalkboard or as part of a conversation with staff will secure compliance with the Regulations. However, in reality it is likely to be difficult to demonstrate effective compliance if a business relies only on verbal communication by staff.

Therefore, if your business sells non pre-packed foods you should begin to review your menus, train staff, engage with suppliers as to ingredients and review food preparation (in terms of cross-contamination) over the coming months, to ensure that they will be in a position to comply with the Regulation from 13th December 2014 onwards.

The regulations will be enforced by both Environmental Health & Trading Standards Staff from the local council

The key messages for Food Business Operators are;

• Make sure that the information that you have on your ingredients is up to date
• Keep up to date ingredients information for any ready-made foods that are bought in (for example, packaging, or website details from your suppliers)
• When preparing food, make sure you know what is in the ingredients you are using- for example cooking oils, dressings, toppings, sauces, garnishes- again this will need to be kept up to date
• Ensure you staff are aware of allergens, and what to do when any ingredient or menu changes are made
• Think about how allergenic ingredients are stored and labelled on your premises
• Be careful of cross contamination- boards, utensils, serving spoons, woks etc
• Thoroughly clean work surfaces and equipment, and wash hands before making food for someone with an allergy

The new allergen requirements will also apply to labels on pre-packed foods. Pre-packed foods containing any of the 14 allergenic ingredients must be labelled so that the allergenic ingredients are clearly referred to. Allergens must be emphasised in the ingredients list of a product using a different typeset (for example bold). The ‘allergy information boxes’ that customers in the UK are familiar with will not be permitted if they repeat the allergens in the ingredients list, but can be used to refer customers to the ingredients list.

Responsibility for the information on labels will rest with the operator under whose name the food is marketed or the importer into the EU (so for ‘own brand’ products, the responsibility will rest with the brand). However, even operators (including retailers) who do not affect the information at all, must not supply food which they know or presume has non-compliant labelling.

The regulators & the Food Standards Agency will be issuing guidance before December and indeed the FSA has updated its online Allergy training- this is open to all; the training can be found here https://food.gov.uk/policy-advice/allergyintol/#.UtcANdJdW8A This training is suitable for business owners & senior members of staff, who can then go on to train other staff

Businesses will be committing an offence if;

• The Food Safety Management System lacks Allergen Management Practices
• There is poor training/ knowledge/ understanding
• There is poor communication from the business to the consumer

In England and Wales, the primary mechanism for enforcement will be information & guidance followed by the issuing of improvement notices & sampling in accordance with councils’ Enforcement Policies; The primary objective is to achieve compliance in the most effective way. Interventions by the Enforcing Authorities will be in accordance with risk – think “reasonably practicable” & “due diligence” Appeals to improvement Notices will be to Tribunals (more guidance will be issued in due course). Enforcement officers will enquire about Allergen Management on routine inspections and advisory visits, but will also respond to incidents & complaints

In summary, before December Food Business Operators should;

• Understand Allergens & the link into your current Food Safety Management System/ HACCP
• Decide what system your business needs to comply
• Ensure staff are trained and aware
• Communicate with consumers

Your business has gone well and now you have too much work to do!

So now, you think you need an employee to grow the business.

Firstly, if you are doing everything, look at the admin tasks you can give to someone else or automate.

For example, who enjoys doing the bookkeeping or procedures.

• There are good bookkeepers who are freelance. For as little as an hour a week, they will keep things in order and probably lower the accountant’s fee at the end of the year.
• There are health and safety specialists who write procedures for a living.
• There are people who word process from dictation at all hours.
• Use something like google diaries and ask for access to your subcontractors’ diaries.
• There are others.

After these adjustments, you will spend more time using your real expertise with less irritation. If you still have more than enough work. Do you know others that will freelance with you and not steal your customers?

Draw up an agreement you can find sources to cover the issues. However, the experience, loyalty and motivation of the person are much more important. What will they do when tempted with short-term gain versus delayed gratification? If they do not pass this test, you do not want them. (put Marshmallow Test into Google).

You need to make sure they are really self-employed see https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm None of the above involves any major change in cash flows. If you want to take on an employee, it does involve looking at cash flow and the employment laws.

TELEPHONE FRAUD

Telephone Fraud, Phone Hacking, Dial Through Fraud, Phreaking – whatever you want to call it, this sophisticated crime is real and is happening in the UK now.

The recent economic down-turn is seeing a rise in this form of criminal activity and the UK is one of the top 5 countries being hit and it is currently reported to be costing UK businesses around £1.3 billion per year.

Typically, criminals will hack into your phone system on weekends, public holidays and outside your office hours when they are least likely to be detected and usually will call out to premium or international numbers. It is hard to say how much telephone fraud could cost your business, but it can range from £1,000 to over £90,000 depending on the destination dialed, the number of calls made and how long it is allowed to continue before being detected and stopped.

Many businesses will think it won’t happen to them or affect them if it does. What they do not realise is, that the liability of the debt caused by this criminal act lies with the company or person contracting the phone lines. Due to the nature of the fraud, justice is very rarely served and any recovery of costs is primarily based on your insurance cover and maybe any goodwill that your provider may offer.

There are some simple steps your business, system maintainers or phone line provider can take to reduce the risk of phone hacking:

Bar Premium and International Numbers

If your business does not need to make international or premium rate calls, ask your line provider to put a bar in place so they cannot be made.

Lock Down Phone Systems and Change PINs and Pass Codes

Phone hacking is most commonly perpetrated by gaining access to a company’s internal telephone system or PBX. Often, this is achieved by dialing in and accessing the voicemail, then they set up a call divert to another number (often an expensive international destination). It is essential that you change your voicemail PIN / pass code on a regular basis (and ensure they are not still set to the default “1234”). If you don’t require the dial through or divert facilities on your phone system, disable them or ask your system maintainer to do so.

Make Sure You Are Alerted To Suspicious Activity

Where you can, set up email alerts with your provider to highlight any unusual activity.

Check Any Firewalls Attached To Your Phone System

Make sure any firewall has as many ports disabled as possible and has a strong password.

DON’T BE A VICTIM, TAKE ACTION NOW AND PREVENT CRIMINALS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR PHONE SYSTEM

With the glamorous movie industry award season upon us, we’re joining the buzz of the glitzy ceremonies by adding our own little twist.

Not only is it the Hollywood elite hoping for recognition for their hard work, but we want employers in the East of England to also seek out awards that’ll boost their profile. A bit of media coverage always helps – whether you’re the amazing Cate Blanchett or alocal cupcake baker. The benefits of making the finalist list, let alone winning, are multiple.

But before you start indulging in the fantasy of working your way to the stage in your tuxedo or oscar style frock to collect your award, let’s go back to the beginning. Let’s look at how you can win the award in the first place!

1. Read criteria and eligibility guidelines

Before putting in any work into the application make sure your organisation is actually eligible. Check the rules for geographic restrictions, size of workforce, turnover or form of organisation (e.g. social enterprise, profit-making or charity). Also, think about cherry-picking aspects of your business that meet the award’s criteria. So you have a strong sustainability policy? Do you have a highly successful employee engagement strategy, which is reaping fantastic results?

2. Check the small print

As with many competitions worthy of winning, there are rules to obey! Take the time to read every word so you don’t complete an application only to have it disqualified immediately. Find out if you can enter more than one category. And, importantly, note the submission deadline. Mark it in big red letters on your wall planner, in your private diary and in colleagues’ diaries if they’re involved. Miss the deadline even by one hour and you could be left bitterly disappointed.

3. Find out who the judges are

Researching the judging panel could help you plan your application. For example, including case studies of projects that are of more interest to middle managers when the judges are director level, you probably won’t do yourself any favours. Show them something new or show off your innovation. Whatever you do, blow their socks off with a relevant application that is aimed at senior decision-makers.

4. Understand the scoring system

Do you know how the awards will be scored? Will you be scored highly on areas that you feel may be your weaker points? If so, is it worth applying this year? By looking at the scoring you can plan your application strategically and pull out areas of your work that are appropriate to the highest scoring sections.

5. Ask questions

Some award programmes offer webinars or videos to help applicants with the process. Alternatively, give the organisers a call to go through your questions. It’s always better to make sure you have everything straight before you even so much as fill out your name on the application form.

6. Write inspired words

Completing award applications can be a bit of a time-consuming exercise, but don’t let your language reflect your fatigue! Remember, the judges are likely to be busy professionals who are looking for applications that grab their attention immediately. Although some of the text may need to be a little dry (to describe services or functions for instance), you can still make your narrative engaging. Aim to build excitement through your writing – include the best results, key customer benefits, favourite testimonials and use words that have an impact (but don’t go over board since you’re not writing the awards speech – yet!).

7. Always be truthful

You can talk about being the best in your field, but stick to the facts. Don’t exaggerate or be dishonest; if you get the award your customers are likely read about why you won. If they recognise misleading information you can bet they’ll either question you, leave you or, even worse, tell the world about it via their social media networks.

8. Proofread your application

Get someone else to give the application a final proof before you submit it. Especially if you’ve left it until the last minute and it’s been a bit of a rushed job (it happens!). If you want the application to reflect your organisation’s excellence in your application, typos and bad grammar will drag down the quality and undermine your chance of being shortlisted.

As a quick, final summary: choose your awards and categories carefully, plan your approach and put effort into it. If you’ve done a good job, you’ll soon be dusting off that black-tie outfit and practising your Oscar-worthy smile for the cameras. Good luck – we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you!

Paid search advertising is the only form of marketing I can think of where as a marketer, we can put our message in front of a potential customer at exactly the time they are seeking our particular product or service.

If this is such a powerful form of marketing, then why do people sometimes say to me that Google AdWords does not work for their business?

Having been managing Google AdWords Campaigns since 2001, I have worked with many businesses and in my experience; there are some common reasons why Google AdWords Campaigns might not be working as well as they could for the advertiser.

Poor objectives What is the purpose of driving qualified visitors to your website? You are paying for each click, so you need to consider the reason for incurring the click cost.

For example, are you seeking to:

• Generate enquiries for your sales pipeline?
• Increase your opt-in marketing database?
• Secure direct orders from your website?

No conversion cost calculation Paid search is completely measurable and advertisers should calculate the value of each converted click (a completed goal on their website) to their business. This then enables a sustainable campaign to be developed, as each click is contributing to a positive Return-on-Investment (ROI).

Not considering the ‘lifetime value’ of an action that originates from a paid search campaign For example, a customer who has clicked on an advert in Google might place a small order as a result of that click, but they will then be a customer who you can communicate with over time and who will buy again and again.

Do you know the typical order value of your customers, how frequently they buy and the length of time that they may remain a customer? From this information you can calculate your customers’ ‘lifetime value’ to you and this may enable you to bid more aggressively in your paid search campaigns.

Poor keyword targeting While it may seem obvious that keywords relevant to the advertiser’s business should be selected (positive keywords), equal consideration should be given to keywords searched upon that you would not wish an advert to be displayed for (negative keywords). For example, if you specialise in selling ‘running shoes’, you may wish to use negative keywords such as ‘baby, tennis, ballet, dance,’ etc. to prevent your adverts displaying for searches that are not relevant to your business.

Correct keyword matching options are also important for effective keyword targeting.

Poor relevance of keywords to adverts Paid search advertising is all about relevance. A person searching for their particular thing is more likely to click on an advert that promises the exact thing they are looking for, rather than an advert that uses very generic text. Ideally your advert will include the keywords searched on as part of the text.

Poor relevance of advert to website landing page Having gone to the effort of setting up properly targeted keywords that display a relevant advert, the relevance theme has to be carried through to the landing page that the person will be taken to when they click on an advert. If they have searched for ‘red roses’, link the advert through to a red roses page, rather than a page with all the different types of roses that you supply, or worse, to a page listing all the flowers that you have.

Your campaign should do the work for your potential customer. Pick your targeted keywords very carefully so that they trigger a relevant advert, which clicks directly to the page that the searcher needs, without any further clicks or navigation needed on your website.

The advertiser thinks that paid search marketing is ‘set and forget’ Google AdWords is very simple in concept (selected keywords trigger adverts to be displayed that link through to relevant web pages) but can be very complex and sophisticated in execution. Campaigns need continual development to achieve maximum ROI from the ad spend, through testing and refinement of keywords, adverts and settings.

Competitive activity and search trends will also affect campaign performance over time, so regular campaign review and development is essential. To give you some idea, we review most of our campaigns at least weekly and some daily.

Google AdWords paid search engine advertising is a very powerful and sophisticated marketing tool, but it has to be set-up and managed correctly. Stay on top of your campaign development and you will be rewarded with profitable paid advertising campaigns and discover new opportunities along the way.