Member News

Steeles Law is celebrating the launch of a brand new service. The firm has appointed human resources specialist Sarah Turner to head Education HR, an HR support service designed especially for schools. The service is the first of its kind to be delivered by a solicitors’ firm in Norfolk.

Education HR is a bespoke service aimed at schools, academies and other educational institutions. It builds on the success of Steeles Law’s commercial services which have assisted a growing number of local schools in the academy conversion process. The service includes unlimited telephone/email support; providing advice on topics such as redundancy, disciplinary procedures, grievance, discrimination complaints, maternity advice and absence management. Based on their needs, clients will pay a fixed fee each month.

Sarah Turner joins Steeles Law from a national legal firm, where she provided customer-focused HR consultancy services and advice on complex employment matters, mainly to schools and the not-for-profit sector. Sarah’s HR background spans the private, public and voluntary sectors, including experience within the NHS and education environment. “Our new service has been specifically designed to assist schools and, in the longer term, small to medium-sized businesses, helping them to address and resolve day-to-day HR issues”, Sarah explains. “As we are local, we can provide on-site support. Our aim is to initially meet with the client and conduct an audit of areas such as employment contracts and policies, or discuss any specific problem areas or concerns they may have. From there, we can agree a bespoke service agreement that perfectly suits their particular needs.”

Steeles Law will also be developing a similar service for small to medium-sized businesses to complement the work undertaken by the firm’s talented employment law team, which works with employers throughout the region and beyond.

Oliver Brabbins, head of the employment team at Steeles Law, said: “Workplace issues and administration can be hugely time-consuming and worrying for many businesses and educational establishments. We’re here to provide organisations that aren’t large enough to employ a full time HR professional with the peace of mind that comes with having an HR specialist on their team. If our clients face more complicated issues that require the input of a lawyer, we can provide a seamless approach by bringing in a member of our employment law team. The HR support services we are planning to offer really do reassure employers and allow them to get on with what they do best – running their business.”

The launch of Education HR coincides with the relocation of Steeles Law’s head office to Number 2, The Norwich Business Park. The firm is consolidating its two premises at The Norwich Business Park to create a single Norwich base.

“Because two of our private client teams have recently moved to our Diss Office we’re now in the position where all our Norwich staff can be under the same roof,” explains Managing Principal, Stephen Drake. “We’re excited about this move as it will enable us to bring people together more often; sharing ideas and best practice and ensuring we continue to provide our clients with exceptional customer service.”

For all enquiries, Steeles Law’s main phone number will continue to be 01603 598000. For further information on Education HR or Steeles Law’s HR support service for businesses, please contact Sarah Turner.

In the case of Prest v Prest the Husband a successful oil tycoon was estimated to be worth circa £37.5 million. The couple were married for 18 years and had 4 teenage children. They had lived a comfortable lifestyle throughout the marriage with the Husband drawing from his business what he needed as and when he needed it. Unsurprisingly, when it came to the divorce the husband was not very accommodating to the wife’s request for a settlement proportional to his wealth.

The husband was ordered to pay a settlement of £17.5 million to the wife . This was based upon 11 properties held by the companies being transferred to the wife. The judge ruled that he regarded the Husband as entitled to these properties as they fell within his control to be transferred in this way.

This outcome was appealed by the companies and two commercial judges held on the facts of the case the previous Judge had been wrong in concluding the husband was beneficially entitled to the properties. Company law makes it clear that a company is a legal entity is independent of the shareholders. Ownership of the company by the husband did not justify the piercing of the corporate veil to remove assets, even in Divorce! The Courts did recognise a distinction between an asset held by the company on trust or on behalf of a nominated third party .Such as in Prest case the former matrimonial home was held in a trust for the husband and this asset could be transferred to the wife.

The matter has now been further appealed by the wife and the judgement from the Supreme court is expected anytime now.

In the absence of a successful appeal there is a real issue here for wives whose husbands lock up their property assets within the companies they own and run. A company could be a safer vehicle to use for a husband than a pre or post nuptial agreement. The law appears to give a director/shareholder a wall behind to hide or preserve wealth and prevents access through the company wall by arguing that “fairness” shall apply.

Cynically wives need to be warned at the start of their union and husbands will make use of the potential protection a company can offer to them. We await seeing what the Supreme Court decides but this might herald a new age of divorce law. London may well lose it’s title as the wife’s divorce capital of the world if savvy director spouses start to place their property assets within the companies they run.

For more information please contact Ginny Colman a senior associate in the family and matrimonial team of leading East of England law firm Birketts based in Norwich atginny-colman@birketts.co.uk

Ginny undertakes all aspects of family work specialising in high net worth financial cases involving pension and company issues. She also advises on cohabitation disputes and children issues. Ginny has four years experience as a collaborative lawyer giving her clients the choice to resolve their difficulties in a non-contentious manner.

Last year saw the demise of the Business Link advisors, so in response to this the Business Shaper Group have introduced a voucher scheme to help businesses gain free impartial, practical advice to help them not only survive in this hard economic environment, but look to grow their organisation.

In the recent Budget the Chancellor mentioned that it is the SME companies that will be increasingly pivotal in the UK economy. With East Anglia being the largest concentration of these businesses. That is why the Business Shaper Group have chosen this part of the UK to trail this scheme.

Gary Douglas-Beet commented “the Business Shaper Group is passionate about helping companies make small changes that will affect there business in a big way – they just need a fresh perspective and that is where these vouchers can really help“.

We find that there is a drought of hands on practical advice for the small company, and we know that having to deal with not only trying to run their company, but to deal with finances, staff, sales and marketing, together with all the other challenges facing a small company. That is where the Business Shaper Group can help; we can work with individuals and small teams to implement steps that will show immediate results.

What is a Business Shaper Group Voucher? They are one hour sessions where you will have the opportunity to discuss issues, problems or opportunities you have in your business.

Why call us today to book in your first session? If you …

• Would just like a fresh pair of eyes on your organisation?
• Have a new product or service that you would like to promote and would like some advice?
• Want to increase your market share – getting more customers, paying you more?
• Would like to carry out a restructure but not sure where to start?
• Or would simply like some free impartial practical advice and guidance on any aspect of your orgnisation?

Call the Business Shaper Group now to find out how to obtain these vouchers 01953 605521 or voucher@businesss-shaper.co.uk

Great Yarmouth-based international energy services company Proserv has officially launched a global research and development (R&D) hub in Norway to design innovative subsea controls and communications technologies.

This new group strengthens Proserv’s rapidly evolving international infrastructure in support of its subsea production systems business which includes facilities in the UK providing subsea systems test and assembly in Aberdeenshire and subsea controls systems design & manufacture in Norfolk.

This state-of-the-art R&D facility at Trondheim, Norway, represents a significant investment for the company and features an advanced electronics workshop spanning 500 sq m², a technology showroom for demonstrations and 1100 sq m² of office space for 50 new offices.

Chief executive officer at Proserv, David Lamont, said: “The R&D facility represents another major milestone in Proserv’s exceptional growth story. The centre will serve as a global hub for all of our subsea communications & controls R&D activities, which are at the core of our business, and where we will develop fit-for-purpose systems and solutions that are reliable, efficient and delivered in an ingeniously simple way for clients around the world.

“As Norway’s capital of technology, Trondheim was a natural fit for our R&D hub. It is home to The Norwegian University of Science and Technology and SINTEF, the largest independent research institute in Scandinavia, plus there is a large presence of energy companies based in the city.

“New technology is the life-blood of Proserv and through the work of our talented engineering team in Trondheim, we aim to expand the Group’s R&D capabilities. Some of the most exciting developments we are currently involved with are in the subsea controls and communications market and we see demand for these products and services growing significantly.

“In line with Proserv’s R&D plans, we are continually recruiting talented people to support our order pipeline and expanding technology portfolio, further reinforcing our commitment to growth and prosperity globally.”

The County Mayor of Trondheim, Tore Sandvik, who joined representatives of Norway’s business and energy community to mark the launch of Proserv’s facility, said: “It is of immense value to the city of Trondheim that companies like Proserv choose to place their global research centre here. Large investments like this create new opportunities for our technical community here in Trondheim, and demonstrate that Norway really is at the forefront of new technological innovations globally.”

Proserv is recognised for its innovations. The Trondheim team developed Proserv’s Seahawk™ in-situ video surveillance system, a ground-breaking technology for environmental monitoring including retrofit on brownfield subsea installations.

The technology can be installed on a subsea Christmas tree or manifold to provide visual monitoring of potential leakages. High-quality video is taken by the camera which uses image analysis to detect gas leakages. It can provide an automatic warning through the customer’s SCADA system and alerts the operations team to use the Seahawk™ to focus in on the area of concern without the need of subsea intervention. The Seahawk™ was developed as a permanent alternative to the costly and time-consuming method of deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) subsea for the monitoring of assets offshore.

Proserv, which is headquartered in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, is a leading global provider of production technology services to the energy industry. The company operates worldwide from 30 sites in six geographical regions namely North UK & Africa, South UK & Europe, Scandinavia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa and the Far East & Australia and currently employs over 1,700 people globally.

Sarah Jones looks forward to looking after your corporate acccommodation and event requirements here at The Brook Hotel.

Sarah joined the hotel on Monday 8th April to help bring the hotel forward and make sure you are all thinking of the Brook Hotel for all of your accommodation and event requirements in the future.

If you would like any details or would like to speak to Sarah why not contact her today by email to sales@brookhotel.co.uk or on 07436162697.

Gareth Stone also joined the Hotel 6 months ago as General Manager, Gareth has already made lots of changes to bring the hotel standards to a high level and our event suites and bedrooms up too… Gareth looks forward to meeting you next time you use the hotel!

Bigfork have designed and built a new website for local, independent house builders, Abel Homes. The key focus was on improving the navigation process for customers looking for new homes and launching their new Oak Meadow home development at Shipdham. The new site has lots more features and is backed by the powerful SilverStripe CMS allowing the Abel team to update the websites everchanging content inhouse. It was a pleasure working with Abel Homes who are passionate about building quality homes and communities.

The new site can be see here www.abelhomes.co.uk

Bigfork – we make websites stand out.

Tel: 01603 513080

www.bigfork.co.uk

RedCat have achieved some great press coverage this week- A new column in the EDP- Focus on Health and Safety

And an unlikely article featuring Food Safety Myths being busted in FHM May magazine

Contact us for further details www.redcat.gb.com

For Immediate Release…

Media Contact: Marketing +44 (0) 1603 420 650marketing@norwichinternational.comwww.norwichinternational.com

NORWICH, Thursday 11th April 2013 – Job boost at Norwich International Airport

Norwich International Airport is looking forward to a bumper summer in 2013, with a number of new routes launching in the next few weeks.

In preparation for the start of the summer season, over 20 new jobs have been created. The new staff will work in a number of passenger focussed areas around the airport. Their roles include working on the apron during aircraft turnaround, in the terminal on check in and customer care duties, in security and in the catering concessions.

Gary Blake, Customer Services Manager said: “We are delighted to be creating jobs in advance of our busy summer season. All of our new staff will be fully trained to ensure that the passenger’s journey through the airport is a pleasurable experience.”

Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International said: “Our staff work extremely hard to maintain high levels of service with the aim of being the airport of choice for friendliness and great customer service.”

Week 8 from behind the scenes of the furniture. An elegant piece for a unique taste

Specialised Management Services Ltd (SMS), a subsidiary of Alderley plc, is pleased to announce that they have recently expanded their capability in the Onshore and Offshore Electrical Installation and Maintenance business. The strengthened offering emanates from the recent appointment of Neil Pickess as Operations Engineer (Electrical) to the Offshore and Onsite services team. This appointment, together with their team of qualified electrical technicians will enable SMS to provide all electrical and instrumentation services from enquiry, design through to installation and commissioning.

Neil is cognisant of current electrical standards and has over the past 20 years cultivated his skills and knowledge in a wide range of electrical fields. Prior to joining SMS, Neil was responsible for high profile high voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) projects and has led highly successful utilities contracts up to the value of £6 million. His role at SMS will focus on working with the current operations team to develop the electrical side of the business and further strengthen customer relationships in the oil and gas industry.

Dave Howlett, General Manager at SMS, comments, ‘We are delighted to have Neil on board, with 1 in 4 service enquiries being of electrical nature, Neil’s depth of experience and track record of success is exactly what the company needs for its next phase of growth.”

SMS currently provides offshore electrical services to the majority of the world’s largest oil and gas companies operating in a worldwide arena. Through their team of highly trained and qualified electrical technicians, they provide labour and supply associated materials on a 24 hour basis.

Accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, has today announced that its merger with PKF (UK) LLP has completed. From today, the firm will operate as one, under the BDO brand and as part of BDO’s international network, the largest global accountancy organisation aimed at the mid-market, with revenues of over $6bn operating in 138 countries worldwide.

The firm has also announced its senior management team, including the partner responsible for Great Yarmouth and the 140 people working for clients across East Anglia via its former three PKF offices. Marilyn Martin will be heading up the Great Yarmouth Ipswich and Norwich offices from completion, leading business growth across East Anglia.

The firm also has a strong presence in the region across a further three BDO offices in Hatfield, Chelmsford and Cambridge.

Marilyn Martin, Lead Partner for BDO LLP in Great Yarmouth, said: “The announcement demonstrates both firms’ on-going commitment to East Anglia and local businesses in Great Yarmouth. The merger will provide broader and deeper expertise and international reach for many clients on a local basis, but will also allow staff to gain broader experience from working in an enlarged firm. My focus from today is on ensuring a smooth integration of the two firms and continuing delivery of exceptional service to all clients.”

Commenting on the merger, Simon Michaels, Managing Partner of BDO LLP, said: “It’s time for people to think again about BDO. The merger has transformed our market presence overnight. Senior leadership is a critical factor in making the merger a success but I know this team is the right mix to build on our ambitions still further and respond quickly to the domestic and international environment. We also remain focused on delivering exceptional service to our clients and creating the right environment for our people to develop and grow.”

About BDO LLP, the merged firm • 3,500 people, including 300 partners • Revenues approaching £400m • 24 office locations across London, South East, Southern, South West & Wales, East Anglia, Eastern, West Midlands, East Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber, North West and Scotland • Mid-market sector leadership in almost all areas, including retail, natural resources, TMT and financial services • Leading adviser for AIM businesses • Within a $6bn global network, providing much-needed, greater choice in the market for larger businesses • A place where talented people can develop their careers and contribute to building the business

Despite, or perhaps in response to our troubled times, employees and firms alike agree that dressing smartly is important at work. In a survey carried out by specialist recruitment company, Pure Resourcing Solutions, over 90% of candidates thought it important to dress smartly at interview and employers agreed.

Some of us will spend up to £300 on new clothes, or even ‘as much as it takes’ to get that job. And it wasn’t just the women who would dig deep. Three quarters of employers said that it is important for men to wear a tie, at interview, although a look around a modern office suggests that this is becoming a rarity for day to day work wear.

Even after that job has been landed, over half of workers felt that dressing smartly impacted positively on their work performance. Many of us have ‘dress down’ days at work, but of those that don’t, most people said they didn’t see the attraction, preferring to stay smart to be most effective. There certainly seem to be huge differences in what is acceptable depending on which sector you work in. For example, many R&D and Technology companies have a much more relaxed dress code, where the ‘norm’ is to wear casual clothes unless you are meeting external customers.

Bridget McIntyre of style consultants Dream On comments: “It’s good to see that people recognise the power of how clothes can affect performance and attitude. Clothing should highlight our best features, and that then makes us feel more confident.” “But”, warns Bridget: “Don’t just make an effort for the interview – carry it through for the day to day job.”

Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure Resourcing Solutions comments: “People clearly see it as an investment to spend a bit extra on interview clothes, and it is an investment in the future, affecting how we carry ourselves, how confident we feel and ultimately, how well we perform.”

Pure Resourcing Solutions carries out regular surveys into employment issues across the East Anglia region. Copies of the full survey findings are available from Anna Hill, Marketing Manager at the company.