We can help with your Medco portal problems

Following the introduction of the Medco Portal there has been real uncertainty and a lack of control for lawyers when instructing medical experts for whiplash reports.

The carousel nature of the new arrangement for whiplash cases has forced many lawyers to use medico legal agencies they have never used before and in some cases never heard of. The obvious implications of this has been the reduction in the credit terms available, unreliable reports and fee earners not sure who to instruct. With some of the major medico legal companies registering multiple agencies this has caused the government to take prompt action by reviewing Medco after just 3 months, instead of the planned 6 months. This sudden review sent another shockwave through the industry to further destabilize an already difficult market.

   

Here at ARAG we try to offer effective solutions to combat the turbulence in the market and help to protect claimants against uncertainty. Our policy provides “A” rated indemnity for clients to cover disbursements and also defendant’s adverse costs and disbursements should the case fail. This provides lawyers with certainty that should they not receive supporting evidence from a medical report they are able to claim this in full from the policy rather than worrying about agency write off facilities.

Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail

There are good reasons why 24-hour legal  helplines and online legal advice/documents service are provided to ARAG commercial policyholders: you have to be exhaustive with disciplinary hearings or could be slaughtered at an Employment Tribunal.

The message is coming through loud and clear. Recent cases show that examining apparently minute or bizarre complaints, following clearly defined grievance procedures, avoids problems later. Guidelines, procedures and advice to employees must be in place and adhered to, hopefully averting disputes before they arise.

So, do people really yell “get out of here and don't come back on Monday”?

Well yes, they do. The boss of family-owned Commercial Storage Ltd must be kicking himself after doing just this. He had a row with a driver whom he had hauled in from holiday to set up a new truck he was taking out. The driver didn't return to work after the altercation and successfully won his case for unfair dismissal. The first time he was contacted by the company had been a few weeks after the dust-up, when his P45 arrived. There was a total failure to adopt any sort of fair procedure so it was an open and shut case.

At the other end of the spectrum was a hugely complex dispute involving a BBC World journalist who received a final written warning when he refused to put out news of the birth of Prince George on a Sri Lankan news service. A few months later he was sacked.

He alleged race discrimination but the tribunal looked for facts and couldn't accept that 'the views expressed by the claimant constitute a philosophical belief attracting the status of a protected characteristic within the Equality Act'. The 'royal' dispute was the tip of an iceberg involving ethnic disputes, alleged censorship and reporting bias, of human rights violations in Sri Lanka and heated arguments between colleagues and managers.

Whilst the tribunal sided with the journalist – that a final warning over the Prince George story was manifestly inappropriate – his subsequent dismissal over other matters was not. The deciding factors were cited as the numerous witnesses and enormous quantities of management time spent. There were internal interviews, several disciplinary hearings, analyses, reports and yet more disciplinary hearings where vast quantities of documents were pored over. As the tribunal reported: “by any standards this was a reasonable investigation”.

The moral is: commercial clients should make use of their policy 'extras' because ARAG provides far more than insurance alone.

Commercial policyholders can obtain employment information from http://www.araglegal.co.uk/arag/

Minimum wages, smoking, 'fit for work' and modern slavery: what's new for October?

Minimum Wage increase

October is always the busiest time for implementing employment law changes and one of the regular features is an increase in minimum wages. This time it's 20p an hour for adult workers bringing it up to £6.70. It is of course a minimum requirement and good employers should also keep an eye on moves towards a 'living wage' in their forward planning.

Smoking in cars

Anyone providing or using a company car needs to be sure that guidelines are revised and respected because drivers of private cars in England may not smoke in them if carrying children under 18 as passengers. This mirrors the situation in Wales while a similar ban will follow in Scotland.

Fit For Work

Health issues of every sort are now a key competent on employment law, with the Fit For Work programme aiming to get employees referred for a free occupational health assessment if they have been absent from work for at least four weeks. It's not mandatory on either side but is a useful tool that has already been working in Scotland and becomes generally available this autumn. The idea is to provide a plan that leads to a return to work at the most opportune moment. And there is no need for a fit note once the programme is being followed.

Modern slavery

Slaving over a hot PC? Most bosses deny being slave drivers yet that may not be the case elsewhere in the supply chain. Now, businesses with a turnover in excess of £36 million must publish a modern slavery statement every year. The company website has to signpost it – even if it states 'no action taken'.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires 'transparency in the supply chain' and refers to forced or compulsory labour, servitude or human trafficking. The decision on what steps to be taken to combat these issues has to be made at the highest level, usually by the CEO and directors. This includes advising staff how and when to be vigilant. Should it extend to inspecting working conditions of garment workers in Asia before placing a staff uniform contract? Checking that casual staff are not sent by an agency complicit in trafficked labour? Or even trying to find out whether unpaid child labourers are hauling sacks of coffee down South American hillsides before making canteen purchases? Eventually, employers will be judged on what they have done and the annual statement is one step in the process.

ARAG policyholders can check legal helplines and online law guides free of charge, 24-hours a day.

What landlords need to know for the 1st of October

Regulations will come into effect from 1 October in relation to the new Section 21 notice required to recover possession on expiry of a fixed term tenancy in England.   (The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015. 

• The regulations introduce new requirements for service of a valid section 21 Notice.
• The Landlord (or managing agent) will need to show that the Energy Performance Certificate and Gas Safe Certificate were given to the Tenant. Without these documents landlords will be unable to use the non-fault Section 21 Notice.

Also at the start of each tenancy (including renewals) landlords (or managing agents)  must serve “How to rent: the checklist for renting in England”. This is available on the Gov.uk website for landlords and agents to download and print off for each tenancy.  Landlords will need to ensure that they can prove the checklist  was given to their tenant.

These additional responsibilities are likely to make issuing accelerated possession proceedings more difficult given the extra burdens of proof however ARAG in common with other LEI providers requires Section 21 notices to be correctly issued before accepting a claim for repossession under the policy. We provide a Section 21 notice for landlord policyholders to download for free from our legal services website. www.araglegal.co.uk  (See accelerated possession). Family legal Solutions policyholders can also down load a Section 21 notice for £19.99. The new notice will be available from 1^st October.

New smoke alarm installation regulations were scheduled to come into force on 1 October, requiring all landlords to install smoke alarms on every floor in their properties but opposition in the House of Lords will delay the start. http://www.pims.co.uk/news-article/carbon_no/

• Some free alarms are available from local fire services. http://www.alarms4life.com/request-alarms.aspx
• Where solid fuel heating is used an alarm must be fitted in each room used as living accommodation (including bathrooms) . ‘Solid fuel’ means coal or wood, not gas or oil. Although carbon monoxide alarms are recommended for rooms with gas or oil heating, they are not compulsory 
• Landlords are responsible for ensuring that the alarms are working at the start of the tenancy. Tenants are responsible for looking after them during the tenancy
• The regulations will not apply to social housing or live-in lodgers and separate but similar rules already apply to HMOs.
• Enforcement is by local authorities who will be empowered to issue a remedial notice requiring the landlord to fit the alarms within 28 days. 
• Where a landlord fails to take reasonable steps to install an alarm the local authority can gain access (with the tenant’s permission) to do so and can serve  a penalty on the landlord for up to £5,000.
• Landlords can ask for a penalty notice to be reviewed  and subsequently there is a right of appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal.

Note - ARAG policies do not cover appeal against statutory notices or RPT appeals.