Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
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Should an employer just dismiss an under-performing employee who has less than two years’ service?

Lucy McLynn and Kyle Hefford recap ten practical issues when planning to terminate an employee before they reach two years’ service One employment-related by-product of the pandemic which has not received much attention yet is that a lot of performance management and monitoring has not taken place since the start of 2020 as it would …
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Statutory demands and winding-up petitions are back – but with restrictions…

We summarise the changes and what they could mean for your business. The prohibition on the use of a statutory demand as a basis for serving a winding-up petition on a company was lifted on 1 October 2021. However, until 31 March 2022, winding-up petitions cannot be presented when the debt is less than £10,000 …
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Samaritans’ branch restructure

We took on a large project with Samaritans. It had around 200 branches which were all unincorporated separate charities. The trustees wanted to restructure this to allow the branches to either merge into the main charity, or to incorporate as separate but affiliated CIOs. This was to help the local trustees with the risks of …
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Governance review for The Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum has an income of around £2m a year and the trustees wanted a health check to make sure their governance arrangements were up to date, compliant and good practice. We helped them with: Modernised articles of association  incorporating good practice recommendations from the Charity Governance Code and the Accreditation Scheme for Museums. …
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Does monitoring remote workers online bring out the best in them?

Electronic monitoring can carry legal risk. Last week, a BBC article on electronic monitoring of home workers by companies spotlighted some extreme cases of monitoring employees who are working from home (WFH). Some of the practices reported might be rare, but monitoring emails, screen time and keystrokes are not. One can understand the concern businesses …
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Contractual obligations and Covid-19

Despite England’s so-called ‘freedom day’ and a rosier picture in the country in general, Covid-19 continues to affect businesses in all sectors. Click below to read our latest guidance on how Covid-19 affects contractual obligations, and what you can do to protect yourself.
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Updated on Travel Restrictions in England

What’s the latest UK Covid-19 travel restrictions? Read our latest update for information. On 7 May 2021, the government gave an update on easing travel restrictions and announced that a traffic light system will be introduced from 17 May 2021 to regulate international travel to and from England. Countries will be put on the Green, …
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Queen Street Group Annual Report for 2019/20

The Queen Street Group has recently published its annual report for 2019/20 on multi-academy trusts, sponsored by Bates Wells. The Queen Street Group of multi-academy trusts (MATs) exists so that the leaders of MATs can enhance their joint effectiveness through sharing information, exchanging insight, identifying the operational goals they share with regulators and undertaking data analysis. Bates Wells has …
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Mixed marketing – Upper Tribunal dismisses Leave.EU appeal to interpret consent how it wants

In light of the new judgment, it may be time to review how you’re collecting consent to send electronic direct marketing What happened? Back in 2019, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance Services. Leave.EU was founded by Arron Banks (the well-known Brexit campaigner) who also owns Eldon …
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Social Enterprise and the Climate Emergency

Bates Wells and SEUK are partnering to host a series of ‘digital breakfast’ roundtable events aimed at leaders of social enterprises. The first event focused on the Climate Emergency and it was filled with fascinating and inspirational insights from some of the social enterprises who are leading the fight against climate change. Click below to …
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Diversity in action: A guide for charities – creating change

The work of our client, Blueprint for All (formerly the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust) is an example of how diversity in action can change lives. Blueprint for All believes in a future where talent is respected and nurtured, where organisations recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce and where communities can thrive. Sonia Watson OBE, …
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COVID-19 right to rent checks temporary measures extended to 5 April 2022

Due to COVID-19, landlords have been benefitting from the temporary measures to the right to rent checks by allowing the checks to be carried out virtually. These temporary measures were extended to the 31 August 2021 and recently, the UK government have announced a further extension to the 5 April 2022. Key points: How to …
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