Powers of Attorney - Urgent Action Now!

Powers of Attorney are important documents. Many of our Clients sign Enduring Powers of Attorney (“EPAs”) to appoint people to deal with their financial affairs to cover any time when they are unable to do so either through physical or mental impairment.

An EPA is easy to bring into effect and also to operate when it is necessary for the attorneys to take over the financial affairs of the person concerned, and they are very popular with clients.

These are shortly to be replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney (“LPAs”) which will come into operation on 1st October 2007. Existing EPAs will continue to have full force and effect and do not have to be replaced with an LPA unless Clients want to do so.

The Rules relating to LPAs are intended to create a more complex system to manage a clients’ affairs, but they can cover not only financial matters, but also welfare matters including decisions over personal care or medical or other treatment, which EPAs do not.

Unfortunately, the actual form of the LPA and the Code of Practice under which they will operate have not yet been finalised by Government even though the date for coming into operation has already been fixed.

It is clear, however, that LPAs will be more expensive to produce and operate than EPAs. We strongly recommend that Clients think carefully whether they should sign EPAs now whilst they are still available. By doing this, Clients are choosing the cheaper and simpler arrangement to cover their affairs.

Contact us on 01329 822333 for further details.

Long Service and Employment

May you pay your employee more because they have more years’ experience? This is the issue many employers are wrestling with since 1st October when the age discrimination legislation came into force. In October, the European Court of Justice, in a landmark case, held that this is lawful unless an employee can bring evidence to raise serious doubts that the longer service person does not perform their duties better because of the extra experience acquired.

“Bernadette Cadman was a health inspector. She sued the Health and Safety Executive in 2001 when she found her pay was up to £9,000 pounds a year less than male colleagues in the same post. She said her employer unjustifiably paid male staff at the same grade more only because they had worked more years, and that length of service often depended on domestic circumstances such as pregnancy and maternal leave. The employment tribunal will now have to decide in her case whether the less service she served did in fact make her less able to perform her duties.

In some jobs, after a few years people do not necessarily become better at the work and therefore paying them more salary than those with fewer years of service could be unlawful and in some cases sex discriminatory. Some women (and some men) take time off for several stints of maternity leave and if this means she (or he) has fewer years of service, and this matters to competence in that job, then the parent could be paid less than a similar parent who chose to work during the early years of their children’s childhood.

Contact us if you need any advice on issues of long service, sex discrimination and your pay structures for particular levels of employees.

Call Andrew Bryan on 02392 210 170.

New Fire Safety Rules

1st October saw the introduction of new fire safety rules. More than 70 separate rules have been abolished and in their place a unified system which applies to all buildings used by the public (except homes) has been introduced.

The new legislation abolishes fire certificates and in their place requires the appointment of a “responsible person” to ensure compliance. The new rules lay much store on prevention and having procedures to assess risks and reduce them. The main rules are that you must:

• carry out a fire-risk assessment identifying any possible dangers and risks;

• consider who may be especially at risk;

• get rid of or reduce the risk from fire as far as is reasonably possible and provide general fire precautions to deal with any possible risk left;

• take other measures to make sure there is protection if flammable or explosivematerials are used or stored;

• create a plan to deal with any emergency and, in most cases, keep a record of your findings; and

• review your findings when necessary.

The responsibility lies with the person who has control over premises or some control over particular areas of them. Those who work from home may also be affected by the new rules. Contact us for advice if you are unsure as to how the new legislation affects you.

Call Ian Robinson on 02392 862424.