Terms & Conditions

Terms of Business

Griffin Legal is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities. I am obliged by the Financia; Conduct Authority to write to you setting out various procedural points.

Instructions/Objectives

We understand our principal instructions from you are to act on your behalf to claim a protective award against your former employer, as a consequence of the manner in which you were made redundant.

Advice and Options

An application will be made on your behalf to the Employment Tribunal for a Protective Award in compensation for the companys failure to adhere to the relevant consultation guidelines.

The maximum claimable at the Employment Tribunal is 90 days pay. This may reduce if there are some mitigating factors i.e. if you were given some consultation, but not full consultation.

The maximum payable by the Redundancy Payments Office is 8 weeks pay, capped at 508 per week, less any payment they have already made to your for arrears in wages and less any job seekers allowance that you have claimed from the state during the period in which the 90 days is awarded. National Insurance Contributions are also deducted from any payment made to you by the Redundancy Payments Office for your protective award.

Next Steps

As your former employer has ceased to trade, the only course of action is by way of an application to the Employment Tribunal. We will lodge a claim with the Employment Tribunal, attend any hearings on your behalf, and, should a protective award be made in your favour, an application will be made to the Redundancy Payments Office for payment of the judgement made (paid subject to the limitations set out above.

Responsibilities

We will endeavour to keep you informed as to progress and to contact you when there are any significant developments in the case. In the first instance, developments in the case will be detailed in the progress tracker section of our website.

I would ask that you in turn:

(i) Provide me with all information in relation to this matter that you may have or that may come to your attention following these instructions

(ii) Respond quickly to my requests for information and in relation to payment of our cost and requests for payment on account of disbursements

(iii) Please can you advise me in advance if you are likely to be on holiday, out of the country, or unavailable for any other reason for any period.

(iv) Read carefully and retain any claims documentation.

(v) Be aware that any statements or answers given in relation to your claim are your own responsibility.

Cancellation Notice & Time scale

Upon acceptance of this contract, you will be given a 14 day cooling off period, in which time you are entitled to cancel this contract, in accordance with ICOBS 7.1 of the FCA handbook, without incurring any costs. This can be done verbally by contacting John Thompson on 01257 228606, in person at Martello, Bradshaw Lane, Mawdesley, L40 3SF, via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or in writing to Griffin Legal LLP, Martello, Bradshaw Lane, Mawdesley, L40 3SF.

Upon expiration of this 14 day period, provided you are eligible, a claim will be made to the Employment Tribunal. You are entitled to withdraw from this contract at any time, and in any circumstance. Please be aware that if you withdraw from this contract after the cooling off period, you will be charged a fee, as detailed below, which reflects the work undertaken by Griffin Legal.

- After the cooling off period, but before a claim is submitted to the Employment Tribunal on your behalf: No fee will be charged

- After a claim has been submitted to the Employment Tribunal on your behalf, but before a hearing is scheduled: £200 (equivalent to 4 hours)

- After the scheduling of a hearing but before the exchange of evidence (including the preparation of a witness statement): £300 (equivalent to 6 hours)

- After the exchange of evidence and/or preparation of a witness statement, but prior to 7 days before the hearing: £750 (equivalent to 15 hours)

- Within 7 days of the date of the hearing, the contract cannot be cancelled, as per Regulation 8 of the Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013. As a result, should a successful judgement be obtained, 100% of the fee that would have been payable in accordance with the Fee Structure below will be payable.

Please also be aware that you are able to represent yourself at an Employment Tribunal, but this is not an advised course of action due to the complexity of the claim. You are reminded that your claim must be submitted to the Employment Tribunal within 3 months of your employers failure to consult, or your claim may not be accepted by the Employment Tribunal. In most cases, a resolution will be reached within 6-9 months from the date of the application.

Level of Service

To keep charges to a minimum, I propose to keep you informed of the progress of your case as and when there are any developments, via the progress tracker tool on our website, rather than on a weekly or monthly basis. This will avoid unnecessary charges for letters and calls where there is no new information to pass on.

Fee Structure

We are prepared to undertake this work on a contingency fee of 33% of all recoveries made on your behalf. A typical example of this would be:

A 90 day protective award is made in your favour. An application for payment is made to the Redundancy Payments Office (RPO). You have not claimed any arrears of wages, and have not claimed any job seekers allowance within the period for which the protective award is made. You earned £430.00 per week before tax and national insurance. The maximum of 8 weeks pay is paid to you by the RPO, less a deduction of an estimated £31.00 per week of National Insurance Contributions; a net sum of £3,192.00 would be payable to you. A contingency fee of 33% of the £3,192.00 would be due to Griffin Legal, which is £1,053.36

Bills and payments on account

In the first instance, my fee with be deducted from any recoveries made on your behalf. Where this is not possible and payment is made by the Redundancy Payments Office to you directly, our fees will become due and payable from the date that you receive payment from the Redundancy Payments Office.

Interest will be charge on unpaid accounts at the court rate (currently 8% p.a.) from the date that our fee becomes payable, if payment is not made within 30 days. Late payment administration fees of £50 per calendar month will also be charged on unpaid accounts from the date that you receive payment from the Redundancy Payments Office.

Should the account remain unpaid after a period of three calendar months from the date that you receive payment from the Redundancy Payments Office, we will instruct a debt collection agency, at our discretion, to recover the outstanding sum on account, the cost of which will be added to your account.

A bill will only be raised to you in the event that a recovery is made on your behalf and I am unable to deduct my fee from the recovered sum.

We accept payment by cheque, bankers draft, telegraphic transfer, and BACS. We do not accept cash payments or credit cards. The clearance time for cheques is eight working days. BACS payments have a clearance time of 1 working day.

Complaint

We aim to offer all clients a friendly and efficient service. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you receive or about a bill you are entitled to complain. You should in the first instance raise you concerns with the Fee Earner dealing with your matter, or with the Partner responsible for the overall supervision of your matter. If any difficulty remains, you may refer to the Complaints Officer, John Thompson, Martello, Bradshaw Lane, Mawdesley, L40 3SF. A copy of our complaints handling procedure is available upon request, or available on our website, www.griffin-legal.co.uk, under Terms & Conditions.

Monies held on your behalf on client account

From time to time we may hold monies in our general client account on your behalf. You will be aware that the banking sector has been undergoing some difficulties and the purpose of this letter is to explain to you the risks attaching to money held by us on your behalf.

The Law Society has issued guidance to solicitors regarding our position in the event that a deposit taking institution at which client monies are held should fail. It is unlikely that this firm would be held responsible for the return of monies to you in such a situation. However we would endeavour to assist you in any claim for compensation available and require your consent for the disclosure necessary to enable this to take place.

The firm presently holds client account monies at the National Westminster Bank Plc. Deposits held at UK banks are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to a total limit per individual or small company (as defined by the Companies Act 2006) of £85,000. National Westminster Bank Plc is a member of this scheme. If you personally hold monies at the same bank as this firm and the total of the monies held by us on your behalf and by you personally exceed these limits then compensation would be limited to only one amount of £85,000. Some banks operate under more than one trading name and if you presently hold monies at banks that form part of the same group as those listed you may be subject to the limits referred to above once the government guarantee has expired. You are advised to discuss this either with your bank, the Financial Services Authority of your financial advisor, as you deem appropriate.

Interest Payments

If we hold money on your behalf, subject to the terms of this paragraph, interest will be calculated and paid to you in accordance with the Client Account Rules 2006. Subject to certain minimum amounts and periods of time prescribed by the Rules interest will be calculated and paid at the rate from time to time payable on instant access deposit accounts by our bank. The period for which interest will be paid will normally run from the date or dates on which cleared funds are received in our client account until the date or dates of issue of any cheque in discharge thereof. We reserve the right to set-off such interest against any interest due from the client. interest is paid gross of tax.

Use of electronic mail

We will communicate with you and with others involved in the matter, including the other parties, by email (as well as by other methods) unless you tell us in writing, at any time, that you do not wish to be communicated with in that way and/or that we are not to so communicate with the other parties. You accept that such electronic communication cannot be guaranteed to be reliable, secure or confidential even though we shall take reasonable precautions to scan for viruses.

Storage of papers

Following the conclusion of a transaction or case on behalf of a client, Griffin Legal will retain the client's file of papers for such period as we shall deem appropriate in our absolute discretion but reserve the right at the end of such period to arrange confidential destruction. If you require such papers to be kept for any specific period you must give notice in writing to us to that effect and, in the event of such notice being given, we reserve the right to require you to take personal custody of the papers.

Data Protection & Confidentiality

All personal details that are provided to us in the progress of your matter may be stored by us and are covered under the Data Protection Act. In order to comply with the Act we are obliged to obtain your permission to store this information whether on our computer system or in our physical files. Without your permission we are unable to act for you. In instructing us you are deemed to have given this permission.

As claims managers we have a duty of confidentiality towards you as our client. However, we may be subject to audit by professional bodies or to quality checks by external firms or organisations. We may also outsource work. Such work might be, for example, typing, photocopying or costing. In rare circumstances we may wish to provide information to our insurers or legal advisors. Such information for your file, therefore, may be available to others in these circumstances. We will aim to obtain a confidentiality agreement from such organisations whenever appropriate. In instructing us you are deemed to have given permission for disclosure of confidential information in these limited circumstances.

Applicable Law

Please note that these terms and conditions are incorporated in the Retainer. The Retainer and each of its provisions, regardless of your place of residence or incorporation and regardless of where any activities relevant to the matter on which you have instructed us occur or are carried on or where any property may be located shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and both you and we submit to non exclusive jurisdiction of the England courts.