Category: News

If you’ve booked your cabriolet ready to discover the Côte d’Azur or the Amalfi coast, you may need to know a thing or two about driving in Europe to stay safe on the roads. There’s nothing to stop you from having a wonderful European holiday, but it’s best to make sure you are prepared for a different kind of driving.

Obviously the first thing to bear in mind is that you’ll be driving on the right, so you’ll need to be more cautious anyway. 

Here are a few more things to be aware of, so you can limit the risk of having an accident.

Rules of the Road

Road symbols are basically the same throughout Europe, however each country has it own regulations such as speed limits and even different blood alcohol levels for driving within the limit. Obviously, the safest thing to do is not drink at all if you’re driving. In France you’re legally required to carry your own breathalyser, which is a wise decision if you’re touring the wine regions.

Safety seats for children are required and the use of mobiles while driving is illegal wherever you go.

The problem is that Europeans are more inclined to ignore a lot of road safety rules, especially the Italians and Greeks who seems to consider them suggestions rather than rules.

The Baltic States have the worst road safety records in Europe and poor road infrastructure and drink driving are the causes of many preventable accidents.

Road Accident Tips

Make sure you do the following immediately after an accident:

• Call the police
• Fill out a European Accident Statement
• Take notes and photos
• Get witness details
• Never admit fault

Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.

As an employer it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with everything in terms of the laws of employment. However, it is important that you are aware of the rules and regulations within these laws to ensure that both you and your employees are aware of your rights.

• If you wish to change the terms of an employee’s contract you must have either reserved the right to do so at the start of their employment contract or alternatively gained consent from your employee.
• It is important for employers to know that there is no entitlement to a written statement of employment for employees who are taken on for a month or less.
• Regardless of the size of your business, all employers are now legally obliged to provide written documents of all of their disciplinary rules and procedures. These must be looked over and agreed to be reasonable and fair to both the employees and the employer.
• Once an employee has accepted an offer of employment which has no conditions an employment contract immediately exists regardless of when they are meant to start working.
• As of 2012 the statutory sick pay was changed to £85.85 and although there is no legal obligation for the employer to pay any more than this if you have your own sick pay schemes in place you can pay more.
• An employer can however refuse to pay this statutory sick payment if they have reason to believe that the employee in question has not actually been ill or have not properly notified.
• It is possible for an employer to recover some of the statutory sick pay if there have been a large amount of employees off sick at the same time.
• If you have employees that work from home as an employer you are still responsible for their health and safety which means the same rules apply when they are at home.

Are you dealing with an employment law issue at your place of work? Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our employment law advisors.

The gender pay gap has been a hot topic for a while now and the government are in the process of drafting regulations that will require companies to report on how they pay staff to demonstrate complete transparency and that pay between men and women is appropriate. If you’re an employer, here are key areas that you need to be aware of:

Who is this relevant to? If you employ at least 250 people that work in Great Britain and has an employment contract governed by UK law then you are affected.

What does pay cover? This covers basic pay, paid leave, maternity pay, sick pay, bonus pay, shift pay, car allowances, area allowances. It doesn’t include expenses, overtime, redundancy pay, tax credits.

Bonus payments – You will need to publish the difference between the mean bonuses paid to men and women. You will also be required to show the proportion of male and female employees that received a bonus.

What do I have to publish? You will have to publish the mean and median gender pay gaps.

When do I have to publish? The provisional commencement date of the legislation is the 1^st October 2016 so you will have 18 months after this date to publish it for the first time and then it needs to be published annually after that.

Where do I have to publish? You must publish the information on your website and it needs to be accessible to employees and the public. It needs to stay online for 3 years to show progression and will also need to upload the information to a government designated website.

For more advice about your legal responsibilities regarding gender pay and to help prepare you for the proposed legislation. Are you dealing with an employment law issue at your place of work? Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our employment law advisors.

Accidents at work happen every day no matter how many precautions you take and can happen under any circumstance. Injuries can vary in severity; it could be a sprained ankle or a minor cut but equally it can sometimes be more severe and even result in death. Regardless of how bad your injury is, you may be entitled to compensation by filing a work accident claim.

There are many injury that are valid to file an accident claim with if you are injured at work. If you have suffered any of the following, you may be entitled to do so;

• Any objects in the work place falling onto you
• Dangerous machinery causing you injury
• Assault within the workplace
• Accidents when operating heavy machinery
• Accident due to improper training
• Slipping, falling or tripping
• People within the workplace being negligent
• Poorly maintenance equipment
• Dangerous or toxic environment
• Industrial injuries
• Health and safety regulations not being adhered to

As a result of any of these happening you may have suffered some of these common work injuries;

• Loss of sight
• Loss of hearing
• Brain injuries
• Spinal injuries
• Burns
• Head injuries
• Amputated limbs
• Fatal injuries

The most important part of making this claim is being able to prove that you were injured and that the injury was caused as a result of the negligence of your employer. Even if the injury was not directly inflicted by your employer, because it happened within the place of work that they are accountable for it makes them liable. In instances like this it may be difficult to prove which is why it is advisable to appoint a personal injury solicitor to help with the case. They will assess the situation, collect all the necessary evidence and present it for you.

In the UK there is a 3 year time limit on filing a work accident claim and if you try to make a claim outside of this time limit you may not be entitled to any compensation. This 3 year period begins the day that the accident occurred or depending on the injury, the day you realised the injury was as a result of what happened in the workplace.

To help you through this process, it is recommended that you contact a personal injury solicitor so that you can receive the accident claims help that you need. Once you have a solicitor they will be able to take over the case and with their experience they will work to get you the compensation you deserve.

Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.

If a fatal accident happens at work and you lose a loved one, then the process of claiming compensation from the employer (if they are found to be liable) can be fairly complex. There are a number of things to take into consideration such as:

Bereavement loss – this is a sum that is paid for the pain and suffering for the loss of a loved one. This is normally divided between the wife/husband and any children.

Dependency loss – this is the amount of compensation that is payable for the financial contribution made by the father/mother. This is payable to the husband/wife and children typically when they are 18 years old. Some of this compensation money can be used by the father/mother on the children’s behalf. Depending on instructions, solicitors will normally be under a duty to ensure that any monies that are payable to the children are retained in the court fund office until the children reach the age of 18 years.

Pain and suffering before death – if your loved one was not killed immediately and survived the accident for a period of time before dying, then the estate of the loved one would be entitled to compensation for their pain, suffering and any other losses incurred before death.

Funeral costs – the costs of the funeral of your loved one can be claimed, usually through a fixed sum.

The above list is not exhaustive and, depending on the nature of how your loved one died, there may be other factors to be taken into consideration. If you have lost a loved one through an accident at work and need professional advice on the best course of action to take in order to make a claim for compensation then please contact us now.

Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.

If a fatal accident happens at work and you lose a loved one, then the process of claiming compensation from the employer (if they are found to be liable) can be fairly complex. There are a number of things to take into consideration such as:

Bereavement loss – this is a sum that is paid for the pain and suffering for the loss of a loved one. This is normally divided between the wife/husband and any children.

Dependency loss – this is the amount of compensation that is payable for the financial contribution made by the father/mother. This is payable to the husband/wife and children typically when they are 18 years old. Some of this compensation money can be used by the father/mother on the children’s behalf. Depending on instructions, solicitors will normally be under a duty to ensure that any monies that are payable to the children are retained in the court fund office until the children reach the age of 18 years.

Pain and suffering before death – if your loved one was not killed immediately and survived the accident for a period of time before dying, then the estate of the loved one would be entitled to compensation for their pain, suffering and any other losses incurred before death.

Funeral costs – the costs of the funeral of your loved one can be claimed, usually through a fixed sum.

The above list is not exhaustive and, depending on the nature of how your loved one died, there may be other factors to be taken into consideration. If you have lost a loved one through an accident at work and need professional advice on the best course of action to take in order to make a claim for compensation then please contact us now.

Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.

Figures released from the Ministry of Justice show that there were 178 wills and probate disputes heard in the High Court in 2014 compared to 97 in 2013. This is seen as being just the tip of the iceberg because only a small portion of these disputes ever get as far as the High Court, with many being settled beforehand.

This rapid rise in will disputes is being put down to factors such as the complexity of family make-ups which can often included second spouses and children from different parents. The soaring house prices, especially in London, are also seen as a significant contributor to this as the potential economic gains of pursuing a claim becomes a driving force.

Given the above scenarios, there is often the chance that a family member may feel aggrieved if they feel that they’ve been left out of a will or haven’t received what they perceive to be their ‘fair share’.

Poorly drafted wills are often at the centre of family battles about wills and some of the homemade wills that people put together and the cheap wills you can get on the high street don’t necessarily cover the complexity of a person’s financial situation and how assets are divided up after death. These types of wills are very often easier to contest when it gets to court.

The upward trend of will disputes is forecast to continue and that’s why it can be a false economy to have a DIY will or buy cheap. The more complex your personal affairs, the more there is to think about when it comes to drafting your will. To ensure that your loved ones receive what you want them to have in the event of your death, then it pays to work with an experienced firm that has many years experience of drafting wills and know what the pitfalls can be.

Whether you want to write a Will or deal with the affairs of a loved one that has passed away, Mark Reynolds Solicitors are here to help. Contact Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee Wills & Probate advisors.

Smartphones may be a huge part of our lives but the statistics show that it certainly isn’t smart to use them when we’re driving. Fatal crashes that have involved the use of a smartphone/mobile phone have risen by a staggering 29% according to recently released figures by the Department of Transport.

In 2012 there was a recorded 378 road accidents in the UK that have been attributed to the use of a mobile phone whilst driving. In 2013 this has risen to 422 and it will be interesting to see if this worrying trend continues.

It was way back in 2003 that using a mobile phone whilst driving was banned but it would appear that the punishment that is in place for such offences isn’t having the desired effect. Currently, if you are caught using a mobile phone whilst driving you face receiving 3 points on your licence, a £100 fine and maybe a disqualification. In a worse case scenario, if you cause the death of somebody due to using a mobile whilst driving, you may face a considerable jail sentence.

Experts estimate that your reaction time is 50% slower when using a mobile phone and that you are four more time likely to have a car crash. Even using a hands –free device has an impact on your reaction time.

Despite this, it would appear that usage whilst driving is on the increase and many of us can’t resist responding to a text or a phone call, irrespective of the potential dangers around us.

If you have been injured in a road accident where the driver has been found to be using a mobile phone then you will potentially have a strong case to make a personal injury claim. Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.

The physical affects of an accident are plain for everybody to see – bruises, cuts, broken bones etc are easy to display and prove when it comes to personal injury claims. However, in several cases there is often the unseen affects of personal injuries that lead to psychiatric and psychological issues with the victim of the accident. These are harder to prove but can often lead to larger awards than the physical injuries if they can be demonstrated.

Common ‘unseen’ affects of accidents include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and, when it comes to road accidents, severe travel anxiety. It’s also important to remember that these types of issues can also arise for people who have been involved in serious accidents but didn’t bear any physical injuries.

These affects often manifest themselves in changes of behaviour, anger, distress, becoming unsociable, flashbacks, difficulties with concentration and the inability to get back into a vehicle. This inevitably can lead to problems at work and issues with performance.

It often takes a while for accident victims to realise that they are suffering emotional and psychological problems because of their accident and they suffer in silence. If you have been involved in any type of accident and recognise the signs above then we would urge you to seek support and help as soon as possible. Make an appointment with your GP and discuss your situation with them.

It is also worthwhile speaking to a solicitor who specialises in personal injury to discuss your case with them as well. You may not realise that you have a genuine case to make a claim, especially if the liability of the accident has been proven. It is often possible to obtain payments from the insurer of the person/company that is liable to seek private treatment so that you can be dealt with quicker and get a speedier resolution to your problems.

Have you had an accident or personal injury and are looking to claim? Call Mark Reynolds Solicitors on 0800 002 9577 today to speak to our no win, no fee personal injury advisors.