We are pleased to announce a very successful late night shopping event held in Sawston on Friday 12th December.
Many people took part in the Adams Harrison “pin the tail on the donkey” competition.
We are very pleased to announce that the winner was Lucy Pryor (aged 5) who wins a £10.00 Marks & Spencer gift card.
Thanks to all those that took part.
The Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) inserts new provisions into Part 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) (Chapter 1B, sections 75E to 75K) to introduce a new entitlement for employees who are parents (whether by birth or adoption), to take shared parental leave (SPL) in the first year of their child’s life or in the first year after their child’s placement for adoption (see The SPL period). The provisions of the CFA 2014 are supported by regulations. Parents will not be obliged to take SPL once the new scheme comes into force. The default position on the birth of a child will be that the 52 weeks of maternity leave (39 weeks paid) will remain in place for the mother, as well as compulsory maternity leave (www.practicallaw.com/5-200-3103), which applies from the day of the child’s birth. The default position on the adoption of a child will be that the primary adopter will be entitled to 52 weeks of adoption leave (39 weeks paid). Changes will be made to adoption leave and pay to make them similar to the maternity leave and pay regime. Additional paternity leave and pay will not be available in respect of babies whose EWC is on or after 5 April 2015, or for children who are placed for adoption on or after that date (section 125, CFA 2014). Unless parents qualify for and opt into the SPL scheme the only entitlement that the child’s other parent will have will be two weeks’ ordinary paternity leave and pay. However, additional paternity leave and pay will remain in place for parents of children with an EWC before 5 April 2014, and for children placed for adoption before that date. As a result, the system of additional paternity leave and pay will remain in operation until mid-April 2016.
The SPL Regulations came into force on 1 December 2014 and the scheme for SPL apply where:
The new scheme will make up to 50 weeks of SPL and 37 weeks of ShPP available for eligible parents to take or share (that is, everything other than the compulsory maternity leave period or an equivalent two-week period in adoption cases). A mother or primary adopter will be able to end their maternity or adoption leave, or commit to ending it at a future date, and share the untaken leave with the other parent as SPL. This will enable mothers and primary adopters to return to work before the end of their leave without sacrificing the rest of the leave that would otherwise be available to them. SPL can either be taken consecutively or concurrently, as long as the total time taken does not exceed what is jointly available to the couple. It appears that the key to success of the SPL scheme, particularly where both parents are employees and wish to take SPL, will be early discussion of proposals with employers.
An employer that receives a notice of entitlement and intention to take SPL may request a copy of the child’s birth certificate or documents notifying the primary adopter that the child was to be placed with them, together with the name and address of the other parent’s employer.
We are please to bring you our latest Employer News Bulletin. Please click on the image below you download your copy.
Adams Harrison Employment Law News For Employers Dec 2014
John Lewis Winter Warmer Hamper
We are very pleased to announce that Barbara Placido, our Trainee Solicitor, has successfully passed her Financial and Business Skills Examination.
Congratulations to you Barbara and best wishes for continued success in your legal career.
Congratulations to Hayley Ford, one of our solicitors in the Private Client Department, who got engaged to Dean last Monday 20th October 2014.
Hayley and Dean with the engagement ring
Adams Harrison all joined together across the three office locations and raised a total of £171.57 with cake sales, raffles, Wear It Pink contributions of £2.00 a time to wear pink, all for the Breast Cancer Awareness Charity.
Haverhill Office: Left to Right: Clementine Harrison, Tom Harrison, Sue Dickinson and Leanne Mayes.
Saffron Walden Office; Left to Right: Alison Helbert; Hannah Melvin; Rebecca Monk; Lesley Rule; Jennifer Pearson; Christina Tapper; Amy Jeffrey and Derry Bragg.
Sawston Office: Left to right Back: Coral Ott, Beverley Henderson, Denise Whitehead, Christine Gee, Cazz Rice,
Front; Lisa Thornhill, Sue Lawton, Katie Powell
Adams Harrison Solicitors were pleased to support the Uttlesford Careers Fair for students of four of the local schools at Saffron Walden County High on Wednesday 8th October from 12.30pm to 9pm.
Six of our staff members Jenny Carpenter, Hayley Ford. Sue Lawton, Emma Laidlaw, Leanne Mayes and Lisa Thornhill met with students and their parents and answered questions about Law as a possible career.
After the event we received this “thank you” from Sarah Dignasse the organiser .
Thank you so much to you and your colleagues for helping us with the Uttlesford Careers Fair. We hope you enjoyed meeting the students and their parents.
The role that companies and other organisations can play in helping young people to learn more about the world of work and the career opportunities that exist is a vital one. Schools are very much ‘on their own’ these days in providing information, advice and guidance since the Connexions Careers Service closed and we are very grateful that you have given your time to help young people find a way through the choices that lie ahead of them. I’m sure that the students found talking to you really interesting and helpful.
We hope that as a result of the links made through this event we can encourage you to be further involved with the schools and, in order to keep the momentum going, would like to set up a programme of Careers Lunches in the schools. The idea would be to hold a weekly lunch when an employer would come in to give a short talk to interested students about their organisation and the types of roles within it followed by a Q&A session.
Thank you, once again, for being involved on Wednesday. We hope to make this a regular event every two years and that you will want to join us again in 2016!
Best wishes
Sarah
Emma Laidlaw, Leanne Mayes and Lisa Thornhill of Adams Harrison at the Uttlesford District Schools careers event
Hayley Ford Leanne Mayes and Emma Laidlaw chatting to one of the parents
Certificate of Appreciation for Adams Harrison from Uttlesford Schools for supporting the careers event
Max Drane Apprentice Office Administrator at Adams Harrison
On 6th October we took on our first apprentice and are pleased to welcome Max Drane who has joined the Saffron Walden team as an Apprentice Office Administrator.
Congratulations to Clementine Harrison who was awarded the Newly Qualified Solicitor of the Year Award at the Cambridgeshire and District Law Society Dinner held on 28th March 2014.
Clementine Harrison of Adams Harrison Receives Award
Update, Oct ober 2014; Clem recently attended the Jordans Family Law Awards Ceremony but did not win on this occasion, many congratulations for getting nominated!
