Clarke and Son News

A survey conducted by YouGov, recently found that 39% of employees who blogged admitted that they had posted details which could be potentially damaging to their work environment.

This may not only cause a business problems, but may also lead in dismissal for the employee.

As reported by Personnel Today, Gillian Dowling, technical consultant at Croner suggests the following for employers:

• All employers need well drafted contracts of employment and a staff handbook. Well-drafted documents are likely to contain definitions of gross misconduct and clauses maintaining confidentiality which will already cover the serious risks of blogging. In addition, specific procedures for whistleblowing will already have been notified to the staff to enable employees with concerns or allegations to make protected disclosures within the organisation.
• It may be appropriate to extend a firm’s internet policy to cover blogging and the risks involved of disclosing information over the internet.
• In sensitive roles employees may be asked to sign media and communications policies, which should be expanded to include blogging.
• In some industries where there is a high level of computer literacy and usage, having a corporate blog may be an appropriate way forward to tap into the bloggers’ creative energy and enthusiasm.

If you are unsure of your obligations as an employer, why not contact our specialist legal team.

The BBC and 24 Dash report that the Government is to the delay the controversial home information packs that were due to be launched on June 1.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Ruth
Kelly said the launch date for mandatory sellers’ packs would be put
back to August 1 for a phased introduction.

The move came hours before the House of Lords was due to take part in a
last-ditch vote aimed at halting the HIPs.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was also set to launch a legal challenge to HIPs. A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government told
the Press Association:

"It will be an update on HIPs and the Energy
Performance Certificate. All I can confirm is that HIPs are not being
scrapped."

Employers could face two years in jail for knowingly employing illegal migrant workers, under a crackdown launched by the government, reports Personnel Today.

The Home Office has proposed the tough sentence, along with other measures, in a document put out to consultation. It would be the first time the law had made a distinction between those employers who deliberately hire illegal migrants and those who do so accidentally.

The new offence would also carry an unlimited fine with penalties of up to £10,000 per worker levied on those employers who are “less than diligent” in carrying out visa checks on their staff.

Clarke & Son has joined forces with local firm Lamb Brooks and put together a netball team to play a one-off game against Penningtons Solicitors.

The match will take place at Russell Howard Sports Ground in Basingstoke on 24 May. The team comprises of Commercial Solicitor Lisa Griffin, Trainee Solicitor Julie Mehrabian, Legal Secretaries Rebecca Williams and Stephanie Stacey, and Completions Clerk Hannah Roberts.

Some of the team have not played netball since their school days, so we wish them the best of luck!

MPs and peers were today attending an "emergency briefing" on Home Information Packs (HIPs) today ahead of a crucial debate on the issue on Wednesday.

The meeting forms part of lobbying attempts by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to persuade parliamentarians to support its calls for HIPs to be delayed.

The Government is set to come under further pressure later this week with a planned Commons debate in which opposition MPs will demand that the planned national roll-out of the controversial initiative be scrapped.

Story Ref. 24 Dash

The Government has proposed a change to the damages available
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, ruling out the
possibility of the award of punitive damages in civil cases of
copyright infringement.

The Ministry of Justice believes that the Copyright Act should,
like other laws, be more specific about exactly what damages can be
awarded by a judge. The consultation also includes the Patents
Act.

"The Government considers that the use of this anomalous term in
the 1977 [Patents] and 1988 [Copyright, Designs and Patents] Acts
is not helpful and believes that it may assist in clarifying the
law in this area if the Acts are amended," said the Government’s
consultation.

Exemplary damages are those imposed for punishment;
restitutionary damages are those which repay the victim of unlawful
behaviour for their actual loss; and aggravated damages are
compensation for harm such as mental distress.

The Ministry of Justice proposes changing the term used in the
Copyright Act from "additional damages" specifically to exclude
exemplary, or punitive, damages.

Reference: Outlaw.

MPs will have a chance to vote against home information packs ahead of their introduction next month, Commons leader Jack Straw said on 3 May 2007.

A Conservative-triggered motion relating to HIP regulations will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday May 16, he said.

The Government’s majority should see off any vote against the packs, but it will enable MPs opposed to them to pile the pressure on ministers.
The Lords is expected to vote on the motion the following week.

Speaking outside the Commons, Tory housing spokesman Michael Gove said:

"Thanks to Conservative pressure the whole House of Commons now has the opportunity to pass judgment on the Government’s handling of HIPs.

"I hope that all those MPs who want to put the stability of the property market first will put pressure on the Government to go back to the drawing board."

The move comes after an all-party committee of peers reported this week that ministers had failed to convince the housing market that plans for HIPs were either sensible or worthwhile.

The Lords Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments questioned whether HIPs would meet policy objectives and called for the matter to be "drawn to the special attention of the House".
Tories have accused ministers of "playing politics" with the housing market over HIPs.

Mandatory HIPs, providing potential buyers with up-front information about a house and an energy performance certificate, are due to come into force on June 1.
They are aimed at bringing efficiency to the home-buying process and cutting the number of transactions which collapse late in the day.

But critics say they will bring little benefit to the consumer, while at the same time adding to the cost of buying a home by around £300 to £500.

During business questions in the Commons earlier, Tory Christopher Fraser (SW Norfolk) warned of widespread concerns about the security and cost implications of HIPs - citing reports that inspectors will not be subject to full Criminal Record Bureau checks.
He demanded the regulations be reconsidered "before they blight the housing markets and the peace of mind of many, many homeowners".

Mr Straw replied:

"We thought it was for the convenience of the House to ensure that the votable order which brings - or otherwise - these home information packs into force should be the subject of a debate and a vote on the floor of the House.

"That’s what we are doing."