Rennie Chambers, Solicitor in the Bespoke & Commercial Property Team based in the Milton Keynes Office.

We are delighted to announce and welcome Mr Rennie Chambers as Senior Solicitor within our Milton Keynes Bespoke & Commercial Property. Rennie is an experienced Commercial Property Solicitor and has worked in the legal practise since 1999. Rennie is well known for his affable and pragmatic approach to matters, notwithstanding any complexities involved; he is able to simplify matters for clients to ensure that transactions are dealt with in a timely manner.

Rennie specialises in real estate matters, including, but not limited to:

• * Landlord and tenant (Leases, occupational leases, lease renewals, re-gears, surrenders, agreement for lease, licences, rent deposit deeds and all other ancillary matters);
• * Site acquisition and disposal of freehold and leased properties;
• * Option agreements;
• * Pre-emption agreements;
• * Conditional contracts;
• * Pension fund real estate matters of all natures;
• * Planning negotiation and objections; and
• * Infrastructure, planning and development agreements.

Andrea Smith, Partner and Head of Business Services, said:

“We are thrilled that Rennie has joined the Firm; he brings with him a wealth of experience in all areas concerning real estate and is already an integral and invaluable part of the team. Our Bespoke & Commercial Property teams in Milton Keynes and Northampton continue to exceed expectations and with the addition of Rennie to the team we are looking towards further growth in this area.”

On joining the firm, Rennie said:

“I am delighted to have joined Franklins, a progressive and forward thinking firm, which will only continue to go from strength to strength with the wide breadth of experience and knowledge I bring.”

If you would like to discuss a Bespoke or Commercial Property issue or require additional information about the wide range of work that we undertake, please contact Rennie Chambers at Rennie.Chambers@franklins-sols.co.uk or call 01908 660966.

Our offices will close at 14.00 on Tuesday 24th December 2019 and will re-open at 09.00 on Thursday 2nd January 2020.

Franklins Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce that Reece Chapman has qualified as a solicitor, following the completion of his training contract with the Firm. 

Reece joined Franklins as a Paralegal in 2016, after having attained a distinction in his Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School. Reece started his training contract in 2018 and has obtained a huge amount of experience during this, having undertaken seats in Commercial Property Law, Residential Conveyancing and Business Services (including Employment Law, Commercial Law and Corporate Law). As a qualified solicitor he has accepted a permanent role within the Firm’s Bespoke & Commercial Property team, based in the Milton Keynes office. 

“Training with Franklins has been a fulfilling experience and one that has greatly benefited my legal career. I have worked hard and been challenged along the way, but it’s been enjoyable an very rewarding. I am very much looking forward to beginning my career as a solicitor.“ Reece Chapman, Solicitor.

Helen Taylor TEP, Training Principal and Partner at Franklins Solicitors LLP says “We believe in developing our staff to fulfil their potential. Our training programme has been developed over a number of years and we see it as an investment both for the trainee and the Firm. We are delighted that Reece has chosen to accept a permanent position within the Firm to progress his career with us. Our training programme continues earlier in the year we appointed two new candidates to commence their Training Contracts with us.“

Franklins’ Partner and Head of Business Services, which includes the Bespoke & Commercial Property team, Andrea Smith praised Reece saying “The fact tat we’ve offering Reece a permanent role is proof that we’re positive about his future with the Firm. Having the right team in place will allow us to build upon the strong growth and reputation we’ve already achieved ad having Reece in our Bespoke & Commercial Property team in Milton Keynes will assist with this growth.”   

Franklins would like to wish Reece continued success in his role as a Solicitor as he continues his legal career with us. 

It is with great pleasure that Franklins Solicitors LLP announces that three of its current trainee Solicitors have passed their Legal Practice Course (LPC) with a distinction. We congratulate Rebekah Hobbs, Hannah Ghafari and William Jones upon this achievement.

Pictured from left to right: Rebekah Hobbs, Hannah Ghafari and William Jones. 

The LPC teaches the basics of how to conduct client meetings, undertake research, and much more. One of the features of the course is its intensity and the volume of material that students must deal with. Therefore it is a testament to Rebekah, Hannah and William’s hard work and dedication that not only have all three of them passed with flying colours, but that they managed to undertake the heavy workload of the LPC in addition to providing unfailing client service and support to the Firm.

“We are very proud of the calibre and dedication that these three individuals possess” said Simon Long, Managing Partner at Franklins Solicitors LLP.

Franklins wish them continued success on their journey to qualifying as solicitors and as they continue their legal career.

Franklins Solicitors LLP are delighted to formally announce the appointment of four new Associate Partners of the Firm. Invitations for Partnership have been offered to and accepted by Holly Threlfall, a Solicitor in the Corporate Services team, Marie Bevan, a Chartered Legal Executive in the New Homes team, Emma McNally, our Practice Manager and Simon Bannister, our Software and Development Manager.

“The promotion of Holly, Marie, Simon and Emma reflects the incredible hard work and effort that all these individuals have brought to the Firm over their time with us” says Managing Partner, Simon Long, “We are delighted that they have accepted the offer of Partnership with Franklins and look forward to the continued value that they will bring to the firm as Partners.”

Holly Threlfall

Holly joined Franklins in 2013 and quickly found her niche in Corporate Services. Acting for a wide range of clients, Holly strives to provide an excellent service beyond client expectations. From incorporation through to contracts, mergers and acquisitions Holly supports her clients throughout their business lifecycle. “I am delighted that having trained Holly she has succeeded in her ambition to become a Partner at the Firm” said Andrea Smith, Partner and Head of Business Services.

Marie Bevan

As a Chartered Legal Executive, Marie has worked in Residential Conveyancing, including existing and new build properties, for many years. In conjunction with her new role as Associate Partner, Marie is one of the Senior Managers within our New Homes team.

Emma McNally

Emma has worked at Franklins for fourteen years and over that time has undertaken many roles for the Firm, most recently having been appointed the Firm’s Practice Manager. Along with her Associate Partner role, Emma manages the Firm’s administration team, who have been instrumental in helping the Firm prepare for and pass recent audits, thereby re-qualifying for both the ISO and Lexcel accreditation.

Simon Bannister

Simon joined the firm after leaving college in 2003 and originally started in the Accounts team. He has developed the Firm’s Office Management Systems as well as, the website and CRM system.

We welcome returning and new staff:  

In addition, the Firm welcomes back Kathryn Thornewill, Associate Partner in our Private Client team. Kathryn has been away on maternity leave but has now returned to the Milton Keynes office and is excited about getting back to work.

We also welcome to the firm Emily Carrington, Solicitor in our Family Law team and Robyn Jefferies, Solicitor in our Corporate Services team.

We would like to wish all of our Partners and new starters the very best in their new roles with Franklins.

Labour’s manifesto ƒ- An analysis of the new, old and ‘borrowed’ employment law pledges

Labour became the first of the main parties to unveil its manifesto this week. The imposition of a new tax-rate for those earning over £80,000.00 has taken most of the headlines, but it is the 20 employment-law pledges (although Diane Abbott was rumoured to have counted only 12) that took our interest. Some of these pledges are new, some regurgitated from Labour’s 2015 manifesto, and some ‘borrowed’ from the 2015 manifestos of other parties. We have picked out some of the main points:

1. Ban zero hours contracts – Consistent with Labour manifesto 2015

In 2015, most of the parties saw that zero-hours contracts were an unpopular phenomenon and, therefore, a potential vote-winner. The main parties pledged to remove any requirement for a worker to agree to work exclusively for a company under the zero-hours contracts, something that the Conservative government has since implemented. Labour has been consistent in calling for their complete ban, requiring companies to guarantee minimum working hours to their employees.

2. Legislate to ensure that any employer wishing to recruit labour from abroad does not undercut workers at home – Similarities with UKIP, 2015

The Brexit vote highlighted that immigration was an important consideration for many voters. Labour’s new policy acknowledges those voter concerns, seeking to prevent cheaper labour from abroad being recruited at the expense of workers in the UK. The UKIP manifesto in 2015 pledged to, “Allow British businesses the right to choose to employ British citizens first over other nationalities”. It is not clear whether Labour intends its policy to apply to the recruitment of workers outside of the UK, or only outside of the EU (free movement of workers, anyone?) and this writer suspects that this will not be something that they will be in a rush to clarify any time soon.

3. Propose four new public holidays for Saints George, David, Andrew and Patrick – Again, similar to UKIP 2015

The four new public holidays will be a popular vote winner for many, increasing the total number of public and bank holidays from eight to twelve. Again, this is an idea that was borrowed from UKIP in 2015, albeit they only proposed two new holidays for St. George and St. David; there was no explanation at the time as to why St. Andrew, as a fully-fledged UK Saint, was not included in the UKIP policy.

4. Raise the Minimum Wage to the level of the Living Wage (expected to be at least £10 per hour by 2020) for all workers aged 18 or over – The Green Party pledged exactly this in 2015

The 2015 Labour Manifesto pledged to increase the National Minimum Wage to “more than” £8.00 per hour by October 2019. The 2017 manifesto goes further, following the Green party’s policy of 2015 that the, “National Minimum Wage would be increased to the Living Wage of £10.00 per hour by 2020″.

5. Abolish employment tribunal fees ƒ- Consistent with Labour’s 2015 manifesto

The coalition government implemented employment tribunal fees in July 2013, resulting in a 70% drop in claims since then. The Labour party has consistently pledged to abolish these fees to remove any barriers to access to justice.

6. Double paid paternity leave from two to four weeks – A new policy, perhaps inspired by the Liberal Democrats in 2015

Currently, employees can take up to two weeks paternity leave for the purpose of caring for a child or supporting the child’s mother/adopter. This is paid at the statutory rate of £140.98 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Labour’s policy seeks to increase leave to four weeks, although they have not specified the proposed increase in pay. In 2015, the Liberal Democrats proposed increasing paternity leave from 2 to 6 weeks, In this writer’s experience, many eligible employees may not take the opportunity to take their full allocation of leave as, statistically speaking, they are often the higher earner of the couple.

7. Reinstate third party harassment – A new policy

This was a right which was repealed by the coalition government on 1st October 2013. The old legislation confirmed that an employer could be found guilty of harassment if the employee is harassed on three separate occasions by another third party, even if the employer had already taken steps to prevent that from happening. The Labour party intends to reinstate this right.

In the lead up to the general election on 8th June 2017, we will be analysing the manifestos of the main parties as and when they are published, as well as a ‘Facebook Live’ broadcast in the coming weeks.

The Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2016 comes into force on 6 March 2017. This Order will have an impact on court hearing fees.

Main changes to note

This Order effects 2 significant changes which you need to know about:-

1. it increases to the fee payable for fixing a trial date;  and
2. it deletes the provision in the previous 2008 Order for refunding the hearing fee where the court is given notice that the claim has settled or has been discontinued.

Revised hearing fees

These are the changes, which come into effect from 7 March 2017:

The hearing fee must be paid at least 28 days before the trial period.

How this has changed from previous Rules:

Small Claims Track – Claimants currently get a 100% refund of the hearing fee if they notify the court, in writing, of settlement, at least seven days before the hearing

Fast Track and Multi Track – The following amounts are currently refunded where the court is notified in writing that case is settled/discontinued:

Under these new Rules:

From 6th March 2017, the Court will not refund the Court hearing fee if the claim settles or discontinues after the fee has been paid.

Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules, which come into force on 7th April 2017, provide the Court with the ability to automatically strike out a claim if the payment of the Hearing fee is not made when directed.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please do get in contact with one of the members of our Litigation on team on 01908 660 966 (Milton Keynes) or 01604 828 282 (Northampton). We would be pleased to help.

Image courtesy of 123rf.com

From 26 June 2017 unlisted UK companies and LLPs must keep their “Register of People with Significant Control” continuously updated on the Companies House website. Previously it was only necessary to update Companies House once a year.

If your use for the Register is for undertaking AML checks, it is still necessary to get corporate clients to confirm the register is up to date as well as confirmation from the people named in the register that they agree it is accurate. Regulation 28(9) states that you “do not satisfy your requirements” to check beneficial owners by just relying on a PSC register.

Date: 5th October 2018

Time: 8.00  – 11.00

Location: Silverstone UTC, Silverstone Circuit, Towcester NN12 8TL

Event details:
The path to Brexit for UK businesses as yet remains unclear, however everyone is hard at work preparing to rise to the challenge and respond to whatever changes lie ahead. As yet many questions remain for manufacturers, so we are actively working with businesses to help them identify and maximise opportunities.

At the event you will be able to quiz a panel of high level manufacturing experts and business leaders on the opportunities and challenges ahead with the aim of:

• Positioning your business to create, identify and maximise export & import opportunities
• Aiding meetings with global customers
• Building and preserving your international brand
• Planning future investments
• Prioritising when creating your strategy and making tactical business decisions for the future

Panel members include:

• Rt. Hon. Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire
• Professor Rajkumar Roy – Director of Manufacturing at Cranfield University
• Will Stirling – MD, Stirling Media Ltd and Former Editor of The Manufacturing magazine
• Nigel Knapp – Business Development Manager at The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)
• Alistair Gough – CEO at OCEE International. Global Furniture Business

Programme:

08:30 – 9:30 – Q&A Forum focusing on the Opportunities of Brexit for Manufacturers
09:30 – 10:30 – Breakout sessions with facilitated discussions. Please book one of the sessions listed below when you send your R.S.V.P:

1. Minimising the impact of Brexit on your business presented by Ben Stanton, Employment Law Partner – Franklins Solictors LLP : With the implementation of Brexit there is always the worry that this could affect employment law and the various protections that employees recieve in the UK and also the rules that employers have to put in place. This session will seek to allay those fears and provide you with advice on minimising employment risks post-Brexit.
2. Procedures, Customs and Duty implications to create opportunities presented by Lucy Sutcliffe – MHA MacIntyre Hudson: Looking at import and export deals are high on many businesses priority lists.This session will focus on procedures and customs & duty implications and explore the areas to consider with regard to creating and maximising the opportunities ahead.
3. Improving productivity & Maximising the return on capital and other resources presented by Nigel Knapp, MTC: The MTC are a Government supported organisation helping UK manufacturers de-risk and accelerate investment in productivity improvement, new technology or commercialising new products. Our extensive workshop provides access to the latest technologies to prove concepts or manufacture prototypes. This session will focus on how to maximise implementation of new technology into your manufacturing organisation.

10:30 – Close and optional tour of Silverstone UTC

Registration:

This event is complimentary however pre-booking is essential as places are limited to those actively engaging in the manufacturing sector. Please RSVP by emailing your details and choice of breakout session to helen.woolf@mhllp.co.uk. Please reserve your place by 28th September 2018.

If you would like to submit a question for the panel prior to the event, please send it to marketing@franklins-sols.co.uk and these will be collected for the panel discussion on the day.