According to the Law Society, in the UK alone there are over three million people injured in accidents each year, either at home, in their cars, at work or outdoors. Of these three million personal injuries, a large proportion is made up of work-related injuries and ill health.

Recent statistics from the organisation charged with preventing death, injury and ill health in Great Britain’s workplaces, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), have revealed the real extent of work-related ill health in the UK.

The Health and Safety Statistics Annual Report for Great Britain in 2013/14 states:  

• Out of a workforce of over 38 million, approximately 1.2 million people in the UK suffered with work-related injuries (3.15%) 
• 2,538 deaths from mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure occurred
• 142 employees were killed at work (2014/2015)
• 78,000 injuries were reported under ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations' (RIDDOR) 
• 629,000 work injuries (Labour Force Survey) occurred 
• 28.2 million working days were lost in relation to workplace injuries and work-related illness More...

Howells Solicitors are delighted to have been shortlisted again for both the Direct and Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year hosted by the Law Firm Services Awards 2015.

Howells won the Regional Conveyancing Firm of the Year for the Wales and West Midlands category in 2014 and was shortlisted for the UK’s Direct Conveyancer Firm of 2014 category. Click here for the story.

Howells on Being Shortlisted

Managing Partner, Mark Hobbs, commented, “We are over the moon to be shortlisted once again. These awards are judged by well-respected leaders within the industry so it is an honour to be recognised.

We enjoy what we do, are passionate and have a constant drive to want to do it better and this award would illustrate that we are heading in the right direction. It will also be a big pat on the back to all our staff who work very hard and great for them to have the recognition and benefit of the award.”  More...

A ruling from the European Court of Justice last week will have a big impact for businesses, particularly those that have workers with no fixed place of work.

The case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL decided that time spent travelling to your first client or customer and from your last should be classed as "working time".

Although our Government in non-statutory guidance has long been of the opinion that time spent travelling during the course of a working day should be considered as "working time", it also states that commuting to and from work outside of an employee's normal working hours is not.

Implications for the workplace

Here we explain the possible implications of this ruling for employers and employees in the UK.

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Howells Solicitors have for the past few years been proud to sponsor the University of South Wales’ Prize for Best Performance in Property Law and Practice, which is awarded to the highest achieving student on the course with the best overall performance.

This year the very worthy winner of the prize is Kimberly Matthews.

Kim started studying for the LPC at the University of South Wales in September 2013 on a part-time basis whilst also undertaking a training contract with a Cardiff legal firm and looking after her one year old daughter.

Not content with just passing her course and qualifying in Law, Kim set her sights on winning the Howells prize. More...

Amazon UK has been in the spotlight again this month as reports emerged that a large number of their staff have developed physical and mental illnesses as a result of their working ‘regime’.

Whilst most often we associate stress with high-flying executive level positions, studies have shown that monotonous and repetitive jobs can cause similar levels of exhaustion leading to stress and depression.

Employers should be cautious when dealing with such issues, particularly as these conditions can potentially be classed as a disability. Should these issues be approached incorrectly, employers can fall foul of disability legislation, potentially resulting in discrimination claims being lodged against them.

In addition to the monotonous working conditions, Amazon has also been criticised for implementing performance targets. It is claimed that this too increases the pressure that employees are put under as businesses that implement such targets can discipline staff should they fail to hit them. Performance targets are often frowned upon, but it is important that a business can set targets in order to achieve productivity from their staff, but it’s vital that such targets are achievable. More...