Norman McDermott Employment Law Advice & Representation 18, Pottery Wharf, Thornaby Stockton on Tees TS17 6DT Tel 01642 956978 Mob 07876747515 Email [email protected]

Agreement between Norman McDermott

and

Name …………………………………………. (client ) Address …………………………………………. ………………………………………….. ………………… Post Code ……………

Terms and Conditions of Business. 1.

Please read this carefully, and as confirmation that you would like me to proceed on this basis, I would be very grateful if you would sign the extra copy of the Terms of Business and return to me.

2.

We will then have entered into an agreement which will create a contract between us and will be governed by English law, and any dispute will be subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

3.

I am regulated by the Claims Management Regulator in respect of regulated claims management activities. My registration is recorded on the website www.justice.gov.uk/claims-regulation

4.

I am the sole person responsible for the work on your matter and I trust that you will be happy with the service I provide. However, if you are not, I would encourage you to follow the Complaints Procedure as detailed in the attached Complaints Handling Scheme.

5.

The undersigned hereby agrees to the following.

6.

You have received free initial advice from myself (Norman McDermott) in respect of your employment law query.

7.

You have been advised of; • • • • •

The merits of any claim, What possible action can be taken, and the time limits within which any action should be taken, Possible costs (other than fees for representation and advice) that could be incurred in pursuing the claim Who could assist you with pursuing your claim My costs should you wish to instruct me (see below for details of these costs)

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8.

You were informed that the advice was ‘one off’ advice to enable you to make an informed decision on what (if any ) action you will take next. You were also informed that after receiving this advice , you were at liberty to;

• • • • 9.

Not pursue the matter further; Pursue the matter on your own (including lodging the claim and representing yourself at tribunals); Seek further independent advice and assistance from an alternative legal advisor, (including Citizens Advice Bureaux or Law Centres) or Instruct myself (Norman McDermott) to represent you and take the appropriate agreed steps in pursuing the matter.

Having received this initial free advice you now wish to instruct me to represent and act on your behalf in relation to your employment matter, in that I will; Tick where appropriate

Take the agreed next action

Take the urgent agreed next action

Take conduct of the case

Provide representation at Tribunal

10.

Please note you have a right to a 14 day cooling off period within which time you can withdraw from this agreement without incurring any costs. However, where I have completed Urgent Agreed Next Action within the 14 days cooling off period and prior to you cancelling, you agree that you will be liable for the cost of this completed urgent agreed next action ( see below). You will not be liable for the cost of any urgent agreed next action which is not fully completed prior to your cancelation within the 14 day period.

11.

Agreed Next Action this is where we have agreed that I will take conduct of your case and agreed the next step I shall take on your behalf. For example this could be drafting an appeal/grievance letter to the employer or drafting the Employment Tribunal Application form (ET1) .You will be informed of my charge for this and this will require your agreement before the action is taken.

12.

Urgent Agreed Next Action this is action that has to be embarked upon before the expiry of the 14 day cooling off period. You will be informed of this and the reason why the action is urgent, you will also be informed of my charge for this and this will require your prior agreement before the action is embarked upon.

13.

Conduct of the case this consists of all necessary further action required such as drafting a schedule of loss, exchanging relevant documents, preparing tribunal bundles, witness statements and negotiations on your behalf with ACAS. This is charged on an hourly basis.

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14.

Representation this consists of my actual representation in the employment tribunals and there is a fixed fee for this. You do not have to agree to me representing you at tribunal, when I take conduct of your case and representation at tribunals will be discussed with you as your case progresses, it will then be your choice as to whom you wish to represent you.

15.

My legal costs in this matter are as follows

15.1

Initial Advice Free (approx. 30 minutes)

15.2

Agreed next action / Agreed urgent next action. This will be a fixed fee agreed between us both for the agreed next step. The fee quoted will be what you will have to pay and will not increase. Please note the fixed fee charge is subject to you providing correct and honest information and you may be liable for an extra charge in respect of any further action that is required to be taken as a result of you providing inaccurate and/or wilfully misleading information.

15.3

Advice and conduct of the case. £……. per hour for work carried out on your case (other than representation at tribunal). This will be charged in blocks of 6 minutes. Therefore, as an example • •

If I carry out 3 hours work on your case the charge would be £…….. If I carry out 3 hours 6 minutes work on you case the charge would be £……..

I will provide you with an estimate of the hours of work required leading up to the actual employment tribunal. You can if you wish set a limit to the amount of hours worked on your case where no further work is carried out without your agreement. For example the limit could be set at two hour intervals which would mean after each period of two hours has been reached I would need to contact you for your permission to carry on. Also you can set a limit of the total amount of hours you wish me to work on your case. See agreement below. I may also charge you expenses for (eg) copying or couriers, etc, but will agree these with you, or ask you to prepare them instead. I will not charge you for anything, that you had not been previously notified of, and had not been previously agreed between us. You are responsible for paying my fees for instructions accepted under this agreement. I am entitled to withhold work or to cease further work and or decline instructions if my fees are outstanding. . You can at any time notify me (either verbally or in writing directly to myself) that you no longer wish me to act on your behalf. I will immediately refrain from carrying out further work on your case, however, you will be liable for payment for the work done and expenses incurred to date of notification. ( subject to the 14 day cooling off period see above) 3

From time to time I will request payment of fees outstanding and this will normally be after every two hours of work on your case. However, changes to the regularity of payment may be agreed between us and if so such changes will be outlined below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Agreed regularity of payment of fees and any client time limits Tick where appropriate

The parties agree that payment of fees will be made after every ………. Hours of work carried out by Norman McDermott on this case. The parties agree that there is a limit set at ………… hours work Intervals, at which point further permission is required from the client. The parties agree that there is a total limit set at ……… hours work after which the client wishes no further work to be carried out without the client’s further written permission. Name ……………………………….

Name

Norman McDermott

Signed ……………………………..

Signed…………………………….

Date ………………… Date ………………….. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15.4

Representation at Tribunal …… £250 per day. In respect of Tribunal Representation I do not charge you for travel within a 60 mile radius of my address in Stockton on Tees but usually do so for travel outside of this radius. Any charges in respect of this will be discussed and agreed with you beforehand.

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Other costs other than my fees that you may occur. Employment Tribunals now charge for lodging and hearing claims. If the matter is it to go to tribunal then the cost of lodging your claim will be £…………… If the matter proceeds to a hearing, then there would be a further cost of

£ …………..

Further, Employment Tribunals have the power to award costs against a party in certain circumstances. Details of which and how they might apply in your case have been explained. However, please do not hesitate to ask if you have any further queries on this matter.

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Confidentiality All information you give me will be received in professional confidence and will not be disclosed to any other party without you prior consent. The only exception is that statutory and other legal requirements may cause me to disclose information which I have received from you to governmental or other regulatory authorities and to do so without first obtaining your consent to such disclosure or telling you that I have made it. I am entitled to keep copies of any documents you give me for my professional records. I will return all your original documents to you when I have carried out the work you have instructed me to do. I would prefer that you give me copies of documents rather than originals. All copies I retain after your case has closed will be securely stored for 6 years and then destroyed. Should you require copies of the documents during this period please contact me directly.

Confirmation of agreed next action You agree that you have been advised of the following (details of issue ) eg Unfair dismissal claim Details

Advised next action Details

My charge for this agreed action is ………………………..

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I agree that Mr N McDermott will take the above advised next action or embark on the advised next action within the next 14 days………………… By ticking the above box you agree that if you cancel this agreement within 14 days of signing you will be liable for the full cost of the above agreed action should Mr N McDermott have completed that action before you have cancelled this agreement. You will not be charged for any uncompleted agreed action. I do not agree that Mr N McDermott will take the above next action or embark on the advised next action until 14 days have passed from the signing of this agreement.…………………………………………….. By ticking the above box you agree that no further work will be carried out on your file until the 14 days cancelation period has expired. A confirmation letter detailing advice given and agreed action will be sent to you within the next 14 days.

The above terms are agreed between

Name

Norman McDermott

Signed ………………………………

Date ……………………………

AND

Name …………………………………

Signed …………………………......

Date ………………………….

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