NEW! Free Personal Injury Drop In Clinic - Llanrwst

Allington Hughes have added a new FREE drop in clinic to what is an already substantial Pro Bono service in 2015.

There will now be a chance to gain some free legal advice on Personal Injury at our Llanrwst office, which will run alongside the already established Family, Housing and Employment clinics which are held every week at our Wrexham and Chester offices.

The Personal Injury clinic will start this coming Thursday 8th January and continue every Thursday thereafter throughout January.

From 3pm to 6pm, Chartered Legal executive Ian Williams who has recently joined us from a firm in South Wales, will be offering up his time to welcome the public into our Llanrwst office to gain some completely free initial advice.

Here is an up to date reminder of the free clinics we have on offer.

Wrexham Office: Every Monday 9.30am - 12.30pm free Family, Housing & Employment Law drop in.

Chester Office: Every Tuesday 9.30am - 12.30pm free Employment Law drop in.

Llanrwst Office: Every Thursday 3pm - 6pm free Personal Injury drop in.

It is suggested that your ring the office to make an appointment prior to attending a drop in as at times they can be quite busy, however please do feel free to turn up on the day.

Ian Williams, Chartered Legal Executive and member of the Personal Injury team at our Llanrwst office

The Free 2 Network Awards 2014

Friday 29th November was host to a fabulous evening at the Free 2 Network Awards at the St George Hotel in Llandudno.

The evening was hosted by founder of Free 2 Network Nina Sardar along with The Apprentice finalist and skincare entrepreneur Saira Khan.

After a fantastic and compelling speech by the hosts, the meal and awards got underway. Allington Hughes were nominated for 2 awards, Enterprise of the Year and Businessman of the year, but were unfortunately pipped to the post in both categories by some very deserving businesses.

We did however have the honour of presenting the final award of the night, Business of the Year. It must have been a very hard decision for Saira when judging the award as there were some fantastic businesses shortlisted. She eventually opted for Fabian4, an online entry service used mostly in the outdoor sports sector. 

A huge congratulations to all of the winners and nominees, and a special mention has to go to Nina and everyone involved with Free 2 Network for making every meeting such an easy and relaxed way of generating business and making important connections. 

We are very proud members of the network, and we look forward to developing our relationship further in 2015 and beyond.

For further pictures please visit our Facebook page.

The brilliant winners at the Free 2 Network awards 2014.

Allington Hughes Welcomes Christmas!

It is a long established tradition in Wrexham for Allington Hughes to sponsor the Christmas Tree, which stands pride of place in Queens Square at the heart of the town. It is a focal point in the community and we take great pride that over the last 8 years we have been able to assist with acquiring some of the most beautiful trees in the area.

This year, we have managed to do the same for Llanrwst, another town in which we feel very much part of the community with one of our offices situated in the town centre.

We also try to get involved with the Chester Christmas Tree every year so we can complete the set and have one near each of our offices, unfortunately this has so far proved fruitless, however we will continue to try until we are successful! 

Alongside the Christmas Trees, Allington Hughes will be taking part in the Save the Children Christmas Jumper day on 12th December. 

If you or your company would like to be involved please visit http://jumpers.savethechildren.org.uk/  or if you would like to donate, please text TEAMALLINGTO to 70050 to donate £2.

We are full of Christmas cheer at Allington Hughes, and everyone at the firm would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a fantastic festive period.

Our three offices will close at 1pm on 24th December and reopen at 8.45am on 2nd January 2015.

 Wrexham Christmas Tree

 Llanrwst Christmas Tree 

Commonwealth Fencing Silver For David Gregory

David Gregory is a local Fencer who many of the firm have had the pleasure of meeting. 

We found out about David's goal to achieve a medal at the Commonwealth Championships a few months ago now, and we were delighted to sponsor him and help out with his campaign.

This week David has been competing in Largs in Scotland with the Welsh team, and was part of a terrific effort to bring home a medal from the tournament.

The Wales team made it all the way to the final of the competition, but unfortunately lost to Singapore in a closely contested final.

Allington Hughes would like to take this opportunity to congratulate David and the Welsh team on their fantastic achievement by winning the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Fencing Championships. Well done guys!

Sponsored fencer David Gregory with his Commonwealth Championships Silver medal.

New Personnel and Promotions at Allington Hughes

Allington Hughes have made some key additions over the last few months in a number of areas along with some internal promotions for key members of staff.

The development of talent has always been at the core of the firm, with over 50% of the current Directors undergoing their training at Allington Hughes and progressing their career all the way through to becoming a director.

This has been the catalyst for some young and fresh additions to the firm. Ben Whiting, 23, has joined the Wrexham office as a Paralegal in the Conveyancing department while he undergoes his Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Christleton. 

Sarah Beeley is also a Paralegal at the Wrexham office studying to become a Chartered Legal Executive. Sarah is currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and is mainly based within our Wills and Probate team.

Our Family Law team in Wrexham also has a young Paralegal working within the team; Rachel D'abreu has been at the firm for a couple of months now.

Another exciting new addition to the firm is Ian Williams; A specialist Chartered Legal Executive who has returned to live in North Wales following 4 years working in Cardiff. Ian is a native of Caernarfon and will take up a position in our Llanrwst office at the beginning of December.

Ian completed his Law Degree at Bangor University in 2008 before going on to complete his Legal Practice Course at Aberystwyth University in 2009. Since leaving Caernarfon in January 2011, Ian went on to work for Hugh James in Cardiff where he specialised in Civil Litigation, namely Personal Injury.

Ian Commented. “It’s great to be back in the local area. I hope to bring my experience gained from working in Cardiff to the local area and it is a dream for me to work for such a well respected firm like Allington Hughes.” 

There have also been promotions in the firm recently, with Justine Reynolds becoming Principal Solicitor in the Family Law team at our Chester office.

Criminal Solicitor Ian Barnes has also been promoted to Principal Solicitor in our Wrexham office having recently completed examinations to become a Solicitor-Advocate, meaning he can now represent clients at the Crown Court and Court of Appeal, on top of already representing them through all stages of their case.

Allington Hughes are very proud of it's succession planning, and continuing the influx of young talent coupled with strengthening in key areas shows the firms determination to expand and develop.

Some of the team at Allington Hughes Ltd

Employment Law Update: Overtime and Holidays

Overtime should count towards the calculation of holiday

In the landmark case of Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton (and others conjoined) case, the Employment Appeals Tribunal today passed its Judgment.

The primary finding affecting workers and employers being that overtime should be taken into account when calculating a worker’s holiday pay.

This means therefore that where a worker engages in overtime for a sufficient period, their holiday pay should include any overtime, as well as commission, thereby reflecting their normal remuneration.

Under the Working Time Regulations workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday which can include public holidays. The finding that overtime should count towards holiday entitlement only applies to the basic 4 weeks leave and not the additional 1.6 weeks.

It will come of some relief to employers that the EAT concluded however that where there is a break of more than 3 months between any holiday pay claims, an Employment Tribunal will not have jurisdiction to hear the earlier claims. This will serve to restrict so much as possible, a worker’s ability to bring valuable claims for underpaid holiday pay.

This is by no means the end of the matter. Vince Cable has already confirmed that he is setting up a taskforce to assess the possible impact of the ruling on holiday pay. The EAT have also already granted permission for this decision to be appealed and be dealt with by the Court of Appeal, the outcome of which however will undoubtedly be some time away. 

In the meantime it would be prudent for employers to take stock of their current working practices and potential liabilities as a result of this matter in the anticipation of potential holiday pay claims. 

If you feel this is a matter which may affect you, contact our Employment Law team on 01978 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester or 01492 641222 for Llanrwst or visit www.allingtonhughes.co.uk

Melissa Bramwell is part of the Employment Law team at Allington Hughes.

Welshpool Saler Cattle Sale 18/10/14

After a budding relationship formed at this years Royal Welsh Show, Allington Hughes were delighted to be sponsoring the 1^st Autumn Show Sale for the Saler Cattle Society.

The sale was held in Welshpool Livestock Market, and here we have a brief overview of the results.

The judge was Mr Evans from Maescarneddau, Llanwyddyn and he had a good selection of animals to judge. 

The winner of the female championship was Coland Fiona owned and exhibited by Mr Dennis Rogers. She then sold for £2,600.

 The winner of the male championship and the overall champion was Seawell Icebreaker owned by P.M.& S.M.Donger and he sold for £3,100. 

The top price of the sale, £4,000, was paid for a commercial heifer an her calf owned by Harri Pritchard – who is the current Society Chairman.

We look forward to continuing a very enjoyable relationship with the Saler Cattle Society, and look forward to being involved with future events.

Director of Allington Hughes Ltd Rachel Wynn Jones with the prize winning Saler Cattle