News

Press Release October 2008

MAKE A WILL, MAKE A DIFFERENCE
WILL AID NOVEMBER 2008

What is Will Aid?

Will Aid is a partnership between Will solicitors and nine UK Charities. Under the scheme Will solicitors including Percy Hughes & Roberts will draw up a basic Will free of charge during November. In return for this service, we hope you will choose to donate to the Will Aid Charities the fee that you would normally be charged for the Will.

Who will benefit?

The money donated via the Will Aid Scheme is shared between nine participating Charities namely Action Aid, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, Help the Aged, NSPCC, Save the Children UK, Sight Savers International, SCIAF and Trocaire. For details of the Charities and their work, please look at the Will Aid website (www.willaid.org.uk).

What is the suggested donation to Will Aid?

It is suggested that, instead of the usual Will solicitors fee, you make a donation to Will Aid of £75 for a single Will and £110 for a pair of matching or mirror Wills and £40 if you are simply seeking to amend an existing Will by a codicil.

What is the history of Will Aid?

Since its launch in 1988 the scheme has raised almost Seven Million Pounds in donations and a much greater figure than that in legacies included in Wills made by people participating in the scheme.

Percy Hughes & Roberts Solicitors have specialist wills solicitors and have participated in the Will Aid scheme for over ten years. On the last Will Aid campaign in November 2006, we raised £1,000 in charitable donations. We would very much like to increase this figure this time around.

Why should you participate?

Making a Will and keeping it up to date is an important way of protecting family and loved ones in the future. Now is a particularly good time to review your Will arrangements, especially since changes have been made since last year in the Inheritance Tax regime. By reviewing your Will through the Will Aid scheme, not only do you benefit by having your Will brought up to date, but also you are ensuring that Charities benefit from your act. It is a genuine “win win “proposition.

The Will Aid scheme runs from the 1st November to the 30th November 2008 and if we receive any Will instructions during this period for a straight forward Will, it will be carried out under the Will Aid conditions and any money you pay will go to the designated Charities.

How do I make an appointment with a Will Solicitor?

To make an appointment with one of our Will specialists please call either Emily Dejon-Stewart (0151 666 9167) or Carol Edwards (0151 666 9164).

For more information about the Will Aid scheme a reminder that the Will Aid website is www.willaid.org.uk

Press Release September 2008

Disability Discrimination Victory for Gulf War Veteran

A Gulf war veteran was a victim of disability discrimination by the Department for Work & Pensions, the Liverpool Employment Tribunal has ruled. The veteran, Mr. Bal brought a claim in the Employment Tribunal for Disability Discrimination against the Department after being dismissed from his job while he was signed off due to his epilepsy.

Wirral based law firm, Percy, Hughes and Roberts represented Mr. Marek Bal who was diagnosed with epilepsy (grand mal seizures) in April 1997. Mr. Bal served with the Royal Air Force from 1980 to October 1992. During his service he was posted to the Persian Gulf as tactical Helicopter Support during the gulf conflict.

In April 2006, Mr. Bal had been clear of seizures for over a year and was therefore medically cleared and permitted to look for work which he immediately did. Mr. Bal obtained a job at the Department for Work & Pensions. Mr. Bal enjoyed his job immensely and was progressing well and gaining great satisfaction from being back in the workplace again.

Unfortunately in February 2007 Mr. Bal suffered a seizure at work, the first he had had in eighteen months, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He returned to work in March but then later that month he had another seizure while at home alone. In May 2007, while Mr. Bal was signed off work by his doctor for post epileptic anxiety under the instruction of the Departments own Occupational Health doctor, he was dismissed by letter by the Department for failure of his probation period due to his absence.

To be dismissed when he was signed off work because of his disability was very upsetting and stressful for Mr. Bal who had already lost all of his self confidence; he now also lost all confidence that he would ever get an alternative job with his epilepsy and with a dismissal now on his record.

The unanimous judgment of the Employment Tribunal was that by failing to make reasonable adjustments and by dismissing Mr. Bal in his absence he had suffered Disability Discrimination.

Mrs. Lindsey Knowles of Percy Hughes & Roberts Solicitors, said that she was delighted at this decision of disability discrimination and that she whole heartedly agreed with the Employment Judge that this is a classic example of a large Government department not dealing with a disabled employee in the way one would expect.

News June 2008

Charity of the year

The partners and staff at Percy Hughes & Roberts solicitors are keen fund raisers for a number of charities. We support a number of local charities. We hold dress down days and fund raising events throughout the year to raise money. Each year we chose one charity to focus our fundraising on. For the year 2008 - 2009 Percy Hughes & Roberts solicitiors has chosen Aftermath as its charity of the year. Aftermath is a Merseyside charity which is committed to improving support to victims of road accidents and their families. We look forward to raising funds for Aftermath and to working together with them throughout the year.