Employment, Grievance problem with employers

[1717Silkworm]

Hi - please can someone advise. We are working in a company which is offering non reserved legal services and is not regulated by the law society. The employer/owner is unscrupulous and unprofessional, a bully and has victimised various employees that have complained about things and then left. She is doing the same to us. She has sacked other employees who have complained or raised grievances and then threatened to report them to their regulatory bodies (e.g. ACCA, CIMA, Law Soc or ATT etc - depending upon the regulatory body of the employee) - by making up allegations, stressing the employees, putting them on false disciplinary charges, then gross misconduct and then sacking these people. We have raised grievances and are being subjected to bullying and victimisation and now she is conjuring up all sorts go nonsense to get rid of us. Is there any reporting or regulatory body we can report her or her business to? The company offers business services to business clients (but occasionally consumers) but it is not regulated or subject to any governing or regulatory body although their employees who are accountants, lawyers, tax advisers and financial services advisers are subject to regulatory bodies as professionals. What can we do? Please advise

[echat11]

Hi 17175SILKWORM

You can report her to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA, CIMA etc as 'whistleblower's'.

Best thing to do is gather evidence i.e. statements from current and old employees. Then present that as 'whistleblowers' to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA and CIMA they will act..

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/pro...lowing-to-sra/

https://www.acas.org.uk/archive/whistleblowing

[ULA]

1717Silkworm and echat11

The issue that you have, even if you could report the owner to a regulated body, would be that primarily this form of reporting would be for businesses/consumers who have had poor service.

Unless you can prove that there has been any contravention of professional conduct by the various advisors who will individually be under the obligation to their respective regulatory bodies i.e. any employed solicitors the SRA then again this action could prove fruitless.

What is seems to be is about getting the owner/employer to treat the staff better.

Do you know if anyone who has been dismissed has had more than 2 years service and has considered bringing or brought a claim for unfair dismissal?

[echat11]

This might be helpful -

The way legal services are used, chosen and provided is changing faster than ever before. People are looking for the right legal services at a cost that suits them, and are finding and accessing the services in new ways. In response, legal service providers – law firms, solicitors and new types of organisations - are delivering new services in new ways and through new business models. And there is a growing unregulated market providing services such as legal advice.

Only individuals and firms regulated by one of the eight legal regulators can provide a small group of key legal services that over time have been set apart in law as 'reserved legal activities'. These are exercising rights of audience (the right to appear before a court), conducting litigation, preparing certain documents relating to probate and conveyancing, acting as a notary and administering oaths.

Non-reserved activities include, for example, will writing, most employment law and providing legal advice. Non- reserved activities can be provided by unregulated individuals without a formal requirement for particular training or qualifications. But at the moment solicitors can only offer these non-reserved services to the public when working in a firm regulated by us or another legal regulator.

We think the public and business users of legal services should be able to choose and use legal services flexibly from:

• a completely unregulated business;
• a regulated individual working in an unregulated business; or
• a fully regulated firm.

Our regulation does not currently allow the second option. That limits public protection, public choice and access to quality legal services, as well as stopping solicitors from working in different ways and competing with others in this growing area of the legal sector. We want to address this outdated restriction, while making sure that there is proper public protection in place.

We need to change and modernise what we do to provide proper public protection, to help the public understand what to expect from a solicitor and what protections are in place, and to allow flexibility for solicitors and freedom for firms to grow, innovate, compete and develop high quality services.

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/fu...osition-paper/

[1717Silkworm]

Hi 17175SILKWORM

You can report her to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA, CIMA etc as 'whistleblower's'.

Best thing to do is gather evidence i.e. statements from current and old employees. Then present that as 'whistleblowers' to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA and CIMA they will act..

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/pro...lowing-to-sra/

https://www.acas.org.uk/archive/whistleblowing

When I spoke to the Law Soc/SRA they were not interested as they said the employer was a private ltd company and not subject to their regulatory requirements or practices. It is a false. They told me to go to a journalist as there was an obvious flaw between these kinds of companies (not ABS), not regulated, allowed to provide non reserved legal activities and get solicitors to do the work (the latter subject to the Law Soc/SRA) but not the employer/private ltd company!

[1717Silkworm]

This might be helpful -

The way legal services are used, chosen and provided is changing faster than ever before. People are looking for the right legal services at a cost that suits them, and are finding and accessing the services in new ways. In response, legal service providers – law firms, solicitors and new types of organisations - are delivering new services in new ways and through new business models. And there is a growing unregulated market providing services such as legal advice.

Only individuals and firms regulated by one of the eight legal regulators can provide a small group of key legal services that over time have been set apart in law as 'reserved legal activities'. These are exercising rights of audience (the right to appear before a court), conducting litigation, preparing certain documents relating to probate and conveyancing, acting as a notary and administering oaths.

Non-reserved activities include, for example, will writing, most employment law and providing legal advice. Non- reserved activities can be provided by unregulated individuals without a formal requirement for particular training or qualifications. But at the moment solicitors can only offer these non-reserved services to the public when working in a firm regulated by us or another legal regulator.

We think the public and business users of legal services should be able to choose and use legal services flexibly from:

• a completely unregulated business;
• a regulated individual working in an unregulated business; or
• a fully regulated firm.

Our regulation does not currently allow the second option. That limits public protection, public choice and access to quality legal services, as well as stopping solicitors from working in different ways and competing with others in this growing area of the legal sector. We want to address this outdated restriction, while making sure that there is proper public protection in place.

We need to change and modernise what we do to provide proper public protection, to help the public understand what to expect from a solicitor and what protections are in place, and to allow flexibility for solicitors and freedom for firms to grow, innovate, compete and develop high quality services.

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/fu...osition-paper/

Thank you but I think this has been superseded now and private ltd companies (not regulated by Law /SRA) can provide non reserved legal activities withoutt regulatory requirements, sanctions or anything. It is the solicitors that are subject to unscrupulous employers like these who think and know they will not be sanctioned but the solicitor will be. What we have had to put up with is an onslaught of bullying, victimisation and harassment by complaining to the owner/employer and noting the bad/unscrupulous practices and refusing to do it or get involved and hence suffering the wroth or to be threatened by the said employer who says she will report to the law society because she is vexatious and malicious and has done that to other employees. The other employees have left under the stress and strain and not done anything further

[1717Silkworm]

Hi 17175SILKWORM

You can report her to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA, CIMA etc as 'whistleblower's'.

Best thing to do is gather evidence i.e. statements from current and old employees. Then present that as 'whistleblowers' to the SRA, Law Society, ACCA and CIMA they will act..

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/pro...lowing-to-sra/

https://www.acas.org.uk/archive/whistleblowing

Hi - yes other employees have suffered the same fate but left quickly dues to stress and threats as they could not put up with her/the company and the bullying etc and also with the vexatious threats of being reported to the law soc etc for nothing. The boss is extremely uncouth, unscrupulous and would sink to any depth to be nasty. Has done it to others before without suffering or experiencing any redress or castigation......

[ULA]

Unfortunately it is as per my post #3 the company you work for, in providing unregulated legal activities, will not be reportable to the SRA.

Unless there has been a situation whereby an employee has had a reason to take the employer to an employment tribunal for something such as unfair dismissal, discrimination etc. which may make them think twice about how they treat their staff, then I am sorry to say that as the owner "calls the shots" there is limited course of action you can take. Other than raising grievances, which appears from what you have said said staff members have done with the outcome of rather than resolving anything creates more problems for the individual.

Not often I say this but maybe time to look for another job.

[echat11]

When I spoke to the Law Soc/SRA they were not interested as they said the employer was a private ltd company and not subject to their regulatory requirements or practices. It is a false. They told me to go to a journalist as there was an obvious flaw between these kinds of companies (not ABS), not regulated, allowed to provide non reserved legal activities and get solicitors to do the work (the latter subject to the Law Soc/SRA) but not the employer/private ltd company!

So she's not a solicitor. It sounds like the 'controlling and coercing behavior' is hiding stuff that's going on. Clearly the company has been set up to operate that way, avoid scrutiny.

Find one that's interested in law / regulation -

https://www.journalism.co.uk/cgi-bin...nce.approved=1

[1717Silkworm]

Hi - yes other employees have suffered the same fate but left quickly dues to stress and threats as they could not put up with her/the company and the bullying etc and also with the vexatious threats of being reported to the law soc etc for nothing. The boss is extremely uncouth, unscrupulous and would sink to any depth to be nasty. Has done it to others before without suffering or experiencing any redress or castigation......

You are absolutely correct. Thank you for your advice.