The following update was received from the Law Society on 11 June which we hope you will find useful:
- The Law Society have now published the Q&A with the Health & Safety Executive – https://beta.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/coronavirus/safe-return-to-the-office-toolkit-for-firms. The other resources available on ‘safe return to the office’ can be found here – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/coronavirus/safe-return-to-the-office-toolkit-for-firms/
- The Law Society’s AGM will be postponed until 15 October and then this will be the new AGM date going forwards – here is the link with formal notice – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/stories/annual-general-meeting-2020–preliminary-notice/
- Excellence awards will now take place as a virtual week of events – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/events/excellence-awards/
- Practicing Certificate fee review – https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/law-society-consults-on-pc-fee-budget-plan/5104545.article
- Court users ID cards, this is still being considered by the Law Society.
- The Law Society’s D&I team are working on a range of issues details of which can be found here – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/practice-management/diversity-inclusion/
- Black lives matter – here is the statement from the Law Society – https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/press-releases/racism-has-no-place-in-our-society/
- Deferment of training contracts –the Law Society have updated guidance on what to do if your training is terminated. This includes information on the employment status of trainees, which makes it very difficult for them to be made redundant. https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/law-careers/becoming-a-solicitor/qualifying-with-a-degree/what-to-do-if-your-training-is-terminated/It also includes links to advice from the JLD and on remote supervision, which was published in April. Also linked is the SRA’s advice on furlough (https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/coronavirus-questions-answers/) which has been updated and clarified following discussions with us.On employment status we have confirmed that: The SRA state that trainee solicitors are common law apprentices, which means that you cannot be terminated as part of a redundancy process. This gives you enhanced protections under employment law and you should have reference to the SRA’s Authorised Training Provider information pack (2019 regulations). An apprenticeship can only be brought to an end if:
- you and your employer agree
- your training contract is conditional on passing any of the academic stages of qualification or the Legal Practice Course (LPC), and you do not pass
- you are not capable of meeting the Practice Skills Standards
- your conduct is unacceptable
- the training establishment business has closed or changed so much that it is not possible to properly train you.
- We have been working to provide guidance to trainees, primarily around furlough, redundancy and future prospects, which can be found on the Law Society’s Coronavius advice page. https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-members/