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To be an employee or not to be an employee that is the question
Catherine Gannon
02 Feb 2012

The ruling by the Court of Appeal in Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP regarding the employee status of solicitor Mr Tiffin highlights the grey area regarding whether an LLP member is an employee or is self employed.

It alerts partners that in the event of unfair dismissal, as in this case, there is a distinction between fixed share partners – as in Mr Tiffin – and salaried partners, and that members should be careful not to rely on the fact that they are employees just because they have a limited voice  in the management of the firm or made a minimum capital contribution.

This case, which found Mr Tiffin to be self employed and therefore was not unfairly dismissed, also reinforced that there is not one determining factor that points to this decision and if individual partners are unsure of their status they should seek legal advice.

What it also demonstrates is that the law is a moving feast and that clarity is best sought before it becomes an issue.

To assist partners Gannons has produced a document that highlights the differences between employees and partners, and this can be downloaded from www.gannons.co.uk
Forget Fred, our economic woes started much closer to home
Catherine Gannon
01 Feb 2012

While the news Sir Fred is a sirno longer may be just desserts and will undoubtedly fuel the current craze forbanker bashing, is it not going too far to blame the current economic woes onthe bankers, as is widely being suggested in the media?  Let’s not forgetthat many people got rich on consumer spending on credit and fairy tale houseprices, and the current situation is the inevitable hangover of the fallout nowfaced from this major root cause. Shouldn’t we  bash the consumers who getsucked in so easily by the advertiser’s dream and allow themselves to becomeputty in their hands with the aim of keeping up with the Jones’s.  Personally, I don’t believe we are experiencing a recession as such inthe South East but more a change of lifestyle which entails living within yourmeans.  This can only be good practice moving forward and a salutarymessage to pass onto our children.   
Business growth: try a change of mindset
Catherine Gannon
10 Jan 2012

The proposed employment law changes around employmentdisputes and unfair dismissal as well as the new proposed health & safetyregulations published this week, which are set to take effect in the UK in 2012,are yet another stark reminder of the increasing bureaucracy facingbusinesses.

On the one hand, the nanny state is fuelling the mushroominglegal profession that is growing up around compliance and the requirement forUK businesses to meet the ever growing EU regulations.  On the other hand, companies need an evergrowing admin function to deal with and manage the increasingly long red tape.

Set against this background is the dearth of investment thatbanks are prepared to make in businesses, especially SMEs, holding back manypotentially promising companies and their very talented founders.

Business angels, private investors and VCs are around, andtheir booty can be extremely enticing for many entrepreneurs.  But it’s not all rosy in the garden of growthby investment.  I recently read anexcellent article in Real Business by Karen Darby, founder of SimplySwitchabout ‘Why venture capitalists are evil’ http://realbusiness.co.uk/news/why-venture-capitalists-are-evil.  In this no holds barred account of herpersonal journey through VC-land she tells of the triumph and despair she enduredat the hands of venture capitalists.  VCsand banks are effectively in the business of advancing credit for high returns viadifferent avenues and just as consumers have found out to their cost, credit isa risky business.

So where are businesses looking to assist their development?  The successful businesses we advise arefavouring strategic partnerships and joint ventures as a way to grow and avoidcredit.  Organic growth is nowincreasingly respected.  It is easy tomeasure success by turnover or number of employees and forget that turnover isvanity but profit is sanity.  It justrequires a change of mindset to see that the business landscape is not as grimas it may first appear; there are plenty of avenues to explore and differentways to configure business growth without paying a heavyprice.
Forget fat cats, global recovery starts in our own back yard
Catherine Gannon
15 Dec 2011

This week’s stark warning that Britain will head into a second recession next year has sent the doom mongers into a state of unadulterated frenzy. With the prospect of another downturn and further job losses on the horizon, the clamour for the heads of those leading our failing financial institutions and the purported ‘fat cats’ is growing stronger. Yet while the baying persists, the word on the high street is that the Jones’s are also taking a long hard look at their own behaviour.


For too long keeping up appearances has been the driving force behind a considerable amount of consumer spend. Now, as budgets tighten, must-have items are no longer regarded as critical causing a shift in shopping habits. It is this fundamental change in behaviour that is fuelling the recession as much as the goings-on in the financial sector.


So the question is, when liquidity returns, will consumer spending revert to its former glory days or will the age of restraint endure?


To my mind, global destruction and consumers’ flippant attitude to spending have gone hand in hand. While the one-wash T-shirt and throw-away consumables have spurned countless industries all over the world, these have also led to the demise of our moral responsibility to the environment and to our society.


If we choose to reconsider what we purchase in the future, yes jobs and organisations will be in jeopardy. But as was proven by the dramatic closures of industries like the coal mines under the Thatcher government, new doors do open and the new emerging sectors like sustainable agri-tourism create an improved environment and far more palatable way of living.


So to create a world that is progressive yet sustainable, let’s not just berate the City for its failings, let’s consider the ripple effects of our own behaviour and change our own mindset. Ultimately, it will be for the good.