Fife Council Update

Image result for fife council HQ + images

Great news for all Action 4 Equality Scotland clients in Fife - the tribunal hearing against Fife Council which was scheduled to start today in Dundee has been 'sisted' or postponed until 28 February 2016.

Because after a series of last minute negotiations, A4ES has managed to reach a settlement agreement with Fife Council and a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has now been signed between the parties.

Settlement offers from Fife Council will be issued in due course, but this is a big administrative task and will take perhaps four weeks to organise - no letters will be issued by A4ES until this task has been completed.

Once settlement offers have been received and checked detailed letters will be sent out to all individual A4ES clients in Fife.

In the meantime, please don't flood A4ES with email and phone enquiries as this just slows down the whole business of getting further information out to clients in Fife - any further news regarding the timetable will be reported on the blog site.

A big thanks goes to the 'usual suspects' from the A4ES negotiating team who were involved in the last ditch settlement talks including Stefan Cross QC and Karl Bromley. 

A special mention also goes to Sarah Gilzean from HBJ Gateley who stepped in at short notice (as regular readers know) and did a splendid, professional job by all accounts, in relation to both the MoU with Fife Council and the preparatory work for the Employment Tribunal.

And to Daphne Romney QC, of course, whose work behind the scenes seems to have convinced Fife Council that they were on a hiding to nothing if the tribunal hearing went ahead as originally planned.

**Stop Press** (02/09/15)

Action 4 Equality Scotland is pleased to announce that arrangements have been agreed for HBJ Gateley to take over the representation of A4ES clients, with immediate effect, as far as future work at the Employment Tribunals is concerned. 

HBJ Gateley is a large and highly respected law firm, one of the most successful in Scotland, and the arrangements with A4ES follow on from those made previously with Stefan Cross Solicitors, Fox Cross Solicitors and Fox and Partners Solicitors.

I have personal experience of working with HBJ Gateley in the past and I am confident that A4ES clients will continue to receive the same first class level of service they are entitled to expect. 

More information will follow in the days ahead, but as I said in an earlier post to the blog site there is no need for A4ES clients to do anything at this stage - other than to sit tight.

Breaking News (17/08/15)

Image result for newsflash + images


I've had a few enquiries today from readers who are a bit confused about letters they have received from Fox and Partners Solicitors which is ceasing to practice at the end of this month.

The position is that Fox and Partners (FAP) is the latest in a line of law firms which Action 4 Equality Scotland has instructed to represent our clients interests at Employment Tribunal hearings, the others being Stefan Cross Solicitors and Fox Cross Solicitors. 

So all former equal pay clients of FAP continue to be clients of Action 4 Equality Scotland and A4ES will take responsibility for any further legal instructions that may be necessary, as far as future tribunal proceedings are concerned. 

As such, A4ES clients do not need to look for new solicitors themselves and, in fact, they should not do so as any new solicitor will charge for their services.

In other words there is no need for A4ES clients to do anything at this stage, other than to sight tight because A4ES will be in touch as soon as there are any developments to report.

So, please spread the word and let other A4ES clients know the score, especially those without access to the blog site via the internet. 

Breaking News (17/08/15)

Image result for newsflash + images

Everyone at Action 4 Equality Scotland (A4ES) is sorry to hear that Fox and Partners Solicitors (FAP) is ceasing to practice from the end of August 2015, due to internal issues within the firm and personal matters on the part of Carol Fox.

Not least because the relationship between A4ES and FAP has proved to be very productive in recent times with landmark settlements being achieved in North Lanarkshire Council and South Lanarkshire Council, for example.

Regular readers of the blog site will be aware that the work involved in representing A4ES clients at the Employment Tribunals was carried out previously by Stefan Cross Solicitors and Fox Cross Solicitors before being transferred to FAP in 2010/11.

Action 4 Equality Scotland is in the process of making arrangements for this work to be carried forward in a way which maintains the high quality of service our clients have come to expect over the years.

So at the moment there is absolutely no need for A4ES clients to do anything other than sit tight and await further developments.

In the meantime we would like to place on record our appreciation to the staff at FAP and our best wishes for the future.

One thing is for sure though: Stefan Cross and Mark Irvine will both be continuing the fight for equal pay in Scotland, a campaign which they and Action 4 Equality Scotland first began in August 2005, a full 10 years ago this month.     

Popular posts from this blog

SNP - Conspiracy of Silence

LGB Rights - Hijacked By Intolerant Zealots!