gonna call?who you route one - squire patton boggs/media/files/insights/publicati… · or alleged...

1
“And, because we have such a long background in transport, we understand the sorts of issues, and unique aspects that operators deal with.” The history of Hammonds goes back to Albert Victor Hammond setting up in practice on his own account in Bradford in 1887. But the recent and dramatic history of the firm really commenced in 1988 when A.V. Hammond merged with another Bradford law firm, Last Suddards, to form Hammond Suddards. Within the last 15 years, the firm has developed to become one of the largest law firms in the UK, and a member of the Global 100 list of the world’s leading law firms. Hammonds now practises in the UK (Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester), Belgium, Spain, Germany, France and China. You might think that the only time you need legal help is when things have gone wrong. But often, you will find that prevention is better than cure. For example, the transport industry is one that often employs staff in the ‘traditional’ manner, including not having contracts of employment. If your employees don’t have contracts of employment it’s an issue you need to deal with immediately. If you don’t, then you are exposing yourself to a potential mountain of legal trouble, while employment tribunals will take an extremely dim view if you end up in front of them. A big issue can be people who regularly work for you on a ‘contract’ basis at your premises (for example ‘freelance’ fitters) but then after a dispute, claim that they were ‘employed’. There have been a number of cases around this aspect, and the operator rarely wins. Employment law has changed in recent years and operators need to make sure that their practices will not leave them exposed. BIG STORY: LEGAL HELPLINE I t doesn’t matter how good an operator you are, as soon as you put coaches, buses or minibuses out on the streets to mix it with other traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and the general public then, to put it politely, ‘stuff’ happens. With ‘no-win, no-fee’ lawyers chasing you after an accident – or alleged accident – it’s easy to get sucked into a mire of disputes. With most operators having a high excess on their insurance policy, this could mean that you are left on your own to deal with the aftermath. This may be straightforward most of the time (for a genuine accident) but inevitably, there are times when you will need help. The question then is: ‘who to turn to?’ Happily, in an exclusive arrangement, routeone has teamed up with leading law firm Hammonds to offer a free legal ‘helpline’. To use it is very easy: go to our home page – www.route-one.net – and click on the ‘Hammonds’ link at the top of the page. This will open a simple form for you to complete, with your details and an outline of what the problem is. Hammonds promises a rapid response - almost immediately for very urgent issues - or within 24 hours for routine matters. You will hear from a solicitor at Hammonds, who will talk the issue through with you, providing initial advice. And, best of all, this service is free. You won’t hear the sound of a ‘ticking clock’ in the background that switches to charging after, say, 10 minutes. Nor is there a time limit for this free initial consultation. For transport matters, you will be speaking to Andrew Sanderson who, having spent his career working with the industry, is a Solicitor-Advocate, which means that he can represent clients as an advocate in a Crown Court. In other words it’s a one-stop shop; having dealt with a solicitor in the early stages of any legal issue, if it gets elevated to a higher court than the magistrates, Andrew can still represent you, rather than a separate barrister having to be engaged. Various cases can end up in a Crown Court, such as those involved with health and safety matters. Says Andrew: “As well as the sorts of issues that operators require help with - such as traffic offences, defending against VOSA at Public Inquiry or O- licence issues - there is a whole range of other aspects that operators often need help with. “These can be health and safety, environmental and increasingly employment matters. Hammonds offers a full service, so we also deal with commercial and civil litigation, buying and selling business or property matters. Who you gonna call? You’ve got a problem, it looks like it will ‘go legal’, so what’s your next move? For free, impartial, advice then route one ’s new helpline, provided by solicitors Hammonds, should be your first point of call, reports Mel Holley route one comment It’s the ultimate nightmare scenario: you get a call to tell you that one of your drivers has been arrested and your coach is impounded. Happily, Hammonds’ service is 24/7, and a matter like this will get an urgent response. However, legal help is not just about the nasty things in life, you can also protect your business (and yourself). However, the most important thing to remember is that when faced with a problem – whether it’s an injury claim or a PG13 after a VOSA inspection – you should deal with it promptly. And, in this latest routeone initiative - open to all PSV operators – we’ve worked hard to add something for free, to help your business run more smoothly and make your life that little bit easier. Andrew Sanderson is an Associate based in the London Office. His particular expertise covers road transport law including Public Inquiries before the Traffic Commissioner and Transport Appeal Tribunal, defending road transport prosecutions in the Magistrates’ and Crown Court, health and safety, corporate manslaughter, Coroners’ Inquests. He is a Solicitor- Advocate with rights of audience in the Higher Courts both Criminal and Civil. Andrew also lectures on issues such as corporate manslaughter, corporate/directors’ responsibility. Recent experience includes: Advising drivers/operators in relation to death by dangerous/careless driving prosecutions. Representing a driver in one of the first prosecutions for death by careless driving. Representing Passenger Carrying Vehicle Operators and freight transport operators of all sizes in Public Inquiries before the Traffic Commissioner and/or the Transport Appeal Tribunals. Advising transport operators on applications, renewals and variations of Operators Licences. Advising operators on drivers’ hours policies. Representing drivers/operators who are prosecuted for various road traffic matters in both the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts including; driving without due care, overloading offences, and a breach of drivers’ hours. Advising various organisations on work driving policies. Conducting High Court litigation and Judicial Reviews in relation to road transport matters. Representing private individuals prosecuted for various road traffic offences. Representation/advice for drivers in relation to protection of their driving licence. Representing transport companies who are investigated and/or prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. Advising Company Directors in PACE interviews. Appearing on behalf of organisations/individuals in the Coroners’ Court. BIOG: ANDREW SANDERSON 4 Thursday 11 February 2010 www.route-one.net www.route-one.net Thursday 11 February 2010 5

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Page 1: gonna call?Who you route one - Squire Patton Boggs/media/files/insights/publicati… · or alleged accident – it’s easy to get sucked into a mire of disputes. With most operators

“An

d, b

ecause w

e have su

ch a

lon

g backgro

un

d in

transp

ort,

we

un

derstan

d

the

sorts

of

issues, an

d u

niq

ue asp

ects that

op

erators d

eal with

.”T

he

histo

ry o

f H

amm

on

ds

goes

back

to

Alb

ert V

ictor

Ham

mo

nd

setting u

p in

practice

on

his ow

n acco

un

t in B

radfo

rdin

1887. Bu

t the recen

t and

dram

atic h

istory

of

the

firmreally co

mm

enced

in 1988 w

hen

A.V.

Ham

mo

nd

m

erged

with

ano

ther B

radfo

rd law

firm, Last

Sud

dard

s, to

fo

rm

Ham

mo

nd

Sud

dard

s. W

ithin

the last 15 years, th

efirm

has d

evelop

ed to

beco

me

on

e of th

e largest law firm

s in th

eU

K, an

d a m

emb

er of th

e Glo

bal

100 list of th

e wo

rld’s lead

ing law

firms. H

amm

on

ds n

ow p

ractisesin

the U

K (B

irmin

gham

, Leeds,

Lo

nd

on

an

d

Man

chester),

Belgiu

m,

Spain

, G

erman

y,Fran

ce and

Ch

ina.

You

migh

t thin

k that th

e on

lytim

e you

need

legal help

is wh

enth

ings

have

gon

e w

ron

g. B

ut

often

, yo

u

will

find

th

atp

reventio

n is b

etter than

cure.

For

examp

le, th

e tran

spo

rtin

du

stry is

on

e th

at o

ftenem

ploys staff in

the ‘trad

ition

al’m

ann

er, inclu

din

g no

t havin

gco

ntracts o

f emp

loymen

t. If you

rem

ployees d

on’t h

ave con

tractso

f emp

loymen

t it’s an issu

e you

need

to d

eal with

imm

ediately. If

you

do

n’t, then

you

are expo

sing

you

rself to a p

oten

tial mo

un

taino

f legal

trou

ble,

wh

ileem

ploym

ent trib

un

als will take

an extrem

ely dim

view if yo

u en

du

p in

fron

t of th

em.

A b

ig issue can

be p

eop

le wh

oregu

larly w

ork

for

you

o

n

a‘co

ntract’ b

asis at you

r prem

ises(fo

r examp

le ‘freelance’ fitters)

bu

t then

after a disp

ute, claim

that th

ey were ‘em

ployed

’. Th

ereh

ave been

a nu

mb

er of cases

arou

nd

th

is asp

ect, an

d

the

op

erator

rarely w

ins.

Em

ploym

ent law

has ch

anged

inrecen

t years and

op

erators n

eedto

make su

re that th

eir practices

will n

ot leave th

em exp

osed

. �

BIG STO

RY:LEGAL H

ELPLINE

It d

oesn’t m

atter how

goo

d an

op

erator yo

u are, as so

on

asyo

u p

ut co

aches, b

uses o

rm

inib

uses o

ut o

n th

e streetsto

m

ix it

with

o

ther

traffic,p

edestrian

s, cyclists

and

th

egen

eral pu

blic th

en, to

pu

t itp

olitely, ‘stu

ff’ hap

pen

s.W

ith ‘n

o-w

in, n

o-fee’ law

yersch

asing yo

u after an

acciden

t –o

r alleged accid

ent – it’s easy to

get su

cked

into

a

mire

of

disp

utes. W

ith m

ost o

perato

rsh

aving a h

igh excess o

n th

eirin

suran

ce p

olicy,

this

cou

ldm

ean th

at you

are left on

you

row

n to

deal w

ith th

e aftermath

.T

his m

ay be straigh

tforw

ardm

ost o

f the tim

e (for a gen

uin

eaccid

ent) b

ut in

evitably, th

ereare tim

es wh

en yo

u w

ill need

help.T

he q

uestio

n th

en is: ‘w

ho

totu

rn to

?’H

app

ily, in

an

exclu

sivearran

gemen

t, routeone

has

teamed

up

with

leadin

g law firm

Ham

mo

nd

s to o

ffer a free legal‘h

elplin

e’.To

use it is very easy: go

to o

ur

ho

me p

age – ww

w.ro

ute-o

ne.n

et– an

d click o

n th

e ‘Ham

mo

nd

s’lin

k at the to

p o

f the p

age. Th

isw

ill op

en a sim

ple fo

rm fo

r you

to co

mp

lete, with

you

r details

and

an

o

utlin

e o

f w

hat

the

pro

blem

is.H

amm

on

ds p

rom

ises a rapid

respo

nse - alm

ost im

med

iatelyfo

r very urgen

t issues - o

r with

in24 h

ou

rs for ro

utin

e matters.

You

will h

ear from

a solicito

r atH

amm

on

ds, w

ho

will talk th

eissu

e th

rou

gh

with

yo

u,

provid

ing in

itial advice.

An

d, b

est of all, th

is service isfree. Yo

u w

on’t h

ear the so

un

d o

fa

‘ticking

clock’

in

the

backgro

un

d

that

switch

es to

chargin

g after, say, 10 min

utes.

No

r is there a tim

e limit fo

r this

free initial co

nsu

ltation

.Fo

r transp

ort m

atters, you

will

be

speakin

g to

A

nd

rewSan

derso

n w

ho, h

aving sp

ent h

iscareer w

orkin

g with

the in

du

stry,is a So

licitor-A

dvo

cate, wh

ichm

eans

that

he

can

represen

tclien

ts as an ad

vocate in

a Crow

nC

ou

rt. In

oth

er wo

rds it’s a o

ne-sto

psh

op

; h

aving

dealt

with

a

solicito

r in th

e early stages of an

ylegal issu

e, if it gets elevated to

ah

igher

cou

rt th

an

the

magistrates,

An

drew

can

still

represen

t yo

u,

rather

than

a

separate b

arrister havin

g to b

een

gaged. V

ariou

s cases can en

du

p in

a Crow

n C

ou

rt, such

as

tho

se invo

lved w

ith h

ealth an

dsafety m

atters.Says A

nd

rew: “A

s well as th

eso

rts of issu

es that o

perato

rsreq

uire h

elp w

ith - su

ch as traffic

offen

ces, d

efend

ing

against

VO

SA at P

ub

lic Inq

uiry o

r O-

licence issu

es - there is a w

ho

leran

ge o

f o

ther

aspects

that

op

erators o

ften n

eed h

elp w

ith.

“Th

ese can

b

e h

ealth

and

safety, en

viron

men

tal an

din

creasingly

emp

loymen

tm

atters. Ham

mo

nd

s offers a fu

llservice, so

we also

deal w

ithco

mm

ercial and

civil litigation

,b

uyin

g and

selling b

usin

ess or

pro

perty m

atters.

Wh

o yo

ug

on

na call?

You’ve got a problem,it looks like it w

ill‘go legal’,so w

hat’s you

r next m

ove? Forfree,im

partial,advice then

routeone’sn

ew h

elpline,provided by solicitors

Ham

mon

ds,shou

ld be your first poin

tof call,reports M

el Holley

routeone comm

entIt’s th

e ultim

ate nig

htm

are scenario

: you

get a call to tell yo

uth

at on

e of yo

ur d

rivers has b

een arrested

and

you

r coach

isim

po

un

ded

.Hap

pily,H

amm

on

ds’service is 2

4/

7,and

a matter

like this w

ill get an u

rgent resp

on

se.H

owever,legal h

elp is n

ot ju

st abo

ut th

e nasty th

ings in

life,yo

u can

also p

rotect yo

ur b

usin

ess (and

you

rself).How

ever,the

mo

st imp

ortan

t thin

g to

remem

ber is th

at wh

en faced

with

ap

rob

lem –

wh

ether it’s an

inju

ry claim o

r a PG

13 after a V

OS

Ain

spectio

n –

you

sho

uld

deal w

ith it p

rom

ptly.

An

d,in

this latest routeone

initiative - o

pen

to all P

SV

op

erators –

we’ve w

orked

hard

to ad

d so

meth

ing

for free,to

help

you

r bu

siness ru

n m

ore sm

oo

thly an

d m

ake you

r life that

little bit easier.

An

drew

San

derso

n is

an A

ssociate b

ased in

the Lo

nd

on

Office.

His

particu

lar expertise

covers road

transp

ort

law in

clud

ing

Pu

blic

Inq

uiries b

efore th

eTraffic C

om

missio

ner

and

Transp

ort A

pp

ealTrib

un

al,defen

din

gro

ad tran

spo

rtp

rosecu

tion

s in th

eM

agistrates’an

dC

rown

Co

urt,h

ealthan

d safety,co

rpo

ratem

anslau

gh

ter,C

oro

ners’In

qu

ests.H

e is a So

licitor-

Ad

vocate w

ith rig

hts o

fau

dien

ce in th

e Hig

her C

ou

rts bo

th C

rimin

al and

Civil.

An

drew

also lectu

res on

issues su

ch as co

rpo

rate man

slaug

hter,

corp

orate/d

irectors’resp

on

sibility.

Recen

t experien

ce inclu

des:

�A

dvisin

g d

rivers/op

erators in

relation

to d

eath b

y d

angero

us/careless d

riving

pro

secutio

ns.

�R

epresen

ting

a driver in

on

e of th

e first pro

secutio

ns fo

r d

eath b

y careless drivin

g.

�R

epresen

ting

Passen

ger Carryin

g V

ehicle O

perato

rs and

freig

ht tran

spo

rt op

erators o

f all sizes in P

ub

lic Inq

uiries

befo

re the Traffic C

om

missio

ner an

d/o

r the Tran

spo

rt A

pp

eal Tribu

nals.

�A

dvisin

g tran

spo

rt op

erators o

n ap

plicatio

ns,ren

ewals an

d

variation

s of O

perato

rs Licences.

�A

dvisin

g o

perato

rs on

drivers’h

ou

rs po

licies.�

Rep

resentin

g d

rivers/op

erators w

ho

are pro

secuted

for

variou

s road

traffic matters in

bo

th th

e Mag

istrates’and

C

rown

Co

urts in

clud

ing

; drivin

g w

itho

ut d

ue care,

overload

ing

offen

ces,and

a breach

of d

rivers’ho

urs.

�A

dvisin

g vario

us o

rganisatio

ns o

n w

ork d

riving

po

licies.�

Co

nd

uctin

g H

igh

Co

urt litigatio

n an

d Ju

dicial R

eviews in

relatio

n to

road

transp

ort m

atters.�

Rep

resentin

g p

rivate ind

ividu

als pro

secuted

for vario

us ro

adtraffic o

ffences.

�R

epresen

tation

/advice fo

r drivers in

relation

to p

rotectio

n o

fth

eir drivin

g licen

ce.�

Rep

resentin

g tran

spo

rt com

pan

ies wh

o are in

vestigated

and

/or p

rosecu

ted b

y the H

ealth an

d S

afety Execu

tive.�

Ad

vising

Co

mp

any D

irectors in

PA

CE

interview

s.�

Ap

pearin

g o

n b

ehalf o

f organ

isation

s/in

divid

uals in

the

Co

ron

ers’Co

urt.

BIO

G: A

ND

RE

WS

AN

DE

RS

ON

4 Thursday 11 February 2010

ww

w.route-one.net

ww

w.route-one.net

Thursday 11 February 2010

5