For this round of Three Quick Questions, we’re chatting with Fiona Martin, Director & Head of Employment Law, from Martin Searle Solicitors
We are a community law firm which specialises in Community Care Law and Employment Law, We are unique as a campaigning law firm and annually run 5 yearly campaigns where we offer free advice and training to employers and employees around pregnancy and maternity discrimination- Mind The Bump , Disability Matters, Diversity Matters and #Me Too Matters. Our Community Care Law Campaign run their campaign around on Social Care issue especially around Funding called Social Care Funding Matters offering free advice and training for those caring for their relatives and professional deputies.
This year one of our clients , a neurodiverse teacher called Marcus Wright won an unprecedented award of in the Employment Tribunal of £850k. Acas are currently using this case to train their Acas officers and we are proud that we got such a good result for an employee who had been so badly treated . This case took many years to get to the Tribunal and was a team effort but with special mention to Christine Gannon who dealt with the medical and actuarial evidence to support how much he would eventually receive.
We signed up to the Living Wage Campaign as this is an important issue for many employees in what is a lovely but expensive town to live and work in. I remember working an 8 hour shift in a local restaurant for £3 in the 80’s and being totally reliant on customer tips to make up my salary. I am glad those days have gone and pressure needs to be exerted to ensure the government regularly update and increase the National Minimum Wage which is mandatory for employers to follow. The voluntary Living Wage helps do this by setting fairer, higher rates which many employers are willing to pay.
A big thank you to Fiona from Martin Searle Solicitors for sharing these insights – and, of course, for being a Living Wage employer!
Can you help us reach 1000 Living Wage employers in Brighton & Hove?
Find out more about the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign here. If you think you’re already a Living Wage employer, or would like to sign up, head over to this page to get started (it’s free!)
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