care team brochure

at Smith PartnershipThe Care Team

A guide to our care home services

Smith Partnership Health Care Property Team are well equipped to deal with the challenges posed by the Health Care market.

Our specialist property lawyers can deliver a smooth and efficient legal service for the acquisition or disposal of either Residential or Care Homes. The Property Team concentrates on getting the matter in hand from the point of initial instructions to completion within the time scale laid down by the client.

The scope of our Property Services include :

1 The disposal or acquisition of Care and Residential Homes

2 Acting for the lender in the acquisition of Care or Residential Homes and ensuring their requirements are attended to.

3 On a Healthcare Development project, dealing with matters of a construction nature and negotiating Collateral Warranties and Professional Agreements.

4 Handling an assortment of issues which require a specialist knowledge of the relevant law such as Planning Permissions, Building Regulation approvals, Defective Title and issues arising from the Inspection Reports.

Our philosophy is to act as part of your management structure, understand your needs and apply our expertise and experience to allow you to take a back seat whilst we steer the matter through to completion on your behalf.

Contact Jason Wood: [email protected] or 01332 225 268

Property

Each and every care home consists of residents to be cared for, employees to be managed, a large property to be maintained and overlaying all of this, a business to be run. Smith Partnership’s Company and Commercial Department is there to help you achieve your business aims and relieve some of the burden of running your business.

Care Home businesses can be all shapes and sizes, from large national groups to medium sized private companies to smaller owner managed or family run companies, partnerships or sole traders. All involve hard work and commitment from their owners and managers. Our Company and Commercial Department encompasses the necessary commercial skills and experience combined with expertise in the care sector to deal with both the day to day issues and the large “one off” transactions that affect your business to ensure your successful investment of time, money and hard work.

On the Company side we can advise on and put in place the most appropriate structure for your care home business and assist you with any changes that may be desired or necessary from time to time including the following:

whether to trade as a sole trader, partnership or company and how to record and manage the relationship between fellow owners;

the introduction or removal of new or existing investors/owners and the various options available;

company secretarial responsibilities; general company law issues affecting your business; issues relating to the raising of finance; acquiring a new or additional care home or business; selling your existing care home business or otherwise

realising your investment.

On the Commercial side we offer advice on all forms of contractual rights and obligations and commercial issues that are essential to your business, including the sale and supply of goods and services, intellectual property issues, and data protection.

Our aim is always to deliver outstanding service levels by taking the time to understand your particular business objectives and offering sensible, commercial and cost effective advice to meet those objectives.

Contact Fiona Boxwell: [email protected] or 01332 225 415

Company & Commercial

Although we all try our best to avoid disputes, they can sometimes arise in a business context. Owning and running a care home can lead to disputes with suppliers, the local authority and even your neighbours over a disputed boundary or a nuisance caused by them. We always see every dispute as a practical problem that needs resolution. Our motivation is always to give practical advice to bring the dispute to an end in the most cost effective and commercially acceptable way.

From time to time, you may also find that you are owed money either by your residents or the local authority. Obviously, such

situations need to be handled carefully, with the minimum of upset. At the same time, however, you are entitled to be paid for the services you provide, and should not feel e m b a r r a s s e d asking for payment.

We offer a dedicated debt

recovery service, utilising the skills of clerks with, between them, over 50 years’ experience in this field. Allied with a high level of customer service, is an on-line system, which allows you to check the progress of your matter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This service is also based on fixed fees, which gives you certainty of the level of your costs before you even begin an action. For instance, a letter threatening court proceedings can cost as little as £10 plus VAT. If you would like a practical demonstration of our on-line debt recovery system, please contact us, and we will be happy to arrange it. A demonstration can be carried out over the telephone and can take as little as 20 minutes for you to see the benefits of the system.

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Contact Russell Davies: [email protected] or 01332 225 381

Commercial Dispute Resolution

At Smith Partnership we recognise that the care sector is one of the most heavily regulated of all the service industries and that even the best run care homes can on occasions be subject to the unwanted attentions of the various regulatory authorities.

When problems do arise the survival of your business and even your own personal liberty may depend on your choice of representation. Our business defence team is here to ensure that you receive the best advice and representation possible. We offer a team of specialist lawyers led by partners Kevin McGrath and Andrew Oldroyd, who have over 30 years experience between them in defending businesses against prosecution. We are available at a moments notice to attend with you during any investigation at your business premises and advise and assist you during any formal interviews. If it becomes necessary we can represent you throughout any court proceedings both in the Magistrates Court and the Crown Court through our team of specialist court advocates.

We will also advise on and where appropriate seek to challenge any statutory notices served upon you that try to restrict the way your business operates. We also offer advice and training to businesses on how best to avoid falling foul of the criminal law.

The areas that our dedicated Regulatory Advice team can advise on, are:

CQC and Local Authority investigations

Police investigations Health and Safety Environmental Law Fire Safety Law Inquest and Public Inquiries HM Revenue and Customs investigations BERR Investigations and Directors duties

If you would like more information about the work of our Business Defence department or would like to discuss an issue with us please contact Kevin McGrath head of our Business Defence team.

Contact Kevin McGrath: [email protected] or 0116 255 6292

Regulatory Advice & Business Defence...

Failure to comply with employment laws can be very costly to a business, regardless of its size, with employment tribunals now able to award over £60,000 for unfair dismissal. In addition, employers are at risk of being penalised for failing to implement proper employment contracts and procedures, harassment at work, discrimination claims, working time claims, unlawful deduction from wages and breach of contract.

As an employer you need to know that how you are managing your staff on a day-to-day basis is lawful and is not opening you up to claims.

Our care home service includes:

1 Employment Guide - providing up to date information and guidance, together with template documents, covering each stage of the employment relationship.

2 Employer Support Helpline - direct access to our team of specialist employment law solicitors. You can use our helpline as much as you wish to without fear of incurring additional costs.

3 E-mail Updates - your subscription will also include regular e-mail updates on key employment law topics.

4 Employment Law and HR Documents - depending on your needs, your subscription can include provision of contracts of employment, employee handbooks, and related employment policies and procedures.

We believe that through your subscription to our employment package you will be protecting your business from claims arising from poor employment practices.

We are committed to providing comprehensive, high quality, cost-effective employment law services. Whilst we are technical experts in employment law, we believe that it is our level-headed practical approach and responsiveness which form the cornerstone of our service.

We believe that a subscription to our care home package will pay for itself time and time again through avoidance of substantial unpredictable legal fees.

Contact James Johnson: [email protected] or 01332 225 571

Employment

Contact Smith PartnershipCeltic House, Heritage Gate, Friary Street, Derby DE1 1LS

Tel: 01332 225225Fax: 01332 225379Web: www.smithpartnership.co.uk

Whilst you are concerned for the running of your business, naturally you also concern yourself with the well being of those in your care.

Whatever the financial position of your residents, they are likely to want to put their affairs in order for their own

benefit, and for the next generation.

Our team consist of specialist legal advisors to elderly people living in a care home or to their families. Work undertaken for clients in this sector includes Lasting Powers of Attorney, making a Will, Inheritance Tax planning, selling or renting of

property, probate, taking out a funeral plan and applying to the Court of Protection to take control of an elderly persons financial affairs and/or welfare.

We can undertake a review of all residents’ current arrangements and the basis of our charges is laid out from the outset. This affords residents the opportunity to broadly establish the current state of their affairs and look at how they can maximise what they pass on to future generations. This would take place in their familiar surroundings, where they are best placed to make decisions in a pressure-free environment. We offer free presentations to care staff, residents and relations covering matters such as those above.

Contact Simon Richardson: [email protected] or 01332 225 331

Wills and Inheritance