Regulatory Policies
This page outlines all our regulatory policies relating to this website and our employment practices. Click on a link to jump to the relevant area.
Disclaimer
The content of this website is for informational purposes only. Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice. If you require specific legal advice please contact us.
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Murrays Solicitors and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Murrays Solicitors. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Murrays Solicitors takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
Privacy Policy (GDPR)
INTRODUCTION
Any reference to we or us in this Privacy Notice shall mean Murray’s solicitors.
This Privacy Notice applies to the services provided by Murray’s solicitors and, where we are provided data third party organisations.
Please note that unless you are notified separately, our members adhere to the content of this policy.
Privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting personal information from unauthorised use or disclosure. We will therefore use your personal information, and transfer it to others, in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
Our Privacy Notice applies whenever you visit our website, during the period you receive services from us, and afterwards.
Where we need to collect personal information by law, or under the terms of a contract with you and you fail to provide that information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to provide you with the services you have requested). We will notify you if this happens.
Our Privacy Notice is regularly reviewed to ensure that we continue to respect your privacy in accordance with legal requirements.
We take great care of any information that you give us, and in this Privacy Notice we set out how any personal information you give us is treated.
We will never sell personal information or share personal information or data with third parties unrelated to the services we provide unless we are required to do so by law or you have given us your consent to do this.
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Notice from time to time by publishing the updated version on our website. We therefore encourage you to review our Privacy Notice periodically for the most up to date information.
We will not substantially change the way we use personal information you have already provided to us without your prior agreement.
If you have any questions or complaints regarding how we use your information or you wish to exercise any of your rights please contact our office in enquiries@murrayssolicitors.co.uk
We will do our very best to answer any question and resolve any complaint to your satisfaction. If, for whatever reason, you feel we do not meet the high standards we expect of ourselves, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Equality and Diversity Policy
We are committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination and to promoting equality and diversity within our policies, practices and procedures. This applies to our professional dealings with clients and others.
We treat everyone equally and with the same attention, courtesy and respect regardless of:
- sex (including pregnancy, maternity and paternity);
- marital or civil partnership status;
- gender reassignment;
- sexual orientation
- race or racial group (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins);
- religion or belief;
- age (or perceived age);
- caring responsibility; or
- disability (past or present).
We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the firm and its staff do not unlawfully discriminate under:
- the Equality Act 2010;
- the Employment Rights Act 1996;
- the Human Rights Act 1998;
- the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000;
- the Fixed-Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000;
- the Work and Families Act 2006;
- the Civil Partnership Act 2004; and
any other relevant legislation in force from time to time relating to discrimination in employment and the provision of goods, facilities or services.
Wherever possible, we take steps to promote equal opportunity in relation to access to the legal services that we provide, taking account of the diversity of the communities that we serve, in order to ensure that, subject to funding or other reasonable constraints, our services are accessible to all clients.
We are committed to meeting the diverse needs of clients. We take steps to identify the needs of clients in the community and develop plans and procedures setting out how we will meet clients’ needs and for ensuring the services which we provide are accessible to all. We take account, in particular, the needs of clients with a disability and clients who are unable to communicate effectively in English. In particular, we make reasonable adjustments to ensure that clients with a disability, vulnerability or particular need are not placed at a substantial disadvantage and do not pass on the costs of adjustments to these clients. We consider whether particular groups are predominant within our client base and, where possible, ensure that their needs are met. A list of interpreters, and signers is maintained and kept in the Equality and Diversity file.
We do not unlawfully discriminate in dealings with experts and third parties. All experts and third parties are instructed from a register of experts and have been assessed by the firm as being capable of meeting both our firm’s and our clients’ requirements. Experts and third parties are instructed because they satisfy our selection criteria.
We treat all job applicants equally and fairly and do not unlawfully discriminate against them. We do this by ensuring that we operate an open and fair recruitment process, using selection criteria which do not discriminate, and making decisions based on individual qualities and personal merit. Recruitment and promotion within the firm is made solely on merit.
We consider all employees to be equal and create a working environment which is free from unlawful discrimination. This applies equally to voluntary positions and anyone undertaking work experience with us. This will, for example, include arrangements for employment, recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment, access to training opportunities, conditions of service, access to promotion and transfers, grievance and disciplinary processes, dress code, work allocation and any other employment related activities.
We monitor and record, at least annually, equality & diversity information about job applicants and existing staff including key personnel on the basis of gender, age, disability and ethnic groups.
We provide equality & diversity information to the Legal Aid Agency as required in relation to staff and clients under the terms of the LAA Contracts.
Our COLP is responsible for implementing and monitoring our Equality & Diversity policy. In particular,she is responsible for:
- ensuring that adequate resources are available to meet equality and diversity needs;
- reporting to the other Directors and staff members] on compliance;
- promoting a culture of equality and diversity awareness and compliance by means of education and training and overseeing arrangements for the sharing of information on equality and diversity including informing staff of any new updates on equality and diversity including bulletins or articles published by regulators and/or in the legal press;
- providing assistance to any individual staff members who have been assigned responsibility for any specific equality and diversity actions;
- ensuring that appropriate action is taken in relation to any non-compliance identified under this policy or barriers to equal opportunities; and
- reviewing this policy annually to verify it is in effective operation.
- Reporting to staff the results of monitoring
All staff members are informed of this policy as part of their induction. We identify additional equality and diversity training needs as and when appropriate and address them as part of staff members’ training plans. This includes the provision of updated training on compliance with equality & diversity requirements. Our Equality & Diversity training and communication objectives are reviewed at least annually as part of our Learning and Development Plan
All staff are expected to pay due regard to the provisions of this policy and the specific Outcomes within Chapter 2 of the SRA Code of Conduct and have personal responsibility for ensuring compliance with them when undertaking their jobs or representing our firm and which extends to their treatment of job applicants, existing or former employees, clients, external suppliers and/or visitors. This as available in the E&D file as well as on the SRA website.
We treat seriously all complaints of unlawful discrimination made by any of our staff, clients, barristers, experts or other third parties and will take action where appropriate. All complaints are investigated by our COLP, in accordance with our grievance procedure or complaints procedure and the complainant will be informed of the outcome. She also monitors the number and outcome of complaints of discrimination.
Where acts of unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation and/or failure to comply with this policy by any member of staff are identified, our COLP, will ensure that our Disciplinary Procedure is followed and this may result in disciplinary proceedings being instigated.
Covid-19
We continue to operate:
We would like to reassure our clients and associates that we continue to provide our full services whilst prioritising the safety and wellbeing of our members, staff and clients.
We continue to monitor and follow HM Government and HMCTS guidance.
All staff members continue to work and are fully contactable. Our site remains open manned by a skeleton staff.
Following a full health and safety assessment, all meetings and conferences will now be carried out by way of video-link unless a face-to-face meeting is absolutely necessary. Any visit to the office will be in line with both Government guidelines and our Covid-19 Policy for visitors.
Complaints Handling Procedure and Feedback
Our complaints procedure is as follows:
Step One:
Please let me know the full nature of the problem. You can do this by emailing us at enquiries@murrayssolicitors.co.uk or writing to us at 10, Piece Hall yard, Bradford, west Yorkshire, BD1 1PJ.
Step Two:
We will write to you acknowledging your complaint within three working days. In this letter, we shall confirm what happens next.
Step Three:
We will then investigate the matter by reviewing the matter file and speaking to the member of staff concerned within five working days of acknowledging receipt of your complaint. If, for some reason, the matter cannot be investigated in this timeframe, then We will write to you notifying you of this together with the reason why and giving a revised timescale. Once the investigation has been completed, we will invite you to a meeting to discuss the issue(s) you have raised and hopefully resolve the complaint. This meeting will take place within fourteen days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. Following the meeting, we will write to you within five working days of the meeting to confirm our discussion and the solution agreed upon.
Step Four:
If you do not want to or are unable to attend such a meeting, we will be happy to send you a detailed, written response, including our proposed solution, within fourteen working days of sending you the letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
Step Five:
If you are satisfied with our response in either Step three or four above, that will be the end of the matter. However, if you are not satisfied, you should contact us again and I will arrange for another director, to review the decision. The director will write to you within fourteen days of receiving your request with confirmation of the firm’s final position in relation to your complaint, outlining the reasons and any final redress that is offered.
Step 6:
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.
Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of your having received a final written response from us about your complaint.
Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within 12 months of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within 12 months from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint.
However, the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6 October 2010.
For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
Note: Complaints will only be acknowledged as complaints if they come through the official complaint’s procedure described above.
Feedback
We are always looking to improve our services to clients and would value your comments and suggestions on how we carry out our work for you. If you wish to provide us with feedback, either during our engagement or once our work is completed, please do not hesitate to do so. You can provide feedback by email, post or over the telephone directly to one or more of the solicitors who have been undertaking work for you. You can contact any of the firm's partners or you can email enquiries@murrayssolicitors.co.uk
The Law Society also has a Complain about a Solicitor facility.
