Regulatory Information

Core Offerings

Bellingham Employment Partners is committed to providing tailored HR consultancy, Employment Law Advice, and Employment Tribunal Support and Representation to SMEs throughout the UK. Our team consists of solicitors, each holding a practising certificate and regulated individually by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Legal Consultancy Model and the SRA Standards and Regulations 2019

The legal consultancy model we adopt is based on the SRA Standards and Regulations 2019, which were developed to create a more flexible and responsive regulatory framework. These regulations have enabled the delivery of legal services from within unregulated entities, leading to the establishment of our ‘legal consultancy’ model. This model aims to foster innovation, enhance competition, and improve standards in the unregulated sector. It is important to note that while our solicitors are individually regulated by the SRA, Bellingham Employment Partners is not a law firm and, as such, is not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Being Unregulated and Cost Efficiency

Our unregulated status greatly diminishes our compliance obligations, resulting in lower overhead costs. We pass these savings on to our clients, allowing us to provide premium legal services at a fraction of the typical costs associated with traditional law firms.

Reserved and Unreserved Activities

Reserved legal activities refer to specific areas of legal work that necessitate regulation by a legal authority, including the right to represent clients in court, conduct litigation, transfer land and property, and administer oaths, among others. In contrast, unreserved legal activities are those that do not require regulation, allowing unregulated entities to perform them.

At Bellingham Employment Partners, our solicitors do not engage in any reserved activities. Instead, they concentrate on unreserved legal activities related to employment law and HR advice. This includes guidance on employment contracts, employee rights, disciplinary procedures, and other HR-related matters, as well as Employment Tribunal support and representation, providing a comprehensive service to manage the legal aspects of human resource management for our clients.

Professional Ethics and Compliance

All our solicitors are bound by the SRA Principles and the SRA Code of Conduct. This requires them to uphold the highest standards of professional ethics and conduct, acting with honesty, integrity, and in the best interests of our clients. They are also obligated to engage in continuous professional learning and development. This commitment ensures that our team remains informed about legal, ethical, and regulatory obligations, enabling us to provide services that are both up-to-date and compliant.

Financial Integrity

In accordance with SRA regulations, our solicitors are not permitted to hold client money in their personal accounts. Bellingham Employment Partners also does not operate a client account and does not hold any client funds in any transactional matters. This reinforces our dedication to maintaining the highest standards of financial integrity in all our dealings.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

As we are not regulated by the SRA, Bellingham Employment Partners is not required to maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the SRA’s minimum terms and conditions. However, Bellingham Employment Partners does have professional indemnity insurance in place, providing an additional layer of protection for the legal work carried out by our solicitors. This arrangement eliminates the necessity for our solicitors to hold personal professional indemnity insurance, demonstrating our firm’s commitment to safeguarding our clients’ interests. Details about our coverage are available upon request.

Solicitors Compensation Fund

The Solicitors Compensation Fund does not apply to Bellingham Employment Partners due to our unregulated status. Since Bellingham Employment Partners is neither authorised nor regulated by the SRA, our clients are not eligible to claim under the SRA Compensation Fund, which is available to clients of regulated firms in cases where their money has been stolen, misappropriated, or not properly accounted for, among other limited circumstances. Given that we do not hold any client funds in any transactional matters, this does not pose a relevant risk to our clients.

Confidentiality

Client confidentiality is paramount. We uphold strict data protection standards and ensure all client information is kept private and secure.

Costs and Complaints Procedure

We collaborate with our clients on a project and fixed-fee basis for the non-reserved legal services offered through our company. As our solicitors exclusively provide non-reserved legal services to the public from an unregulated entity (Bellingham Employment Partners), we are not obligated to publish pricing and service information under the SRA Transparency Rules.

Website: https://bellingham-employment-partners.co.uk/