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Charity that provides legal advice to Third Sector Organisations has taken a dual approach to sustain its support services. Merseyside Employment Law Limited used Capacitybuilders funding to develop a project to provide advice and guidance to senior staff and trustees of TSOs. Aware that funding for this project will end in 2011, MEL has set up a Community Interest Company and is planning to phase in charges for this support from summer 2010.
Charity that provides legal advice to Third Sector Organisations has taken a dual approach to sustain its support services. Merseyside Employment Law Limited used Capacitybuilders funding to develop a project to provide advice and guidance to senior staff and trustees of TSOs. Aware that funding for this project will end in 2011, MEL has set up a Community Interest Company and is planning to phase in charges for this support from summer 2010.
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Charity that provides legal advice to Third Sector Organisations has taken a dual approach to sustain its support services. Merseyside Employment Law Limited used Capacitybuilders funding to develop a project to provide advice and guidance to senior staff and trustees of TSOs. Aware that funding for this project will end in 2011, MEL has set up a Community Interest Company and is planning to phase in charges for this support from summer 2010.
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Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Format Tersedia
Unduh sebagai PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
SUSTAINABLE MODELS OF SUPPORT SERVICES: CASE STUDY
Merseyside Employment Law Limited
FLICKR photo credit SAM SHAM
Employment law specialist lays foundations for sustainable future Charity that provides legal Merseyside Employment Law Limited (MEL) used Capacitybuilders Improving Reach advice to Third Sector funding to develop a project to provide advice and guidance to senior staff and trustees Organisations (TSOs) has of TSOs, and to help them improve their
taken a dual approach to employment and HR policies. Aware that
funding for this project will end in 2011, MEL sustain its support services has set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) and is planning to phase in charges for beyond the end of grant this support from summer 2010. In addition,
funding MEL used a Capacitybuilders capital grant
to transform an underused room into a resource centre where TSOs can access legal information and other resources for free. This ‘dual approach’ aims to make MEL’s crucial support services for TSOs more sustainable in the long-term. What Capacitybuilders funding was received? 2. Outreach support for TSOs with a serious employment law issue, which can be a one-off piece MEL received a Capacitybuilders Consortia Project of advice or long-term support. Programme grant of £10,000 in 2006, a further Capacitybuilders capital grant of £24,420 in January 3. Capacity building for TSOs to develop compliant 2009, and a Capacitybuilders Improving Reach grant employment/ HR policies and procedures that are £167,574 in April 2008. appropriate to their organisation; ranging from training to intensive one-to-one support. What was the money used for? The Management Committee Secretary of a small Early Capacitybuilders funding was used by MEL to charity was very complimentary about the support the conduct a survey to assess the level and extent of case worker provided: need amongst local TSOs for advice and support on We had problems with an employee and it moved to employment law, and then to analyse the results. a disciplinary phase. I rang [case worker], he came out The Improving Reach funding has primarily funded on two occasions, met with members of the disciplinary an administrator and employment law case worker to panel, explained what we needed to look out for... there deliver legal advice and guidance services to frontline were a number of exchanges with the employee, I’d organisations between 2008 and 2011. Some senior staff draft the letter, send them to [case worker] and he would time has been dedicated to setting up a Community suggest change. He focused on getting things right at Interest Company (CIC). each step of the way… the service was very good. A Capacitybuilders Capital Grant for premises MEL’s service is more comprehensive than that provided improvement was used to transform an underused room by a solicitor, extending far beyond responding to into a Training & Legal Resource Centre. The funding grievances or preparing for court cases. The service paid for redecoration, a new IT system, including five improves employment/ HR policies and procedures, desktop computers with internet access, furniture and and builds the capacity of staff to deal with employment subscription to key legal journals and resources for problems themselves. The approach is therefore the new library. It also paid for training equipment – preventative, addressing the cause of employment including two laptops – meaning MEL can now deliver issues as well as dealing with employment law disputes high quality training from their own premises, rather when they arise. than at the offices of beneficiary TSOs. Why did the partners opt for establishing a What services does MEL provide and why are Community Interest Company? they so important? Improving Reach funding for this project will come MEL has for a number of years provided specialist advice to an end in 2011. Though the project is improving and representation in employment and discrimination the policies and procedures of TSOs in Merseyside, law to individuals unable to afford legal representation. evidence suggests there will continue to be demand In their experience, TSOs were much more likely to be for affordable legal advice and guidance after funding taken to an Employment Tribunal than public sector comes to an end. With no guarantee of further grant agencies and companies, to a large extent because they funding for this project, MEL has decided to phase in lacked effective HR policies and procedures. Once a charges for legal advice, guidance and training to TSOs. grievance arose, TSOs often struggled to afford support This will allow them to cover the costs of delivery and and advice from solicitors to resolve it. Legal proceedings generate income for MEL. The training centre is crucial had a serious financial impact on small TSOs; and in some to these plans in that it will enable MEL to deliver (and instances the cost of a single Employment Tribunal could charge for) professional standard training courses in- force these organisations to fold. house. The Improving Reach-funded project has helped address MEL has set up a Community Interest Company (CIC), this need for TSOs in Merseyside, focusing particularly called the North West Employment Law Bureau, as a on ‘harder to reach’ faith, rural, BME and refugee vehicle for income generating activities for a number groups. Run by an administrator and delivered by an of reasons. It will allow MEL to generate income to re- experienced employment law case worker, the project invest in charitable activity, through the delivery of provides three main elements: other chargeable services even if they don’t relate to MEL’s core mission, such as training for private sector 1. A telephone advice service on employment law companies. issues, where the case worker provides advice on employment law issues. What are the main benefits and risks of the The plan is that TSOs pay a monthly retainer fee which training and resource centre? will cover a basic set of services including access to training and advice, on a similar model to solicitors The Training & Legal Resource Centre is central to firms. There will be different levels of contract ranging MEL’s drive towards sustainability. The new training from a comprehensive package (covering a wide range space allows MEL to deliver in-house training to 15-20 of services) to a more basic package of support. The organisations at a time where previously this could only contracts will be priced on a sliding scale with more be delivered to a single organisation at their premises. basic packages being cheaper and more comprehensive MEL is already delivering around one training session ones more expensive. per month at the centre as part of the Improving Reach project. There are risks associated with charging TSOs for support, something which the Head of Legal Services MEL is currently in the process of identifying how to at MEL is carefully considering. The most obvious risk gain accreditation for its training. Accreditation will is that charges will exclude those groups with limited make their courses much more competitive when MEL resources from accessing any support at all. This will be begins charging. It will also put MEL in a better position partially addressed by having different levels of contract; to attract private and public sector organisations to groups with limited resources could opt for the cheapest their employment law/HR courses, therefore generating type of contract. additional income. Nevertheless, even with the introduction of charges, MEL has already been allowing community groups to the service MEL offers will be significantly cheaper use the new space for meetings, but in time they plan than private sector competitors. The Head of Legal to bring in charging, at least for some users. The aim Services has calculated that a MEL case worker costs is to hire out the space for various types of purpose, around a third of the amount charged by a solicitor for including training providers looking for a well-equipped, representing clients at an Employment Tribunal. professional training space. There are also risks for MEL in entering ‘the employment The one key risk that MEL has had to manage is that law advice market’. MEL will have to compete with the Training & Legal Resource Centre distracts MEL staff other organisations who charge and this will place from their ‘day job’. As MEL doesn’t receive revenue greater demands on MEL to demonstrate (e.g. through funding for the centre there are no dedicated staff who accreditation) to potential clients that they provide a manage it. MEL has struggled to provide the staff time high quality service that is comparable to competitors. they would like to market the venue and provide advice to groups on how to use the resource library. As a result, Key learning points the centre hasn’t been used as much as it could have, though it is still used by TSOs on a regular basis. • Improvements to premises can provide the facilities required to bring in charges for training What are the main benefits and risks of • Resource centres need staff to dedicate time to charging for legal / HR advice? running them if the maximum number of groups are MEL plans to phase in charges for advice and support to benefit of TSOs from August 2010. By January 2011, it is • An analysis of competitors’ charges is crucial to anticipated that charging will cover the costs of delivery, designing a competitive system of charging and rates and possibly generate some income to re-invest in MEL. Over the long-term, this should help provide a regular • A Community Interest Company can provide an income to sustain MEL’s charitable mission of providing effective ‘vehicle’ for generating earned income, free legal advice to those unable to afford it. which is separate from (but invests in) the charitable purpose of the original organisation
This case study was prepared by Shared Intelligence for the Sustainable Models of Support Services report, which was funded by Capacitybuilders. To read more case studies like this please visit: www.improvingsupport.org.uk