BUSINESSNEWS
PUT YOUR BUSINESS AHEAD OF COMPETITION WITH EU GRANT FUNDING One of the most common questions that is asked by businesses is "can UK companies still apply for EU grant funding now we're no longer part of the EU?" In short, the answer is yes and Catax are here to help you do just that. One of the most exciting grant calls available to your business right now is Horizon Europe - the EU's flagship funding programme and the largest of its kind in the world! Launched with a budget of ¤95.5bn from 2021-2027, Horizon Europe is aimed at ambitious research and innovation projects in the following areas:
Sonia Ali, Litigation and Employment Solicitor
FOOD, BIOECONOMY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
QUALIFIED SUCCESS FOR SME SOLICITOR
Reducing environmental degradation, halting and reversing the decline of biodiversity on land, ensuring food and nutrition security for all planetary boundaries and more.
SME Solicitors in Sansome Walk,
Building a competitive, digital, low-carbon and circular industry, ensuring a sustainable supply chain of raw materials, developing advanced materials and providing the basis for advances and innovation. This includes (but is not limited to) climate science and solutions, energy supply in communities and cities.
Worcester has announced the qualification of Sonia Ali as a Solicitor within its Litigation and Employment department. Sonia, who resides in Worcester, has worked at SME Solicitors since 2019,
DIGITAL, INDUSTRY & SPACE
and in early August successfully
HEALTH
completed her training contract.
Improving and protecting health and well-being by generating new knowledge,
SME Partner Guy Salter who heads up
innovative solutions and integrating where relevant gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure disease.
CIVIL SECURITY FOR SOCIETY Responding to the challenges arising from persistent security threats, including cybercrime, as well as natural and man-made disasters. The team at Catax can reduce the amount of time you have to spend searching and writing an application, as they manage the whole process for you, from finding the right grant to writing and submitting the application. Further information on the grants and funding available to your business can be obtained by emailing enquiries@catax.com.
the firm’s Litigation and Employment department, comments: “I am delighted that Sonia has qualified as a solicitor and will be joining this department. Over her three years to date working as part of our firm, Sonia has proved a great asset to the department and fits in perfectly with the SME philosophy of providing personal and pro-active legal services to our clients.” Sonia comments: “I am delighted to be qualifiying and that the partners have asked me to stay with SME. I am very excited about my future here, working with Guy and my other colleagues as part of our flourishing litigation and employment team.” www.smesolicitors.co.uk
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CHECK CONTRACTS ON HYBRID AND HOME WORKING BEFORE OFFICE RETURN In light of the government’s decision to end the requirement to work from home, employers have been urged to check their contracts of employment before calling on staff to stop working remotely. Employment lawyer Sally Morris from mfg Solicitors said firms may encounter issues if they do not offer some form of hybrid working after workers became used to it during the past 18 months.
It is vital employers check their legal position so that businesses across the two counties can consider what works best for themselves and their employees. Readers can contact Sally Morris at mfg Solicitors through sally.morris@ mfgsolicitors.com
Sally says that while workers did not have an automatic right to work from home, turning down a request for flexible working, including hybrid or homeworking could result in a claim for indirect discrimination, with protected characteristics of sex, age and disability being common grounds for a complaint.
September/October 2021
