When arguing against a charge of speeding, for example, many motors challenge the speed they were said to have been travelling. This normally takes the form of a challenge against the equipment used to detect their speed. The same applies to drink driving, in which case people challenge the accuracy of the alcohol detection equipment. In both cases, legal representation is highly advised, as it is exceptionally hard to provide decent evidence to support such claims.

Defendants seeking instead to challenge the Police Officer from whom their charge has been made should also consider employing a solicitor to help their case. Police Officers, as people of the law, are highly experienced in most legal matters, courtroom appearances included. Despite the neutrality that judges are required to maintain, a Police Officer always starts a case in a strong position, compared to a civilian accused of a traffic offence.

In some cases, hiring motoring solicitors is a very wise move. Say, for example, you have been charged with speeding and are disputing the claim – saying you weren’t going as fast as they say you were. In this case, when intending to argue and fight your case, a motoring solicitor is the most valuable ally you can hope for. Similarly, when at risk of losing your license, there is nobody better to have on your side than an accomplish motoring solicitor.

However, in many cases people caught speeding are happy to accept the charge, pay the fine, take the points and avoid any legal costs. In cases like this, there is little a solicitor can do to help. Set offences have set penalties and, although a written plea to the court could help matters, there is little that having a lawyer present can do to help your case.

There are many different kinds of flexible working, including: part-time (working less than normal hours); flexi time (choosing when to work); compressed hours (working the same number of hours in a shorter period of time); and homeworking. If you’ve been working for your employer for 26 weeks, you have the right to apply for flexible work if: you have or will have parental responsibility of a child under 16 or a disabled child under 18 OR if you are the guardian, partner, or holder of a residence order of one of these and are applying to care for the child OR if you care for an adult who is a spouse, partner, civil partner, or relative, or co-habits your abode.

Please note that this right to apply is voided if you are an agency worker, in the armed forces, or have exercised the right within the last 12 weeks. Your employer may also turn your application down if they have taken it seriously and have good business reasons for doing so.

To be entitled to take paternity leave, you have to be: the biological father of the child OR the mother’s husband or partner OR the child’s adopter OR the husband or partner of the child’s adopter. You must also have been with your employer for 26 weeks by: the end of the 15th week before the week the baby is due OR the end of the week you are notified that the child is yours.

If these conditions are fulfilled, a man can take 1-2 weeks leave, but the days taken must run sequentially. Please note that the 2 weeks you are entitled to take off is one 14 day period, NOT 14 days that you would work (e.g. if you work 2 days a week you are entitled to 4 days off).

The leave is paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings up to £124.88. Note you are not entitled legally to any time off to accompany the mother to antenatal appointments.

Otherwise, as with all changes to employment contracts, employers must have the agreement of the employee before they can make changes to the working times and hours. Although they often offer incentives to work at night, employers are not required by law to offer extra pay, bonuses or rewards for working at night or during antisocial hours. They are required, however, to give special consideration to pregnant women and new parents, to whom night work might be especially inconvenient.

To protect night workers, an average night working limit is in place, dictating that night workers shouldn’t work more than an average of eight hours in twenty-four hour periods. Should the type of work involve significant amounts of mental or physical strain, an absolute limit of eight hours in any twenty-four hour period applies, including overtime in both the night and day.

Surveillance and security workers, workers who travel longer distances to work and those who work in many different places are all exempt from night working limits, as are various employees in the rail industry and those who work in environments that require constant staffing. Other workers excluded from night working limits include the emergency services, armed forces, domestic servants and workers who freely choose their own working hours.

Instead of writing, I’m also going to post this picture; it wouldn’t take me the full 1000 words to make the same point, but it would take a fair few.

I do not own this picture. I found it here: www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/12/the_woes_of_web.html

Workers can choose to opt out of the 48 hours limit and work longer than 48 hours per week, but they must do so freely and in writing. They can also choose to opt back into the 48 hour limit, without suffering any unfair treatment or dismissal for doing so. Employees must, however, give ample notice to their employer that they wish to opt back into the limit.

This 48 hour period for adult workers can be calculated by taking the average number of hours of work an employee does per week over a 17 week period. Work counts as all their normal responsibilities, as well as any training, extra work-related travel time, overtime, working lunches and time spend on-call in the workplace. However, lunch breaks, travelling to and from work, holiday, volunteered overtime and time spent on-call away from the workplace do not count as working hours.

The smoke-free law will apply to vehicles that are used to transport members of the public or used by more than one person, not necessarily at the same time. This is not the case, however, when the vehicle has the roof completely removed. Smoke-free vehicles must also display no-smoking signs no smaller than 70mm in diameter in every compartment in which people are carried.

Of course, private vehicles are not required by law to be smoke-free. Even so, drivers should be aware that, although it is not an offence to smoke whilst driving, doing so will greatly increase the chance of being charged with careless driving, should an accident occur. In severe cases, smoking can be linked to dangerous driving, which can lead to imprisonment. The same is true for the use of a hands-free phone.

One possible alternative to overtime payment is offering time off in lieu, which allows the employee to take as many hours off as they have worked extra. The specific details of when time can be taken off vary from company to company. Employees only have to work overtime if their employment contract states that they have to, though even then they can refuse to do so if it will take their working hours above 48 per week. Exactly what counts as overtime should be outlined in the employee’s contract however; if the employment contract includes Sunday working hours, for example, then working on a Sunday will not count as working overtime.

Part time workers will usually only be paid overtime when they work antisocial hours for which full time staff would receive extra pay, longer hours than a full time worker or longer hours than are outlined in their employment contract.