Worker shortage results in jobs growth for HR and employment law firm
National staff shortages and employees seeking a better work-life balance has led to a surge in business and a bigger workforce at a Sheffield headquartered employment and HR law firm.
Bhayani Law’s recently-launched recruitment arm has seen vacancies increase by 80 per cent over the last six months – anticipated growth given the current jobs climate.
Vacancies are coming predominantly from the firm’s existing client base and range from part-time admin roles to Head of People and Charity Chief Executive roles.
But there has also been a 30 paper cent increase in demand for its HR support and employment law expertise.
The company, launched in 2014 by former Yorkshire Employment Lawyer of the Year Jay Bhayani, has set on four new employees to keep pace with demand in Sheffield and at its branches in Leeds, Leicester and Barnsley.
A flood of clients from a range of sectors have signed up to the company’s tailored monthly HR support service, Watertight, in the last 12 months.
“They recognise that, during a candidate shortage, the best way to protect their businesses is to retain and reward valued staff and are placing more importance on HR. They want to find out what employees want so they can better support them,” says MD Jay.
The company’s employment law caseload has doubled, fuelled mainly by employees determined to stand up for their rights.
Says Jay: “Since the pandemic, we are seeing more unhappy workers prepared to go to tribunal instead of letting things lie. The furlough scheme and working from home gave them time to think – and strive for a better work-life balance. A new generation of employees hasn’t ever worked in a workplace.
“In addition, they feel more confident about standing up for themselves at a time when they believe it will be relatively easy to find new jobs. This highlights the importance employers should place on avoiding discord by having effective HR in place.”
Sheffield-based- Rubber Safety Hygiene Ltd is one of Bhayani Law’s newest clients. Its MD Rob Hand commented: “We have recently signed up to the Watertight plan. We are very aware that it is currently a candidate’s market and therefore wanted to make sure that we are doing all we can to attract and retain staff.
“Ensuring that we are compliant with all of our legal requirements is a must, but the advice that we get goes so much further than basic legal compliance and in fact ensures that we are an employer of choice.”
Cancer survivor to cycle 100-mile bike ride for charity
Two years after he was told he would die within the month, cancer survivor Vitor Pinto is cycling 100-miles, raising money for St Barnabas Hospice.
In April, just after COVID struck the world, Vitor went to the doctors after experiencing extreme pain that stopped him from sleeping: “I decided to go to the hospital and when I got there I just passed out. I spent the weekend there whilst they performed some tests.”
When the results came back, it was confirmed he had stage four Hodgkin Lymphoma.
“That’s the highest stage for that sort of cancer,” Vit continued. “I was told by my consultant that if I didn’t receive treatment immediately, I could be dead within a month! I was thinking, ‘That’s it, I’m going to die’.”
Vit was offered one of the most aggressive forms of treatment to try and tackle the disease. “I had to stay in the hospital for a week so they could do the first cycle of treatment. The programme was supposed to be 12 months but I asked them to double the dose and by Christmas 2020 I was told I was finally in remission.
“The pandemic was a hard year for everyone, but to be told I had this cancer and had to go through this as well was extremely hard. The NHS staff were under so much pressure, but I can’t praise them enough. They were so good from the nurses to the consultants.”
On June 30th Vitor is taking part in the C2C2C – a charity 100-mile bike ride along with 16 co-workers and customers from commercial interior design and fit out company APSS, one of the event sponsors. They will join more than 500 riders to cycle from Lincoln, out to the coast and back again in a day, raising money for St Barnabas Hospice, EDAN Lincs, Headway Lincolnshire and Just Lincolnshire.
“Hodgkin Lymphoma is a form of cancer which is unfortunately not curable. It is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life, like many others,” Vit said. “Some, however, are not as fortunate as myself, and for those people, and their families, the work St Barnabas Hospice do is crucial. That’s just one of the reasons I will be raising money for the charity by completing the 100-mile bike ride.”
Now in it’s 11th year, the Castle to Coast to Castle (C2C2C) bike ride first started with 79 riders in a bid to get local business people out the office and onto their bikes.
Stuart Marsland, sales director for APSS, said: “Vitor is such a crucial member of staff and he has such an inspirational story of how, even when life seems at its darkest, it can be overcome. As a company, we are so proud of him for joining us in taking on the challenge of the C2C2C and will be doing everything we can to support him along the way.”
Caroline Swindin, fundraising development manager for St Barnabas Hospice, said: “Vitor is truly amazing taking on this challenge after what must have been an incredibly difficult few years. On behalf of everyone at St Barnabas Hospice, I would like to say a huge thank you to Vitor for choosing to undertake the C2C2C challenge in support of our Hospice. Your support and the money you raise through your fundraising will make a huge difference to the lives of over 10,500 patients and their families our Hospice support each year across Lincolnshire.”
To support Vitor, please donate via his Just Giving Page.
St Barnabas still have designated spaces for supporters to be able to get on the bikes and join the ride in celebration of its 40th anniversary. To sign up and also receive a St Barnabas Hospice branded shirt to race in, just visit https://www.riderhq.com/events/p/i8hzlwvs/enter?v=STB40C2C2C
To register for the hospice’s team, sign in with the code stb40c2c2c
Leeds office building acquired for £12.6 million
Hillview Real Estate, the UK regional office investor, and Sh.i.r. Shlomo Real Estate, a subsidiary of one of the largest conglomerates in Israel, have acquired a multi-let office building in Leeds’ financial district from Ardstone Capital for £12.6 million.
Hillview is investing through its £300 million Hillview Partners Property Fund III.
The building, 76 Wellington Street, comprises 35,951 sq ft of office space over ground and five upper floors.
Hillview plans to upgrade the building, ensuring it meets the needs of modern office occupiers and sustainability. This upgrade will include extending and refurbishing the reception, utilising the basement for extensive cycle storage and changing facilities, and upgrading the building plant to modern energy efficient systems.
76 Wellington Street is the first acquisition for a new partnership between Hillview and Sh.i.r. Shlomo Real Estate, to establish a portfolio of regional office properties in the UK.
Nadav Livni, Managing Director of Hillview Group and fund manager of Hillview Real Estate, said: “This is a fantastic value-add acquisition for our fund and our new partnership with Sh.i.r. Shlomo Real Estate. The building is very well located in the heart of Leeds’ financial district, it is under-rented and provides identified opportunities for our team to significantly add value by modernising the space, adding amenities for tenants, and improving its sustainability rating.”
Israel Raif, CEO of Sh.i.r. Shlomo Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to be investing in the UK real estate sector and are aligned with Hillview’s value-add strategy. We see the compelling opportunity to invest in properties that need repositioning, by focusing on the ESG criteria of sustainability, efficiency, amenities, digital connectivity, end-of-journey facilities and wellness.”
Hillview Real Estate and Sh.i.r. Shlomo Real Estate were advised by CBRE and Ardstone Capital was advised by NorthCap.
Hundreds of new jobs to be created at new warehouse development in Wetherby
Hundreds of new jobs are to be created at a new warehouse and industrial development that will be built at Marston Business Park in Tockwith, near Wetherby.
Marston Business Park is one of the largest industrial estates in North Yorkshire comprising over 190,000 sq ft across 54 acres.
Planning consent has been approved for eight new units that will be built across two different plots. Plot B will offer five units ranging from 3,000 sq ft up to 6,000 sq ft, whilst Plot C will offer three units ranging from 10,500 sq ft to 46,500 sq ft. Construction will start in September with practical completion due for April 2023.
Marston Business Park was recently acquired by Columbia Threadneedle Investments, a global asset management group which is funding this new development.
The units are all available on a leasehold basis and are being marketed by Gent Visick (GV), whilst the estate and the construction is being managed by Workman and Partners.
Paul Mack, director at GV, said: “It’s an exciting time to be involved in this next phase of Marston Business Park. The estate has such a rich history and is benefitting from Columbia Threadneedle’s vision which will elevate this highly popular estate into a modern logistics park.”
Construction starts on major mixed-use development in Wakefield
Multi-disciplinary construction company, Harris CM, has started work on a £10 million contract building a major new mixed-use development at Wakefield’s City Fields development.
The 110,000 sq ft development, by DeVeer Estates, which is the commercial arm of Berkeley DeVeer, is located on Neil Fox Way and will be known as the City Fields District Centre. It will consist of eight retail units including a 24,500 sq ft supermarket, a children’s nursery, a management suite and 14 apartments.
City Fields is a substantial 375-hectare new development that is creating a new community of over 2,500 homes, a new primary school, parkland and other public realm, connected via the new Wakefield East Relief Road. Harris CM is also currently building 77 houses at City Fields on behalf of Rula Homes.
Jason Adlam, CEO at Harris CM, said: “It’s great to be starting work on another major development that will contribute towards the continued regeneration of our hometown of Wakefield. We are also thoroughly enjoying working on City Fields District Centre alongside several other Wakefield based companies including architects, The Harris Partnership and HJ Consulting Engineers.
“When work completes in May 2023, this development will provide a focal point for City Fields and benefit both the development’s new residents and Wakefield as a whole, thanks to the new road connections to the city.”
Jason added: “This continues to be an exciting time for Harris CM and City Fields is an important contribution to our strong pipeline of work for the next 18 months, which puts us on track to hit £70 million turnover in 2022.”
£36m redevelopment of Huddersfield high rise flats begins
A major plan to redevelop two Huddersfield high rise flats blocks has started, with Kirklees Council helping to rehouse tenants.
Following a consultation with residents in 2021, council tenants at Berry Brow’s Bishops Court and Holme Park Court were asked to give their views over the future of the two high-rise blocks.
The tenants voted overwhelmingly in favour of the blocks being demolished and rebuilt as new housing. The £36.78 million project is expected to take around seven years and will be carried out in six stages: supporting tenants and leaseholders to move out; designing the new homes; public consultation; finalising designs, obtaining planning permission and Cabinet approval; demolishing existing buildings; building the new homes.
Housing officers are now starting phase one of the plan.
Councillor Cathy Scott, cabinet member for housing and democracy, said: “After listening to our tenants’ views on the future of the Berry Brow high rise flats, I am pleased we are now able to start the process of redeveloping the flats and start talking to our tenants to support them in finding alternative places they would like to live.
“We have a dedicated team in place to offer our tenants one-to-one support during this process and to also assist them with moving costs, as well as compensating them for the loss of their home.
“We appreciate this will be an unsettling time and will do everything we can to help to support our tenants through this process and ensure they are satisfied with their new homes.”
Work will begin on developing plans for new build social housing on the Berry Brow site. Draft designs are expected to be ready for public consultation by summer 2023.
Stafforce seize opportunity to expand with Associated British Ports
Recruitment specialists, Stafforce has seized on the opportunity to expand its footprint for supplying labour to businesses in the ports and maritime sector having been added to the preferred supplier list by Associated British Ports in Southampton.
Stafforce has been working for Associated British Ports in other regions since 2017. Part of the Nicholas Associates Group which has its HQ in Rotherham, the appointment at Southampton now means the company supplies 5 out of the 8 Freeports located within the UK at Sheerness, Tilbury, Humber and Liverpool.
Part of Port Solent, Southampton regained its freeport status in 2021 following changes announced by the Government to create 8 special Freeport areas within the UK’s borders where different economic regulations apply. As the largest cruise liner dock and automotive importer, Southampton provides UK businesses with the closest direct access to over 70 ports globally.
Stafforce will be supplying ABP with car drivers, stevedores and other dockside operators. An onsite Stafforce team will be working alongside the ABP planning team to vet, recruit and educate people through ITSSAR mechanical handling training to enable ABP to manage the highs and lows of the shipping schedule which is notoriously feast and famine.
Commenting on the opportunity to supply labour to ABP, Tim Platt, head of ports at Stafforce said: “This further builds our credentials as a trusted recruitment partner and will hopefully help us to expand our footprint further into the remaining three ports and other related industries.”
Craig Barbour, general manager for ABP added: “I have used Stafforce as a preferred recruitment solutions provider for the last ten years because of their in-depth knowledge of this sector. I know I can trust them to be proactive and driven towards sourcing reliable and suitably qualified people who also understand the health and safety implications of working within a dockside environment. This experience and training helps to ensure we maintain our exemplary safety record and protect our people as well as the goods being imported.”
rradar makes key non-executive board appointment
rradar, the litigation and commercial law firm, has appointed Jeremy Cohen as non-executive director to its board.
Jeremy is the latest in a range of high-profile appointments by Hull-based rradar, which specialises in digital and insurance innovation.
Jeremy brings a wide-ranging skills profile together with extensive experience gained over a 25-year career as a corporate lawyer, leading large projects across multiple offices, teams, and countries.
From 2015 to 2021, he was the CEO of the UK, Ireland and Middle East region of Dentons, the world’s largest law firm.
In this role, he was responsible for leading the growth strategy for a £200+ million business of 200 partners, with 1500 employees across 14 offices. He led a strategic transformation through client focus, growth, technology, and innovative delivery models.
Jeremy also sat on Dentons’ global board and management committee, which oversee global strategy, growth, client and market positioning, innovation, and risk across all the 80+ countries and 200+ offices in which Dentons operates internationally.
Before this, Jeremy was an M&A and corporate lawyer, and a partner since 2000, acting for a wide range of listed and unlisted clients from Fortune 500 to start-ups.
He was appointed last year as a senior adviser to investment bank Panmure Gordon & Co and for the past eight years, he has been a trustee of City, Hackney and Waltham Forest MIND, a mental health charity. He also recently set up an executive coaching business with a former colleague, Fulfilled Leaders Ltd, specialising in coaching executives and partners on leadership effectiveness and fulfilment.
In his new appointment as non-executive director, Jeremy will work alongside rradar’s CEO Gary Gallen and the expanded board, increasing and broadening the capabilities of the firm’s strategic leadership and advising on the direction and growth of the company.
Gary Gallen, rradar CEO, said: “I am delighted to welcome Jeremy to the board as
non-executive director. This is a significant appointment for rradar and to have secured someone with Jeremy’s legal background, with a proven track record of experience and achievement at the highest level in the world’s biggest law firm shows the growth potential and exciting future development of the company – further strengthening our board capabilities.
“2022 sees a pivotal growth point for rradar, going from start-up to scale-up and we are now at the threshold of another stage of our journey with key acquisitions and further office expansion to be completed this year as part of our five-year business strategy.
“The past two years have been transformational ones for so many businesses, and rradar is no exception. We are excited to play a key part in shaping the future of the legal industry, how it reacts to change and technological developments in a rapidly evolving world. For the sake of our clients and our staff as well as our commercial partners, we need to be equipped with the very best talent, expertise, and acumen available, and I am pleased Jeremy will be part of this journey with us.”
Jeremy said: “What Gary and rradar have achieved over the past decade is truly remarkable, making waves and disrupting the legal industry from within. Gary’s vision of what a law firm can become using technology and a breadth of legal and other services to genuinely transform the offering to clients, is inspiring – as is the passion and energy with which he and his team are pursuing it.
“rradar’s journey from start-up to leading player in the legal sector is well underway. Some big challenges still lie ahead though in scaling up to bring rradar’s unique service model to a wider range of clients, while maintaining its commitment to continued innovation and dramatically enhanced client outcomes. I am very pleased to be coming on board for the next stage of the journey and helping rradar to achieve its ambitions.”
Dudleys completes 180,000 sq ft West Yorkshire logistics development
Structural and civil engineering consultancy, Dudleys has completed works on the 180,000 sq ft, phase two logistics development at AAA Park, Moor Park 25 in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, on behalf of Caddick Developments.
Dudleys consulted throughout planning and tender stages for the £12 million project which now provides five commercial units ranging in size from 19,500 sq ft to 59,000 sq ft.
Caddick Developments completed a forward sale of all five buildings to AAA Property Group and all units were pre-let ahead of completion. Dudleys then worked alongside KPP Architects and Caddick Construction to deliver the scheme for AAA Property Group.
Peter Dixon, director at Dudleys, said: “The development area staggered the high wall of former open cast coal mine workings and had four recorded mine shafts. We undertook an extensive enabling package of works which required a robust earthworks specification to define appropriate construction parameters.
“We employed a pragmatic and value driven approach to what has been a challenging site to develop. Our collaborative efforts to the review and monitoring process associated with the ongoing validation of the works helped to avoid delays within a tight delivery timeline and we have helped the client to regenerate a disused site, supporting major job creation and economic growth for the area where demand for logistics space is high.”
AAA Park, Moor Park 25 has been identified as one of 10 Enterprise Zones across the Leeds City Region area which allows a number of incentives for occupiers including business rate reductions and support packages.
York plans further event to promote female entrepreneurs
City of York Council is to host another joint event with NatWest to help support female entrepreneurs and businesses leaders in the city.
The council is again partnering with NatWest to host ‘ A Women in Business’ networking event to promote female entrepreneurship and amplify the support available for female business owners in York.
The event will be held on Thursday 7 July from 11am to 2pm in the Wonderbar at Impossible York, 3 St. Helen’s Square. It aims to inspire and empower women to start, grow or upscale their business.
The headline speaker for this event will be Emma Godivala, Director of York Gin Ltd. She will be talking about ‘Trying to do the right thing’, and will share her experience of growing a business while looking after the products, people and the planet.
Alongside hearing the personal story of an inspirational business leader, participants will learn what business support York businesses can access from City of York Council, NatWest, Ad:venture and Enterprise Made Simple. The talks will be followed by a Q&A session and speed networking.
The networking event welcomes women business owners, senior managers and women thinking about starting a business in York. Interested participants can find more information about the event and register for a free place online.
Rachel Dixon, Local Enterprise Manager, NatWest, said: “The last few years have been incredibly challenging for many businesses, and we know that female led businesses often face additional challenges. We want to play our part in helping them succeed by connecting them with support, advice and guidance that can make a huge difference.”
