In providing services to its clients, Trade Union Legal LLP (trading as UnionLine) is bound to comply with applicable Law and Regulatory Requirements. Notwithstanding the disclaimer in our Website Terms and Conditions, such obligations apply to our work for clients and take precedence over any contractual arrangement between Trade Union Legal LLP and its clients. The following pages set out those requirements and certain information we are obliged to give clients.
TUL LLP and UnionLine means Trade Union Legal LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated in England & Wales with registered number OC388189 whose registered office is at 250 Shepcote Lane, Sheffield, S9 1TP.
Trade Union Legal LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, ID Number 608309, which is the independent regulatory body of The Law Society. Click here for the current regulatory requirements imposed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We are bound by a number of regulatory requirements including rules on conduct, financial services, accounting and professional indemnity.
VAT number 183 0987 80
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)
In accordance with the requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, we maintain qualifying Professional Indemnity Insurance, details of which can be provided on request.
Anti-Money Laundering
There are several items of legislation aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing activities and enabling prosecutions to be brought. In terms of the controls required by financial businesses and law firms, the important legislation (which apply to any proceeds of crime, however minor) comprises:
– The Money Laundering Regulations 2017; and
– The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.
In order to comply with these Acts, there will be occasions when we will be obligated to undertake client due diligence measures and ongoing monitoring for both new and existing clients and we may need to verify the identity of prospective clients before accepting them as new clients. Due diligence may be carried out on connected parties such as the beneficial owners of a client as part of the verification process. Accordingly, we ask clients to provide any verification information we request promptly.
Under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, we may be obliged to make a report to the relevant authorities (such as the National Crime Agency) if at any time we become aware of or suspect (whether from the client concerned or any other person) the existence of proceeds of crime in relation to any services on which we are engaged. Our obligation to make such a report will, in certain circumstances, override our duty of solicitor/client confidentiality and we may not be permitted to inform the client concerned whether or not we have made, or might intend to make, such a report.
We may terminate the provision of any services to a client, or be instructed to do so by the relevant authorities, if such client fails to provide evidence of identity or if we suspect that the client or any other party connected with such client or with the matter is involved in activities prescribed by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Tax Evasion
We do not tolerate tax evasion or the facilitation of tax evasion in any circumstances, whether committed by or facilitated by a client, our employees or associated persons or companies. We are committed to fighting tax evasion and have policies and procedures in place to detect and prevent the facilitation of tax evasion offences in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Bribery Act
We are committed to preventing bribery and corruption and have a zero tolerance policy to it. It is our policy to comply with the Bribery Act 2010 and we have in place procedures designed to prevent our partners, directors, employees and associated persons such as agents and contractors from engaging in any activity which would constitute an offence under the Bribery Act 2010. These procedures include the carrying out of appropriate due diligence when required and the making and keeping of records in relation to gifts and hospitality (whether accepted or declined) sponsorship and advertising.
Confidentiality and Disclosure
We owe an overriding duty of confidentiality to our clients and former clients. Where we have a duty to disclose information to a client that duty does not extend to disclosing or taking into account any information in respect of which we owe a duty of confidentiality to another prospective, existing or former client. As a consequence, where we are aware of any information confidential to one client which is material to another client’s matter, such information will remain confidential regardless of the duty of disclosure owed by us to such other client and we will only act or continue to act for both clients where we are permitted to do so by our regulatory requirements.
Conflicts of Interests
Before accepting instructions we carry out a thorough standard conflict checking process, to ensure that no conflict of interests exists between us or another client in relation to the instructing client or the matter concerned.
Data Protection
Trade Union Legal LLP is a data controller registered with the UK Information Commissioner. We shall process any personal information you provide to us or which we obtain in connection with providing our services to you (Personal Information) in accordance with our obligations under the Data Protection Regulations, other relevant legislation and our data protection registration. We may use any Personal Information for the following purposes:
(a) the provision of our services to you;
(b) disclosure to other advisers working for you on the same matter;
(c) fraud prevention, anti-money laundering purposes, anti bribery purposes and/or generally for the
prevention or detection of crime;
(d) to ensure the safety and security of our people and premises (where we also use CCTV);
(e) to administer your account with us, including tracing and collecting- any debts;
(f) to conduct specific tests on our existing or new systems, networks, applications or software;
(g) advertising, marketing and public relations, including sending you direct marketing communications;
(h) to manage our business performance, to asses client satisfaction (such as by asking you to participate in
surveys) and generally to help improve our services;
(i) disclosure to our auditors, own legal and other professional advisors;
(j) for disclosure to our insurers and insurance brokers;
(k) as otherwise required by Regulatory Requirements; and
(l) where you have given your written consent to such disclosure
We may give Personal Information on a confidential basis to other third parties involved in the activities detailed above. We may also transfer any Personal Information to panel law firms or other third parties when required for the activities detailed above. We may allow Trade Union Legal LLP Individuals and other third parties involved in the activities detailed above to remotely access Personal Information. In such cases we will take appropriate reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect any Personal Information accessed or transferred against unauthorised or unlawful processing, its accidental loss, destruction or damage. For any queries on this, including to exercise the right of access to Personal Information we may hold about you or to have inaccurate information about you corrected please contact our Data Protection Manager at enquiry@unionline.co.uk. Subject Access requests should be put in writing and addressed to the Data Protection Manager at Trade Union Legal LLP, 250 Shepcote Lane, Sheffield, S9 1TP
Direct Marketing
If you do not wish to receive direct marketing communications from us, you must let us know in writing, addressed to us at any of our offices or by sending an email to enquiry@unionline.co.uk.
Financial Services and Insurance Mediation
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (“SRA”), the independent regulatory body of the Law Society of England and Wales, a designated professional body for the purposes of FSMA. Firms may carry out certain regulated activities without being authorised by the FCA, provided a designated body makes rules setting out the scope of the activities which may be undertaken. While we may provide advice to clients in relation to a matter which involves or relates to an investment, we are only able to provide such advice on a limited basis where an exemption under FSMA applies. Exemptions include the provision of the advice where it is an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide; where the advice can reasonably be regarded as a necessary part of our professional services or where the provisions of FSMA otherwise permit us to give the advice. We only provide legal services. Nothing that we say or do should be taken as advice on the investment merits of acquiring or disposing of particular investments (including insurance contracts) or as an invitation or inducement to anyone to engage in investment related activities, including insurance mediation (under FSMA or otherwise). While we may need to communicate to progress matters we are instructed on, any dialogue with us is in the capacity as professional legal advisers to our clients. Our clients are solely responsible for their investment and commercial decisions in respect of transactions. If in doubt about any investment, clients should seek advice from an appropriately qualified and authorised financial adviser. Any client who is unable to resolve any issues with us through the use of our Complaints Procedure may raised them through the complaints mechanisms provided by the SRA and the Legal Ombudsman.
Rules made under FSMA require a disclosure in the following terms before we provide a service that includes the carrying on of insurance mediation activities which are incidental to our professional practice:
Trade Union Legal LLP is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including redress if something goes wrong is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at http://www.fca.org.uk/register.
Interest Policy
If we hold money in a separate designated client account on your behalf, for example where the sum held is large, we will account to you for all the interest earned on that account (net of any tax deducted at source). The management separately of such funds may incur time or third party costs in dealing which the Firm reserves the right to charge.
We will not account to you for any interest in the following situations:
(a) if the amount calculated is £20 or less;
(b) on money held for the payment of a professional disbursement if the person to whom the money is owed has requested a delay in settlement;
(c) on an advance from us into our general client account to fund a payment on your behalf in excess of funds already held for you in that account;
(d) if there is an agreement to contract out of the provisions of this policy.
If we hold sums of money intermittently on your behalf, in our general client account, during the course of acting on a matter, and the sum in lieu of interest calculated for any single period is £20 or less, we will account to you if the total interest exceeds £20. Below that sum we consider that the administrative costs of dealing with the funds would exceed the interest due.
If money is held for a continuous period, and for part of that period it is held in a separate designated client account, we will account to you for a sum in lieu of interest for the rest of the period when the money was held in a general client account regardless of whether it is less than £20.
We will usually calculate and pay interest once your matter has been concluded unless interim payments are appropriate (for example in long running trust matters).
In calculating interest we will apply a rate that we believe reflects the market rate of interest paid on an instant access current account offered by a UK high street bank over the period when interest is due.
We will review the interest rates whenever the Bank of England changes its Bank Rate.
In determining the period over which interest is to be calculated, we will look at the following: the period between the date when the relevant funds received by us clear our account and, if we send the funds electronically, the date when the funds are sent or, if we send the funds by cheque, five days after a cheque is raised.
Interest Rates
Rate used on balances from 1 Sep 2015 – 0.10% (Matters with balances consistently over £200,000 may attract a rate of 0.15%)
Sending Documents
We are unable to return any documents you provide to UnionLine, unless otherwise advised. Please therefore ensure that if you provide UnionLine with any documents you only send copy documents. We will retain an electronic copy for our records, following which the documents will be confidentially destroyed. For more information on how we handle your personal information please see our Privacy Policy.