Legal Regulatory & Complaints

Outset Group Businesses – Important Information

The Outset Group includes two separate trading businesses:

Outset Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 04607565 authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited, is a subsidiary of Outset Limited providing health and safety advice and related training programmes and audit processes. UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited is not a SRA regulated business.

For the Solicitors Regulation Authority clickable logo click here. For more information on the clickable logo and what it means for you visit the SRA website

We always look to ensure very high degrees of consistency in quality, standards, indemnity insurance arrangements, limitations of liability and complaints procedures across the Outset Group. There will however be differences, in part because Outset Limited is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. As a regulated entity, Outset Limited’s indemnity insurance meets the standards required by the SRA www.sra.org.uk. In addition there may be circumstances in which the client would have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman or apply for a discretionary payment from the SRA Compensation Fund (primarily individuals and smaller charities, trusts and enterprises).

As UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited is not a provider of legal services, the SRA regulatory regime does not apply.

Outset Limited and UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited will only signpost, refer you to or recommend each other where they believe this to be in your best interests. More information is available here about how the businesses work together to enable you to make informed decisions before choosing to take advice.

Where UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited signposts or recommends Outset Limited for legal work, you always have the option to instruct another law firm instead. However, in some circumstances the cost of seeking legal advice from Outset Limited may be included in the package of support that you have purchased from the Outset Group whereas if you choose to obtain the advice elsewhere it will be at your own expense.

Outset Limited utilises a supervisory and operating protocol, and apply terms and conditions of trading intended to safeguard client interests and meet the outcomes based regulatory framework of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

In all cases those advising you will be individuals the Outset Group considers suitably skilled and experienced to provide the advice. They will use systems, procedures and protocols commonly applied across the Outset Group and be managed to the same standards of behaviour and competence within an integrated management structure.

If you have any concerns about our approach please speak with the person advising you, ask to speak with the relationship manager or director responsible or contact standards@outsetuk.com .

Statutory Information

Outset Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with the number 04607565 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under registration number 838851. Its VAT registration number is GB864 428 991.

Its trading office is at Vinters Business Park, New Cut Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 5NZ.

Its registered office is Camburgh House, 27 New Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3DN.

UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with the number 07106035. Its VAT registration number is GB134 239 429.

Indemnity Insurance

Outset Limited.

Details of the minimum terms for compulsory indemnity insurance can be found at www.sra.org.uk

Details of the current provider of indemnity insurance are:

AXIS Speciality Europe SE
Policy Period: 1 October 2023 to 30 April 2025
Policy Number: B0621POUUK000123
Coverage: GBP 3,000,000 any one claim

A copy of Outset Limited’s professional indemnity insurance policy is available upon request.

UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited

The company carries professional indemnity insurance with details available directly from its website or by contacting its Standards Leader.

Complaints Procedures

The Outset Group views complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future, as well as a chance to put things right for the person or organisation that is dissatisfied.

Challenges around our performance may provide us with opportunity to review the quality of our services and to make improvements. Even if you do not have a complaint, your suggestions as to how we might improve our services will be welcome.

Business streams within the Outset Group have separate complaint arrangements structured to meet client needs in the context of the work undertaken and separate regulatory frameworks.

Outset Limited

Outset Limited is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This section deals with complaints by clients who have received services from Outset Limited.

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the services provided by Outset Limited, including in relation to fees, you are entitled to complain.

You can make a complaint to the person who is responsible for the advice concerned. We are a relationship-led organisation so this approach has the advantage of stimulating an open, trusting relationship; something we are always keen to encourage.

Alternatively, if this is not appropriate or the complaint is in relation to more general matters, you can raise the issue with the relationship manager or director responsible for the services you receive. If you are uncertain about who this is, please email standards@outsetuk.com for more information.

In either case, we will aim to acknowledge a complaint within three working days. We will review our records carefully with the person or persons involved in the advice. We may also make wider enquiries as necessary. We will respond to your complaint fully as soon as practicable. We will aim to do so within 21 days, although on occasions we may first need more information from you in order to do so. Our response will usually be in writing. We may suggest a meeting and will inform you of our views about your complaint and any proposals to resolve it.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to our Chief Executive (our Complaints Officer for this policy). He will look at the issues afresh and carry out any further investigations as necessary. He will aim to inform you of his conclusions within 28 days of the complaint being referred to him. His response will include any proposals to resolve the complaint.

If it remains unresolved:

· The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. Please see their website for further details on reporting concerns.

· You may be eligible to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. This is a link to their make a complaint page.

The Legal Ombudsman will require you first to have registered an official complaint with us. Normally, the Legal Ombudsman expects you to give us 8 weeks to try to resolve the matter. For more information on how the Legal Ombudsman works please visit the Legal Ombudsman website. The Ombudsman site also includes some useful checklists and sample letters.

UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited

The Standards Leader for UK Health, Safety & Environmental Training Limited is its Managing Director.

The business is regulated in the provision of training, consultancy and audit through various regulatory and authorising bodies.

Further details of regulation and authorisation as well as complaints procedures, examination practice, malpractice and maladministration rules and appeal procedures are available on its website or by contacting its Standards Leader at is head office (marking your message FAO Standards Leader).

Litigation and Alternative Methods of Funding

Representation on litigation matters is provided through Outset Limited.

Please note that alternative funding methods exist for many kinds of litigation, such as ‘No win – no fee’ or insurance. Whilst nearly all litigation we conduct is on behalf of businesses or employers, there are circumstances where another body might pay your legal costs. It is also possible that you may hold a legal expenses insurance policy that may cover all or part of your legal costs.

We strongly advise that you carefully check for this. It is important. Not only might insurers contribute towards your legal costs, if you do have alternative methods of funding your case, it may affect the recovery of costs from your opponent. You should tell the lawyer supervising your matter if you think you may have such an alternative. If another body does pay your legal costs then, with your consent, we may have to tell that body about your dispute.

Scams

We take great care to ensure the safety of your information. Cyber Crime is a growing global problem, including emails designed to look like genuine communications but in fact sent by scammers. If you are in any doubt about a communication you have received please do not respond and do not open any attachments. Please speak with the individuals within the Outset Group that you deal with or telephone us. Working together in this way we can help to reduce the risk of fraudulent activity.

Interest Policy on Client Funds

This policy sets out how we deal with interest on money held by Outset Limited for clients.

Our Approach

Our policy is always to account to clients for interest we receive on a fair and reasonable basis for both the client and the Outset Limited.

Client funds are held in a pooled instant access client account with Barclays Bank (as the funds need to be immediately available for transactions). Unfortunately, rates of interest provided by the banks on instant access client accounts are significantly lower than rates that individual or company clients are likely to be able to obtain by investing the money themselves.

This is why we aim to hold client money for as short a time as is reasonably possible, consistent with completing transactions quickly and efficiently.

If we hold your money in our client we will account to you for a sum in lieu of interest (gross). How this is calculated is set out below.

When Interest is Not Paid

We will not pay interest to clients for money held in circumstances in which we are not required to do so and where we consider that this would be inappropriate. This includes:

where the amount of the interest calculated under our policy is less than £50.00 (for reasons of administrative cost and proportionality);
on money held for professional disbursements (such as a barrister or translator’s fee) if that person has requested a delay in payment of the fee;
on an advance by us into our general client account to fund a payment on the client’s behalf in excess of funds already held for the client in that account;
where we have agreed with the client not to pay any interest in their particular case
where the client has instructed us to hold the money in such a way that unusually no interest is in fact accrued.

How Interest is Calculated

The overriding approach is to be fair and reasonable. Generally this will require us to calculate and pay interest at the conclusion of a transaction.

In calculating interest, we will apply the rate that we received from Barclays Bank on our instant access client account during the period when your funds were held. We will review the interest rate regularly, including when the Bank of England base rate changes.

In working out the period over which interest is calculated, we use the period between the date the relevant funds were received by us as cleared funds and the date we send the funds electronically.

Bank Failure

If a bank which holds client monies fails, we will not be liable to you for any monies lost. However, you may be entitled to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You should check with the Financial Conduct Authority to find out whether or not you would be entitled to compensation. If a bank fails, we reserve the right to disclose to the FSCS the names and other details of clients whose money is held on the general client account as part of that process of claiming compensation.

If you want us to change the bank where your funds are held, you can make a written request for us to do this. We will endeavour to move your funds in accordance with your wishes. However, we cannot guarantee that your funds will be moved as and when requested and there may be additional professional cost depending on the circumstances.

If you have any concerns before or whilst funds are held in our client account on your behalf please raise them with the lawyers advising you.

This interest policy is published on our website to assist clients. Our terms and conditions of trading confirm that we will handle client funds and interest in accordance with our Interest Policy on Client Funds as reviewed from time to time.

Equality and Diversity

The Outset Group is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its companies’ dealings with clients, third parties and employees. An equality and diversity policy is available on request.