At Palmers Solicitors, we recognise our responsibilities and the potential impact our business has on the local community and the environment where we all live and work.
We are committed to running a successful business but we also take steps to support our staff in initiatives which have a positive effect on our Corporate Social Responsibility aims.
What does this mean in practice?
We regularly review and, where possible, implement new initiatives which reduce our energy consumption and wastage.
We have maintenance contracts in place so that all major equipment is regularly serviced to help maintain energy efficiency.
We have adopted a number of waste management initiatives, including the recycling of paper, card, and printer cartridges. We also encourage all staff to recycle and we have recycling bins throughout the office areas.
We aim, where possible, to purchase recycled products, for example, recycled toner cartridges and paper products.
We also use the services of local businesses for stationery products etc. to keep lorry transport deliveries and our carbon footprint to a minimum.
We endeavour to work with partner organisations that share our environmental values.
We encourage our staff, where it is possible and appropriate to do so, to use email correspondence rather than paper correspondence.
We use in-house training and webinars where possible to avoid the need to travel, which helps reduce our carbon footprint.
The majority of company-related information is shared via internal email. For example, we have created email recipient groups/work-type teams so that we can send out relevant emails to specific groups, along with a weekly “Staff Bulletin” which is emailed to all staff.
You can find out about the measures we have put in place to reduce our carbon footprint here.
We support a number of charitable organisations through donation, sponsorship, advertising and attendance at a wide range of functions such as charity quiz nights, an annual Christmas Carol Concert, staff ‘Christmas jumper’ days, as well as formal dinners, receptions and luncheons.
Our staff regularly participate in charity fund-raising events from abseiling to cake sales.
Details of our latest charity fundraising events can be found here on our timeline
We encourage community work. For example, our staff are involved in a local school reading project and a number of our lawyers offer legal advice to the local CAB office.
We recognise the importance of education in our communities. Where appropriate, our staff are encouraged to apply for appointments as governors of schools and colleges.
Our practice works with local schools, colleges and universities to offer student placements and encourage students to join the legal profession.
We also support local schools through the sponsorship of student award schemes and we are actively involved in a mentoring scheme which inspires local students to aim for career success, by showing how hard work and a focus on studying can pay off in the long-term.
We promote equality and well-being amongst our staff. We are committed to maintaining a workplace where our staff can achieve our company’s collective goals in a mutually supportive way.
We provide:
- Clear, consistent and fair contracts of employment to all employees
- Benefits such as a pension scheme, private medical healthcare
- An employee of the quarter award to recognise outstanding performance
- A staff reward scheme for the introduction of new clients
- Various social events throughout the year
- Weekly staff e-bulletins
We recognise the importance of training and development to support career progression.
We are committed to providing a comfortable and safe physical environment in which to work. Comprehensive Health & Safety and Fire Safety Policies are in place. Risk assessments are carried out regularly and we have fire safety systems in place at all of our offices.
We are also committed to equality of opportunity in our recruitment and employment practices and we have an extensive equality & diversity policy and training in place.
Palmers is proud to be part of the Disability Confident movement of change which encourages businesses to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
Timeline
Palmers Solicitors is pleased to announce the winners of its festive ‘Guess the Name’ competition, raising £93 in support of the Polly Parrot Appeal. All members of staff, and our clients, were invited to join us in naming four Christmas-themed teddy bears in aid of the children’s wards at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital Trust. We can now announce that the winners were Karis Mowbray from our Basildon office, Paulina Matthews from our Thurrock office, Wendy Savill from our South Woodham Ferrers office and finally Mrs Wisby, one of our clients at our office in Rayleigh.
We have raised another £198.25 for the Polly Parrot Appeal at our Christmas anything day and raffle. Our team across the five offices went all out with their festive outfits, from classic Christmas Jumpers to full-on costumes. This year, our very happy winner of the ‘Best Dressed’ title is Gina Newman for her incredible Rudolf costume.
We were delighted to sponsor the Best Dressed Window competition for retailers on Rayleigh High Street, organised and judged by Rayleigh Town Council. This year, many local businesses went above and beyond to create stunning festive window displays, giving the judges a tough task in selecting their favourites. On 17 December, Adam Davis, a Director at Palmers Solicitors, joined members of the Rayleigh Town Council to present trophies, certificates, and hampers filled with Christmas treats to the deserving winners.
The Christmas spirit certainly came to Rayleigh when our annual carol concert saw a fantastic turnout, with 140 guests and brilliant performances from our brand-new choir, Cantare, and the Thundersley Brass Band, accompanied by Lucy Bailey’s amazing vocals. We raised £481.84 for the Polly Parrot Appeal and Rayleigh Town Museum.
This Christmas, Kimberley, Ricky, and Gina dressed up as Elf, Santa, and Rudolph and made their way to each of Palmer’s offices, delivering massive hampers filled with festive treats. It was our way of saying thank you to all of our dedicated team for the hard work they have put in throughout 2024.
We are proud to have supported the Chocolate Gift Box Selection Appeal! This appeal ran by Essex Business Partnerships saw us providing donations to the Endeavor Academy and Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund to support young people this Christmas. It was fantastic to be involved in such an amazing cause!
This Christmas, Palmers Solicitors invited students from Treetops School in Grays to showcase their creativity in a festive Christmas card competition for the firm. The entries were so impressive that selecting the winners proved to be a real challenge. We’re proud to support and celebrate the creative talents of our local community and it was a great way to get into the holiday spirit.
For World Kindness Day, we treated all our staff members to a bag of goodies, including some tasty sweet treats, to spread some positivity and show how even small acts of kindness can go a long way in making someone’s day.
Palmers were privileged to sponsor an award at the 1476 Squadron RAF Cadets presentation evening held on Friday at the spectacular Vulcan Restoration Trust! Erin Cronin and Helen Jago represented and and presented the award to a very deserving winner! They were truly inspired by seeing so many young people reaching their full potential. Well done to Toby Aitken who won the award for the Most Improved Cadet in light of his outstanding achievements this year.
Our support of the Essex Wildlife Trust continues! We are proud to have renewed our role as Investors in Wildlife for another year, helping to support their goal of a #WilderEssex.Essex Wildlife Trust makes a huge difference to our local environment and we are delighted to continue supporting their fantastic work!
Our intrepid team of runners were proud to get stuck in and ‘run wild’ for our longstanding charity partner, the Essex Wildlife Trust, taking on the Running Wild event at the famous Nuclear Races site! Our fundraisers faced a 5K race like no other, tackling water, mud and obstacles to support the region’s local wildlife and those who work to preserve it – efforts which we have supported for almost 30 years. Our challengers included Leigh Seber-Shelley, Secretary, Karis Mowbray, Legal Secretary, Jennifer Strickland, Document Clerk, and Rebecca Johnson, Legal Secretary.
Palmers Solicitors were proud to support Dementia Action Week by running a fantastic prize draw in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. We are delighted to announce that we raised an incredible £2,155 including Gift Aid! This money will go a long way in helping to make a difference in the lives of so many people living with dementia
We undertook MHFA England®’s training as part of our ongoing commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of our staff. Our aim is to ensure that every member of our team feels safe and supported in the workplace.
We are proud to have sponsored the Rochford Hundred Rugby Club’s Mini’s 2024 Festival Tour! The event took place over the weekend, and we were delighted to be involved once again in our local community!
We attended the Changing Pathways International Women’s Day Afternoon Tea! The event was held at Ye Old Plough House in Brentwood and raised an amazing amount of money for charity. Our amazing team members Sarah Dowie, Ivana Sidey, Erin Duffy, Laura Stock, and Farah Mahfooz attended to represent Palmers, donating a bottle of Moet Chandon, an Echo Dot, and a box of toiletries for the raffle!
We have been named ‘SME of the Year’ at the Rochford District Business Awards! As proud members of our community, we are proud to have achieved such a prestigious award.
Continuing the seasonal spirit, we raised £289.22 for the Polly Parrot Appeal and Rayleigh Town Museum with our Christmas Anything Day and raffle. Getting inspired, the team sported a range of Christmas jumpers, hair accessories, jewellery and pyjamas – even a few festive Grinches embraced the season with some creative costumes.
The Christmas spirit certainly came to Rayleigh on 14 December, when our annual carol concert saw a fantastic turnout, with 130 guests and a special appearance from our charity partner, Polly Parrot. With performances from Lucy Bailey and the Aveley & Newham Brass Band – alongside plenty of seasonal refreshments – we raised £325 for the Polly Parrot Appeal and Rayleigh Town Museum.
We attended the Rayleigh Christmas light switch-on! In aid of the Polly Parrot Childrens Appeal – Basildon and Thurrock Hospitals Charity Parrot Appeal and Rayleigh Town Museum, we collected donations of £120.70.
Reflecting our long-standing support for the Essex Wildlife Trust, we celebrated our 40th anniversary in line with our environmental pledge and going even greener. Our team came together on 3 November 2023 at Langdon Nature Discovery Park to plant 40 trees to reaffirm our commitment to environmental working practices and the local community.