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
We marked the countdown to Christmas by raising funds for Lakeside’s Give a Gift initiative and the Thurrock Young Carers initiative. Members of our team had a stall at Warren Primary School’s Christmas Fete and raised further money at a Give a Gift day at our offices. The £287 total purchased 16 stars from the Give a Gift Tree at Lakeside which provides Christmas presents for local underprivileged children, with the remaining cash donated to the Thurrock Young Carers initiative.
We chose four fantastic designs by pupils at Treetops School in Grays, which were used in our company’s 2017 Christmas e-card. Treetops is a special school for pupils aged from three to 19 who have moderate learning difficulties. First prize was awarded to Rebecca Cole-Velvin, aged 10, second prize was awarded to Jacob Lorenzo Roberts, aged six third prize went to Callum Treggunno aged eight and fourth prize was awarded to Abudulmalik Adeyanju, aged eight.
Alongside accountancy firm, Rickard Luckin, Palmers held its annual Carol Concert at St Martin of Tours Church in Basildon which, this year, raised money in support of the Polly Parrot Appeal and the Essex Community Foundation.
We helped celebrate local schoolchildren’s poetic flair with a festive-themed poetry competition at Rayleigh Primary School. The competition was divided by age group into four categories, with prizes for the top three festive-themed poems. First prizes were awarded to Abigail Wilson, Year 1; Lucy Barnett, Year 2; Matilda Barry, Years 3 and 4; and Oliver Cheung, Years 5 and 6. As part of their prize they were invited to read their poems at our Christmas Carol Concert at St Martin’s Church in Basildon.
Money saving specialists from organisations including the Citizens Advice Bureau, JobCentre Plus and Basildon Council came together to share their expertise at the town’s Money Matters event held at the Basildon Centre, sponsored by Palmers Solicitors. This series of drop-in sessions helped residents to find out how they can save money on their gas and electricity bills, while also getting some helpful legal advice from our team.
We helped to celebrate the achievements of Thurrock’s education professionals when we sponsored and presented the Aspiring Leader award at the Thurrock Education Awards at Thurrock Civic Hall. BJ Chong, a Director at our company, presented the prestigious award to Jamie Stephens of Chadwell St Mary Primary School.
Palmers Solicitors sponsored the Voluntary Group of the Year award at the Basildon Council Volunteer Awards. The award was presented by Lee McClellan, a Director at our company, to the Food Ministry Team at St. Andrew’s and Holy Cross Churches in recognition of their efforts to provide food and company to children and their families, as well as to the elderly and socially isolated and the wider community.
The Polly Parrot Appeal, which raises funds for the children’s wards at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals, has been announced as Palmers Solicitors official charity for the coming year, with a series of events and fundraising initiatives, including the company’s annual carol service in December. Each year, around 6,500 younger patients stay on the hospitals’ children’s wards and a further 20,000 visit for an outpatient appointment.
Palmers Solicitors sponsored the Town Mayor’s Charity Concert in South Woodham Ferrers. The concert, which was held at Dame Elizabeth Hall at William de Ferrers School, raised funds for the Town Mayor’s Charity, Muscular Dystrophy UK, and featured the Leigh Orpheus Male Voice Choir.
Palmers Solicitors has recommitted to providing the best possible support to those living with dementia and their families, by training the new staff within its Older Client team as Dementia Friends. Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative that aims to promote knowledge about the different forms of dementia. The majority of Palmers Solicitors’ older client team are Dementia Friends and, following the recent expansion of the team, we invited Gillian Gibson, an Alzheimer’s Society volunteer, to provide an information session.
A pancake-themed fundraiser raised hundreds of pounds for a local hospice charity. The event, which included a pancake race, was held by Palmers Solicitors at our South Woodham Ferrers offices. The event raised £200 for the Farleigh Hospice in Chelmsford through donations from staff, clients and contacts who attended.
A slice of Hollywood big-screen glamour is enjoyed by the community in South Woodham Ferrers, thanks to the town’s monthly Champion Film Club, which is sponsored by Palmers Solicitors. The club is held at the Town Council on the second Wednesday of each month. Doors open at 12.30pm for tea, coffee and biscuits, with films starting at 1.30pm.
Members of our Wills, Trusts and Probate department supported Dementia Awareness Day on Friday 20 January. Members of the team also signed up as Dementia Friends and wore blue to raise awareness of the condition.
Members of our team wore Christmas jumpers to work, with each making a donation to St Luke’s Hospice in Basildon. A total of £314.35 was raised by staff, through the donations as well as a raffle and a competition to win prizes.
Our company supported the creativity of local schoolchildren for our 2016 Christmas card design. Designs created by pupils from Treetops School in Thurrock were used for our annual Christmas e-card. First prize was awarded to Will Stanley, aged 8, second prize was awarded to Vincent Spencer, aged 6, third prize went to William Bates, aged 10, and fourth prize went to Madeleine Davis, also aged 10.
Kimberley Portas, who works as legal assistant within our residential property team at our Basildon office has signed up to the London Marathon to raise funds for St Luke’s Hospice. This will not be Kimberley’s first London Marathon, however. In 2012, she also took part in the race for St Luke’s Hospice, raising more than £1,800 in the process.
Our staff held a cake sale as part of Macmillan Cancer Support’s coffee morning initiative. A total of £194.06 was raised at the event, which was organised by Associate Executive, Nicola Tubbs. The event was attended by a number of the company’s staff as well as around 25 clients and contacts.
Palmers Solicitors sponsored and took part in the judging of the Inspirational Role Model category at the Basildon Council Volunteer Awards. The award was won by Carol Franklin who was nominated for her work in support of the Steeple View Community Centre.
Our company sponsored an award for Outstanding Student of the Year 2016 at Pitsea-based Basildon Upper Academy. The winner, Charlie Murray-Woodrofe, took home an e-reader and a certificate and also secured a two day work experience placement at Palmers Solicitors. Charlie wants to become a solicitor in the future and is hoping to study Law at university in 2017.
Palmers Solicitors, is sponsoring the Inspiring Career Opportunity Award at the Thurrock Education Awards 2016. The Inspiring Career Opportunity Award recognises innovative projects or opportunities which have shown dedication in helping children and young people make the transition into work. This is the third consecutive year that we have sponsored an award category, having sponsored the Inspiring Leader Award in 2014 and 2015.