CM MARCH 2022

SHEFFIELD & District Branch
members and guests logged
into their virtual branch
meeting on 25 January, with
their own refreshments in
hand. Branch committee
member Jamie Thornton opened the
meeting before handing over to guest
speaker, Neil Jinks of Court Enforcement
Services.
Neil talked us through the benefits of
litigation and enforcement, the history of
High Court enforcement, the process and
costs, attendance and powers, protecting
brand and reputation and the future of
High Court enforcement. Neil shared
with us two case studies, one involving
EAST of England Branch held its AGM on
13 January. Chairman Atul Vadher reported
on a challenging but successful year, with
branch meetings held every month and
seven events. These included returning
to work in the office and how best to
manage the transitions, promoting CICM
benefits, to ‘a day in the life of an
Enforcement Agent’. The Branch continued
to show versatility with excellent speakers
and good Branch committee moderators.
The Branch LinkedIn group had
expanded from 742 members to 1127
members - a useful platform for promoting
the events and for sharing relevant content
within the credit community. Nine of the
10 existing committee were re elected. Atul
BRANCH NEWS
AGM and Ask an Expert
Sheffield and District Branch
a landing aircraft and the other a very
large mansion, before leaving us with his
top 10 tips for successful enforcement.
Time allowed for a question and answer
session where the merits and timing of
high court enforcement of regulated debts
was discussed and when asked what the
most problematic disposal of seized goods
was, Neil warned of the issues surrounding
perishable goods!
Secretary Myron Fedak then opened
the AGM, dealing with the formalities
of apologies, approval of the 2021 AGM
Minutes, approval of the 2021 Branch
Financial Report, nominations and
elections of Committee members for 2022
and then a review of the 2021 branch
thanked Chris Parker of Goodman Masson,
standing down after five years, for his, and
the company’s, contribution to the Branch.
Atul spoke of the challenges people have
faced around mental health in recent times
and all agreed the need for continuing
support between the committee and all
Branch members, as well as the use of our
platform to raise awareness.
Treasurer Mark Maynard summarised
the Branch accounts, which due to the lack
of physical events once again meant that
the bank balance was healthy.
Atul Vadher agreed with all that we will
continue to plan and deliver more events
throughout the coming year and thanked
everyone for their attendance on the night
events. Branch Chair, Paula Uttley, on
behalf of all the committee present and
past, thanked retiring Vice Chair Carl
Goodman for his years of service and
his excellent history tours of Sheffield,
and also thanked retiring Branch Secretary/
Treasurer Myron Fedak for his many years
of dedicated service to the branch in a
number of committee roles over the years.
Paula also recorded her personal thanks to
Myron, and said that it had been a pleasure
that her first task as chair in 2018 had been
to nominate Myron for Meritorious Service
Awards, which had been awarded and so
very well deserved.
By Paula Uttley, Branch Chair
Annual review and Insolvency update
East of England Branch
and their input over the past year.
Prior to the AGM, Paul Atkinson from
FRP Advisory LLP gave an update on the
insolvency position. He explained why
levels of administration appointments had
been lower than expected, but liquidations
were rising, detailing the sectors having
most difficulty. Steps such as the Rating
(Coronavirus) & Director Disqualification
(Dissolved Companies) Act would deter
directors from liquidating companies
not actually insolvent, and liquidators
will be looking for any possible director
malfeasance.
By William Plom, CICM East of England
Branch Secretary
The return to the office webinar
IT feels a lifetime ago that we were uprooted
from our office desks and into the new
world of home working. Some 18 months
later, many are now navigating their way
back to the office full- or part- time. Last
October, the East of England Branch held
a webinar – The Return to the Office:
What You Need to Know – but following
the Plan B restrictions which saw people
working from home again in December
and January, the discussions are still
relevant again now. During the webinar,
Branch committee members William Plom
of Hays and Liam Hastings of Hastings &
Co Solicitors, explored the feelings about
returning to the office, and the legalities.
William said that Hays’ recent study
showed 43 percent of employers, but only
32 percent of employees, felt a full-time
return to the office was the most likely
long-term outcome. Interestingly, Will
noted just three percent felt a move to fully
remote working was likely, indicating the
majority of workers expect some variation
of a hybrid working model from employers.
He urged caution to businesses not
already looking at any kind of flexibility,
with indications showing that the most
skilled candidates were gravitating towards
organisations that offer some remote
working. No ‘one size fits all’ model exists
for businesses’ approach, and flexibility
must be balanced against commercial and
cultural needs.
Liam discussed the legal contractual
obligations of employers and staff, and the
challenges around bringing people back to
the office. Employment contracts usually
specify a ‘place of work’ which for most will
be the employer’s office, so it is technically
within an employer’s power to enforce a
return. Complicating this now though, is
an employee’s right to ‘reasonable requests’,
and after so long working remotely, it may
become harder for employers to justify
insistence on a full-time office policy.
Overall, a highly informative and
engaging discussion which offered useful
insights into post-pandemic expectations,
and a must watch for anyone who still has
questions around the subject.
By Chris Parker, Goodman Masson –
Specialist Credit Management & Billing
Recruiter
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / March 2022 / PAGE 47