If you have been dismissed from your employment you may be able to claim unfair dismissal. Unfair dismissal is a legal term which applies to a dismissal from employment which is deemed by an employment tribunal to be unfair.

Unfair dismissal is a right which comes from the Employment Rights Act 1996. It is therefore a statutory right. It can only be claimed in an employment tribunal and not in a court.

Employment tribunals are very similar to courts but theoretically they have more relaxed rules on procedure and in relation to evidence. I say in theory because in some areas tribunals are just as strict when it comes to following the rules in relation to evidence.

So who can claim unfair dismissal? There are certain criteria that must be met.

The first is that you must have been an employee. Being a worker such as an agency worker or being self-employed is not enough.

The second is that you must have at least one year’s continuous service. There are some exceptions to this rule. If you have been dismissed for such things as your trade union activities, performing health and safety duties or whistle blowing you may be able to make a claim in your first year of service. This list is not exhaustive but these are the most common exceptions.

The third is that you need to have been dismissed. This can be with or without notice from your employer. It can also include a situation where you are forced to resign because your employer has breached a major term of your contract, for example where your employer breaches the implied term of trust and confidence.

If you meet the above criteria then you may be able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Whether or not your dismissal was fair depends on the reason for the dismissal, whether the statutory dismissal procedure was followed and whether a generally fair procedure was followed.

For your employer to fairly dismiss you it first must show that the reason for the dismissal was a potentially fair reason under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The most common potentially fair reasons are (mis)conduct, capability (either a lack of skills or ill health making you incapable) and redundancy.

Even if your employer can show that it has dismissed for a potentially fair reason then it must still show that it has followed the statutory dismissal procedure. To comply with this it must write to you giving you the reasons why it contemplates dismissing you and invite you to a meeting discuss the situation. It must give you adequate time to prepare for the meeting and give you all the information it will be relying on at the meeting. At the meeting it must listen to your representations. It should make a decision following the meeting and confirm it in writing. If the decision is taken to dismiss you then you should be given a right of appeal. If you do appeal your employer should hold an appeal meeting and following the meeting it should confirm the outcome in writing. If this procedure is not followed the dismissal will be automatically unfair.

Finally your employer must follow a fair procedure. What amounts to a fair procedure depends on the circumstances of the case. So for example if you have been dismissed for misconduct then your employer needs to have fully investigated the situation, let you know what they have found out during the investigation, given you an opportunity to have your say at the disciplinary meeting and considered whether in the circumstances it would be fair to dismiss you. A failure to follow a fair procedure may result in a finding of unfair dismissal.

If you do succeed you may be able to claim re-instatement or re-engagement and you can claim compensation. You will be able to get a basic award which is compensation for being unfairly dismissed plus you can claim your loss of earnings if you have not got another job or you have got another job but it pays less. There is a cap on the amount of compensation that can be claimed in the employment tribunal in unfair dismissal cases. The cap is GBP60,000 at the moment. Few people reach the cap though. In fact the average amount of compensation awarded in unfair dismissal claims is only about GBP9,000.

Shelley Green is the owner of http://www.knowyourights-click.co.uk, a site that specialises in Law. The idea behind this site is to help individuals with their legal problems.

When dealing with issues of on site injury, finding an offshore oil rig injury lawyer should be simple. Of course, there can’t be all that many in the greater Dallas area, right? Surprisingly, there are more offshore oil rig injury law firms in the United States than patent lawyers. So how does someone who is suffering from an injury, with a little insult tossed in from the big wigs at the company’s headquarters for flavor, find the right attorney for their case?

In all honesty, there is no checklist formula that can answer that question for each individual injured party. There’s no magic formula that guarantees that if “you can answer ‘yes’ to all these questions” then you can be assured of a victorious win. Nothing in life actually works that way. Instead, due diligence, and a little seeking, can get the “right” lawyer for your case.

There’s really only a checklist for you. While your personal checklist won’t guarantee you anything, it will narrow down the likelihood that you can build a strong lawsuit with the help of an attorney that you can trust, that will involve you, and that has a strong standing among other attorneys in the area.

All lawyers who have been around for awhile work, in part, by reputation. Reputation means a lot to an offshore oil rig injury lawyer. With a strong reputation for winning lawsuits, these lawyers can usually demand higher settlements, and are able to negotiate these higher settlements faster and more often. After all, settlements are nearly always preferred to a court date for all parties involved.

A working relationship with your chosen attorney will help to determine the outcome of a lawsuit. The better the working relationship becomes, the stronger the case becomes. A working relationship with an offshore oil rig injury lawyer is vital to the process. How can you expect someone to represent you well if the two of you can’t communicate in the privacy of his or her office?

That expectation might be a little high. The communication skills of the lawyer not only directly impact how well the two of you work together, but it also directly impacts how well you will be represented in the court room should it ever come to a full blown lawsuit.

Your next item on your personal checklist is experience. We will count track record in with experience for argument’s sake. An attorney who has filed dozens of cases but hasn’t brought home a settlement for any of his or her clients is pretty much telling you what kind of attorney they are by track record alone. Of course, a newbie isn’t going to have a stellar track record no matter how good they may be.

This isn’t really the time to try out a newbie. You’re going to want someone who has been around the block a few times. This may not seem fair to the newbie, but on the off chance that they are less than desirable, do you really want them to discover they entered the wrong field during your case? Probably not. Even if it’s your nephew or some distant relative who showed up after your second cousin twice removed told them about your accident. Experience states a lot about an attorney and a lot about how your offshore oil rig injury lawsuit is going to be handled.

The next item on your personal checklist entails communication skills. During your consultation, pay attention to the way the offshore oil rig injury lawyer communicates. Does he or she make you feel incompetent with their use of specialized terms? How might that make a jury on the fence feel? Are they able to articulate themselves and your situation well? Do they use the word “um” three times for every sentence? If you feel that they are simply speaking to you like an advisor over coffee, he or she may be an excellent find. If you leave the consultation just as confused about your questions as you were when you first went in then it is likely that he or she will not be able to present your lawsuit well to a jury.

Last but not least, trust your gut. If you get to check the “yes” box for everything except your overall comfort level, then maybe it would be wise to listen to your gut reactions. Choosing the right lawyer for your case is vital. Never be afraid to express concerns when you have them. After all, it is the position of the offshore oil rig injury attorney to represent you and your best interests. You have the right to question whether or not that is being done.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on cases involving maritime injury, maritime contracts, and the Jones Act Law. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com

Mesothelioma is certainly nothing that anyone could possibly want. When the mesothelioma symptoms start – it immediately becomes a serious matter. Something needs to be done immediately – and it is going to cost a bundle. It is time for you to talk to your top mesothelioma lawyer in New York to see about getting a mesothelioma settlement.

In order to get an accurate mesothelioma diagnosis, there will need to be several tests made. These generally involve scanning with X-ray, CT scans, or possibly a MRI. After mesothelioma is named as a possibility, the doctor will need to do a biopsy in order to be sure whether or not it is actually mesothelioma. From there, the doctor will need to determine the stage of the cancer – to know if and how far it may have spread inside the chest or abdominal cavity.

When someone receives a mesothelioma diagnosis, it is just as important that you talk to your mesothelioma attorney as it is to your doctor. The primary reason is that the treatment of mesothelioma is costly, and someone else is most likely responsible for your having been exposed to asbestos. Your attorney may be able to help you pinpoint the time and place that you were exposed to asbestos – it is possible that you may not even be aware that you were being exposed to so deadly a substance.

It has been known for many years that asbestos is harmful to humans. This fact was largely disregarded by the various industries that used it until the mid-70’s. This would include the shipping industry, the automotive, the manufacturing, and the railroad industries.

It is estimated that there has been about 5,000 different products that used asbestos through the years. One good thing is that not everyone who has been exposed to asbestos will get mesothelioma. It is this carelessness of the industry that has resulted in many more people getting mesothelioma than was necessary. Many states have also given permission for the lawsuits to take place.

Although mesothelioma is still rather rare – affecting only about 1 in a million people, it was general negligence on the part of the industry that brought it about. This means that it may be possible in your case to start a mesothelioma lawsuit that would enable you to recover some of the medical expenses and payment for other related things that go along with it. In general, your mesothelioma attorney can have a consultation with you to establish how and when you may have come in contact with asbestos, or other similar fiber.

Mesothelioma is not always from asbestos, but it is in about 85% of the cases. Before mesothelioma symptoms begin to reveal themselves, as many as 30 to 50 years could have passed. This means that most people with mesothelioma symptoms would be in their later years and more vulnerable to the effects and rapid spread of the disease. If discovered early enough, the life may be extended for a couple more years. Normally, though, once the mesothelioma symptoms appear and there is a diagnosis, the individual has less than one year to live. So far, there is no known cure.

Your top mesothelioma lawyer in New York is ready to look at your case and see if there is the possibility of negligence on the part of an employer, building owner, or someone else. It may be possible to recover some of your losses if that can be proven in a court of law. A mesothelioma lawsuit will be necessary for you to get a mesothelioma settlement from the case.

It is very important for you to contact the top mesothelioma lawyer in New York because of the possible complexity of the case. The laws about mesothelioma issues are changing and you want your attorney to be ready – by having proven experience with other mesothelioma cases. Proven victories in the past is a good evidence that your mesothelioma attorney is willing to fight hard to win your case for you.

Your top mesothelioma lawyer in New York may also be helpful in relating to you some of the latest information about medical treatments that are available as well. He or she may be able to help direct you to doctors and services (or information) that will be valuable to you as you begin to fight your mesothelioma symptoms with various treatments, and, hopefully, will have a mesothelioma settlement to help you pay for the expenses.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Fen-Phen and PPH, Paxil, Mesothelioma and Nursing Home Abuse. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com

As incidents of Filipino citizens flying to the United States or other countries and not returning home pile up, government and the foreign embassies were prompted to implement stricter measures in issuing visas.

When a foreigner crosses cultures just to acquire a Filipina bride, he has to go through numerous hassles, like complying with mountains of paperwork, spending hundreds of dollars and waiting for a long time before he can finally take his Filipina bride to his country. Processing the requirements for a fiancee or spouse visa takes time and the length of the waiting time depends on where you live.

You can either apply for a fiancee visa (K1 Fiancee Via) or a spouse visa (IR-1) for your Filipina bride, but you still have to comply with several requirements. There are many specialized lawyers that can help you with this. The law requires that you and your Filipina girlfriend must have been legally free to marry and if your girlfriend is granted a fiancee visa, you have to marry her within 90 days after arrival in your own country.

You may need to show documents to prove your relationship with your Filipina girlfriend so keep track of those emails you exchanged with each other, letters, photos, plane tickets and any other proof that you have a relationship going on.

To obtain a spouse visa for your Filipina bride, first of all you must get married so you can petition your Filipina wife to migrate to your own country. If you get married in the Philippines, you must comply with all the requirements of applying a marriage certificate and getting married whether in the church or civil ceremony.

You must not forget to bring important documents if you want to get married in the Philippines, like your US passport, an Affidavit from the US Embassy, a divorce decree or spouse’s death certificate if you were previously married, proof that you have informed your parents if you are 22 to 24, or proof of parental consent if you are 18 to 21 years old. These are needed in filing for a marriage license. Your marriage must be authentic and valid under the Philippine laws, and only then can you file a petition to get a visa for your Filipina wife.

Here is a brief run on the procedures of acquiring a spouse visa. After you return to your own country, you should file a petition with the nearest office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) where your place of residence is covered. The INS will in turn send the papers to your Filipina bride for her to comply. You and your Filipina bride must return all required forms to the National Visa Center, who will in turn forward all of the documents to the US Embassy, including your Affidavit of Support.

Your Filipina bride will then have to wait for an interview with the consular officer in your Embassy who will determine if she will be issued a visa or not. If you join bride tours, they will take care of all the visa processing and immigration procedures but if you came on your own, you and your Filipina fiance will have to do the petitioning or applying of her visa.

Check out our reviews of all of the top filipina dating web sites at Filipina Dating Review. Don’t get scammed. Read our hard hitting and totally honest reviews of the top 20 filipina dating web sites on the internet. You’ll be glad you did. Visit now.

So you are considering a divorce, but you do not know much about the process itself except for what you have heard from your friends. You probably have children and a house. Maybe you own a business and you wonder what will happen with all of these things.

Perhaps the principal concern for everybody is the cost of the divorce, which can make people feel that trapped in their situation. While divorces are not cost-free, there are ways of making sure that you get the best value for your dollar.

Divorce Litigation is Expensive: Most divorces are expensive. Divorcing spouses can end up paying between $5,000 and $30,000 or more in legal fees and court costs.

If a divorce is more contentious, then it is likely to cost more because you may find yourself in court several times to argue about support payments, child custody, the use of your home, or restraining orders, all before you receive a final judgment of dissolution.

Every time you go back to court, you will incur fees for lawyer’s preparation, time spent in court, and any extra communication with your attorney before and after going to court.

Divorces often settle before trial, but if a case goes to trial, you will pay even more fees for your lawyer, as well as fees for expert witnesses like accountants and appraisers who are needed explain to the court how much the your property is worth.

Even after the trial and the judgment of dissolution, litigation may not be over. You will likely find yourself in court many times in the future to argue over spousal support, child support, and child custody and visitation.

Divorce Takes A Long Time and Time is Money: On top of all those expenses, most divorce cases take at least a year and some can drag on for several years because the divorcing spouses get caught up in the contentious nature of the proceedings.

Most people do not intend to drag out cases, but still find themselves involved in the divorce two or three years down the road.

For instance, your spouse might take a stubborn position, sometimes at the behest of his or her attorney, just to see if he or she can squeeze more out of you. You may give in to your spouse avoid a fight.

In that situation, your spouse took advantage of your wish to keep it nice. Or, you may simply be unable to pay your attorney to fight your spouse. This is a common strategy in ordinary litigation, but it can be devastating in a divorce because of the emotions involved.

On the other hand, you may fight your stubborn spouse, resulting in a vicious and expensive battle that could have been avoided by more flexible and reasonable approach. You will begin fighting over things that were not important, simply because the atmosphere dictates the fight and neither side wants to back down for fear that the other side will use the moment of compromise to pounce.

Before you know it, your divorce becomes an expensive and protracted battle, just like your friends told you it would be.

There Is A Way To Avoid A Long and Expensive Divorce: Fortunately, for most people, there is a way to avoid the conflict and complete a divorce within a much more reasonable length of time and at much lower expense.

Collaborative law is a process that when properly implemented will prevent exactly the kinds of scenarios presented above. It can cost much, much less, and take only a few months, instead of several years. Most importantly, it is designed to prevent the contentious and emotionally draining litigation practices by preventing animosity and encouraging cooperation.

How It Works: In the collaborative process, you will begin by recognizing that scenarios like the one described above can happen without their really intending them, simply because of the adversarial nature of the process.

The process begins by selecting collaborative lawyers, who are specially trained in the collaborative process. Very few lawyers are trained in collaborative divorce, and because the approach is so radically different, an untrained lawyer will usually be less effective and more expensive.

In response to that terrible prospect, both you and your spouse, along with your collaborative lawyers, agree in writing to be open and respectful, not to take your dispute into court, and not to take unreasonable positions just to see if they can succeed in squeezing more out of the other side. You will openly negotiate the terms of your divorce, making mutual agreements about property division, child and spousal support payments, and child custody and visitation.

You will negotiate the agreements together, in a series of meetings with your spouses and your respective collaborative attorneys.

Some collaborative divorces can be completed with just one or two such meetings, others take a few more. Almost all of them are completed within a few months, though, without going to court, without racking up shocking attorney fees, and without using litigation to destroy the you and your spouse’s financial and emotional stability.

Erin Rhames-Childs and Jerry Childs are also Fresno divorce litigation attorneys who provide services for divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, adoptions, guardianships, grandparent rights, domestic partnerships, and more. Visit us on the web at www.childsandchilds.com

The number of new H-1Bs issued each year in the United States is subject to an annual congressionally-mandated quota. Each H-1B quota applies to a particular Fiscal Year, which begins on October 1. Applications for the upcoming Fiscal Year are accepted beginning on the preceding April 1 (or the first working day after that date).

All employers who are thinking about filing for an H-1B visa, for fiscal year 2009, must do so as early as April 1, 2008; otherwise, they are taking the chance that the quota will run out for 2009. In 2007, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (”USCIS”) received approximately 120,000 petitions, and the quota of 65,000 petitions (which were randomly selected) was filled on the first date filing was permitted, April 1.

In addition to the 65,000 quota, there is a separate allocation of 20,000 additional H-1B visas for those with a Masters degree or higher, earned at a U.S. university. For the fiscal year 2007, this allocation was filled approximately four weeks after the first permissible date of filing.

The H-1B is the most frequently obtained temporary work visa under the non-immigrant visa category in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H), and is available for full-time employment.

The H-1B classification is for “specialty occupations” only, which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, law, accounting, business specialties, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent as a minimum.

If the occupation requires a license to perform the duties of the job, the alien must have that license prior to the approval of the H-1B petition. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer.

Only “new employment” is covered under the 65,000 H-1B quota. Someone who has received an H-1B within the last six years and applies for another H-1B with a different employer is not subject to the quota. H-1B extensions as well as H-1B petitions by institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, or nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations are also not counted against the quota.

Below is a list of common errors that cause an H-1B petition to be rejected:

1. Incorrect fees: It is suggested to submit fees in separate checks. This lessens the likelihood of unintentional math errors when calculating the total fees due.

2. Inconsistent and incorrect answers on form I-129 and supplements. Double check the petition for consistency.

3. If your worker is or has been a J-1 worker, note that Part C, #4 of I-129 H-1B Data collection Supplement does not refer to all Js with a waiver of 2 year foreign residency rule (212e). Do not check “yes” unless your worker is a doctor who has been granted a Conrade 30 waiver to work in a medically underserved area.

So, if you’re an employer looking to sponsor an employee for an H-1B visa, do not delay! Contact experienced legal counsel immediately, since it takes several weeks to translate transcripts and have an equivalency evaluation for college and work experience and to prepare all necessary forms.

File the petition by April 1, 2008, and file it correctly. Incorrect applications will not be accepted, and this may prevent or slow down the process of obtaining the H-1B process considerably.

Eli Kantor is an attorney in private practice in Beverly Hills, CA representing employers in all aspects of labor, employment and immigration law. For more information contact Eli at (310) 274-8216 or visit his websites: Sexual Harassment Prevention and Beverly Hills Immigration Law

Construction and physical labor industry in Philadelphia is quite common vocation for many citizens. With it comes the possible risk of injury and the need for compensation that follows. If the employer cannot foot the lost wages, then a claim for workers compensation can be filed through the state of PA . There is a good deal of claims for workers compensation, and the steps and time frame can be hard and lengthy. The following information will go over some routes in finding more resources regarding Philadelphia workers compensation as well as those in the rest of the state of Pennsylvania.

The Filing Process

So according to the PA Workers’ Compensation Act, almost all employers have to provide workers compensation coverage for their employees, which included even part-time or seasonal work staff. However, there are some who can actually either elect out of workers compensation and there are some workers who may be exempt such as: agricultural workers, volunteers, and casual workers. If you are one of these, and are injured, check to see if your company had submitted any compensation coverage or you can read further to source further help.

In the Pennsylvania government they have the forms with the prefix LIBC. After your employer was notified of the accident a LIBC-500 form is to be claimed. Note that you will want to tell your employer within 21 days of the injury to get the claim rolling. From there it’s up to your employer to report to their insurance who will also report to the appropriate PA bureau in short order. After the form is dropped off with the state bureau, depending on circumstance, you’ll receive notice prompts on what to do. Some of the language can get pretty heavy, and the compensation, if approved, is usually around the 100 dollars per week range. Some workers, depending on the damage and disability they are going through, will decide to litigate for further coverage.

Attorneys and Other Help

In Philadelphia it’s certainly not hard to find those who want to help you when there is money involved. But it also should be a warning to be careful with who you choose as a lawyer if you are hurt and want to litigate for further workers comp. A good source if you are associated with the Union is to contact your local chapter. A chapter’s site may actually have good references and may even have a flow of events for you to follow while referencing a WC claim. They may have someone you can call up for advice. Some attorneys give discounts on fees for union employees.

While looking for an attorney, as a precaution, check with the PA bar association before you obligate yourself to a lawyer. Make sure their practice is of a reputable sort (refer to the first paragraph).

When finding an attorney, try looking them up by location and type of litigation. For instance, if had an auto accident while on the job look under Philadelphia auto accident attorney or lawyer as a search term, or again check with the bar association index.

The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer. Daniel M. Jaffe (http://www.danjaffelaw.com/) is a Philadelphia construction accident attorney. He has represented individuals for 30 years, giving the individual great legal leverage and personal justice with legitimate litigation cases.