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BIOS Legal

BIOS Legal2024-08-23T11:10:04+01:00

Legal services

BIOS legal provides a range of legal services to members and their families, including personal injury claims and employment law advice, free simple wills, conveyancing, as well as an advice line that can cover any legal issue. At BIOS legal we also offer a free motor legal service, a criminal and regulatory service, family law service.

Our prime focus is entirely on providing exceptional legal services to BIOS members and maintaining 100% of their cost awarded by taking no deductions from their compensation.

For advice please call the Unionline on: 0300 333 0303 

Personal Injury & Accidents Service

If a member makes a personal injury claim with BIOS legal, they are guaranteed 100% of the compensation they win. All of the costs of making a personal injury claim are covered by your BIOS membership. Our personal injury team work to secure the best possible outcome for our members claim. We deal with:

Personal injuries at work can include lacerations or broken bones, or more serious injuries such as burns, amputations and sometimes fatalities. More than half of all employees don’t claim for accidents at work when they rightfully could do. Part of the reason for this may be that they are worried about upsetting their employer. A good employer should have insurance to cover the risk of accidents or injury in the workplace.

If a member makes a claim, their employer is far more likely to fix the cause of the problem. By making a claim the member is in fact helping their work colleagues by ensuring accidents and injuries don’t happen again.

If a member does have an accident they must make sure they inform the employer about the accident either by making sure it is recorded in the accident book or by giving them details of the accident and injury at a later date.

Industrial disease is the term used to describe a condition or illness which has developed through exposure to a dangerous substance or unsafe conditions in the workplace.

If a member or a family member have been attacked by an animal or suffered an injury because of an animal’s behaviour, they may be entitled to compensation under the Animals Act 1971.  Most claims under the act are from domestic animals, usually dogs. It is the owner of the animal who is liable for the damage.

BIOS legal can help members make a personal injury claim if they have suffered a trip or slip, when a local authority or third party was at fault.  The member may have fallen on a public highway or in a public place. A council has a duty to maintain pavements and highways for public use. Many serious injuries can arise from their failure to fulfil that duty.

A member may have suffered an injury through a slip, trip or fall on someone else’s property. Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, those in occupation or control of premises must take care, as is reasonable in the circumstances, to ensure that any visitor will be safe.

BIOS legal has a specialist team dealing with personal injury claims relating to defective products. If a member or a member of their family is suffering from a personal injury caused by a faulty or dangerous product, they may be able to claim compensation under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

When a member visits a consultant or a GP or visit a hospital for treatment, they should expect to be treated with an appropriate standard of skill and care. However, in some instances they may feel they have received substandard care. If this has caused an injury, they may have a claim against the doctor or hospital which treated them. Clinical negligence claims are a very different type of case to deal with compared to other personal injury claims. When instructing a solicitor to deal with a clinical negligence claim, it is important to us at BIOS legal that we choose a firm with the experience to bring a claim to a successful conclusion.

At BIOS legal we have access to teams of specialist medical negligence solicitors and lawyers who deal exclusively with medical negligence matters. They will be able to review individual circumstances and let the member know if they think it’s a valid case.

BIOS legal has a dedicated personal injury team with vast experience dealing with a substantial range of road traffic accidents. We always strive to obtain the maximum amount of compensation for our members, making the process as quick and easy as possible. We can help anyone who has suffered injuries in a road traffic accident which was someone else’s fault. We have extensive experience in acting for drivers, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists, and children injured in road accidents.

If a BIOS member were on holiday in the UK, we can help make a claim for compensation in the same way we would if the accident took place at work or in a public place. However, if the holiday was outside the UK it will need to meet certain criteria for us to be able to help claim for compensation.

BIOS legal can assist members with their claim for compensation if they have been attacked or assaulted in the UK during the last two years. Their claim will be pursued through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Members are covered through their BIOS membership and it is free for members and their families to make their claim to the CICA with BIOS legal.

Employment services

At BIOS legal, we are able to offer advice and legal support on all aspects of employment law and litigation for members. Our experienced team of legal advisors and employment lawyers can offer BIOS members the benefit of their expertise when it comes to their rights at work.

We can provide advice on a range of employment matters through our free dedicated advice line.

We can assess the merits of a claim relating to some of the following matters:

Although there are exceptions, members generally need two years’ continuous employment to bring a claim for unfair dismissal.

If after two years a member is dismissed by their employer, the dismissal must be based on one of five potentially fair reasons to dismiss:

  1. misconduct
  2. capability
  3. redundancy
  4. statutory duty or restriction
  5. some other substantial reason

Once an employer has established a potentially fair reason to dismiss, an Employment Tribunal will then look to see whether, in all the circumstances, the employer acted reasonably.

BIOS legal will advise the member on making a claim in the Employment Tribunal and we will be honest with them about their prospects of success with any claim. Please note that claims for unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal must be brought within three months of the effective date of termination. This must also comply with the ACAS Early Conciliation procedure, which will affect the time limit of the claim.

Any discrimination claim must be based on one of the following nine protected characteristics:

  1. Age
  2. Disability
  3. Gender reassignment
  4. Marriage and civil partnership
  5. Pregnancy and maternity
  6. Race
  7. Religion or belief
  8. Sex
  9. Sexual orientation

BIOS legal advisors can offer members advice and support if they believe they have suffered discrimination at work.

Our employment team is on hand to offer support and advice if a member has been made redundant. BIOS members may be able to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal through BIOS legal, and our legal advisors will assess the merits of a potential claim.

Claims for unfair dismissal and a contractual redundancy payment must be brought in the Employment Tribunal within three months of an effective date of termination. Claims for a statutory redundancy payment must be brought within six months of an effective date of termination.

A claim must also comply with the ACAS Early Conciliation procedure, which will affect the time limits a claim. Given the tight time limits and procedural requirements, it is vital that members do not delay in contacting us.

BIOS Legal provides advice on settlement agreements and endeavours to negotiation favourable terms with the employers.

If a member has been dismissed or suffered a detriment after exposing wrongdoing in the workplace, then they may be able to bring a claim under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, more commonly known as the Whistleblowing Act. The act provides a framework in which individuals must make disclosures through a prescribed procedure. Additionally, in order to qualify for protection, the subject matter of the disclosure must fall within certain categories

The Working Time Regulations 1998 is an important piece of legislation to protect the health and safety of workers.

The laws provide the following key rights:

  • A 48-hour limit on average weekly working time
  • Paid annual leave
  • Rest breaks
  • Daily rest
  • Weekly rest

There are some exceptions and excluded categories of workers, BIOS legal can check if a member has any concerns or queries and we will be happy to help.

The employment advice line is open to members who are in need of advice. Our legal advisors are experienced in employment law and can give support on a range of legal issues that may affect someone’s rights at work.

Our advice line can act as your first port of call for initial employment law advice. We provide general advice for members. The advice line is open Monday to Friday, between 8am and 7pm and an out of hours answer phone service outside of the days and hours listed above.

Our experienced advice line team can provide confidential general advice on a wide range of workplace issues including:

  • Unfair dismissal
  • Wrongful dismissal
  • Constructive dismissal
  • Disciplinary and grievance procedures
  • Capability procedures
  • Harassment and victimisation
  • Equal pay
  • Discrimination
  • Redundancy
  • Maternity, paternity, adoption and other family friendly rights
  • Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) – TUPE
  • Contractual issues
  • Problems with wages
  • Whistleblowing
  • Settlement agreements
  • ACAS Early Conciliation process
  • TUPE