Finding the right apartment can be tough. There are so many apartments out there, and there are so many factors that go into your decision in choosing which one to call home. The key is to look for the best value - not just the actual monetary value of the apartment, but the personal value to you and your lifestyle. While the overall value of an apartment will differ from person to person, there are several categories that should be considered by everybody looking for a new apartment.

Location, Location, Location

When determining the value of an apartment, location is a huge factor. How far away is it from work or school? Is it close to grocery stores? Do you really want to live in a busy downtown area, even though the price might seem right? Although that apartment with the swimming pool and the really big bedrooms might seem like the obvious choice, but if it takes more than an hour to get to work, is it really worth it?

How Much of that Apartment Are You Going to Use?

One of the best ways to determine the value of an apartment is to compare how much space you get versus how much space you will use. How big are the bedrooms? How much storage space is there, and more importantly how much storage space do you actually need? If a massive walk-in closet is just going to go waste, you’re not getting the most value as possible out of that new apartment.

Going beyond your own apartment, what else is there inside the building? Does the apartment have a laundry room or a convenience store onsite? Are there any extra perks, such as swimming pools, saunas, party rooms and squash courts? And if there are, does it cost anything to use them, or is this cost built right into your rent? If it is, and you don’t plan on actually using any of these services, you might want to look elsewhere.

Management and Tenants

The structure of the building must be taken into account when trying to figure out the value of an apartment. For example, does it have concrete walls between apartments to block out noise? As well, what is the overall cleanliness of the building? Don’t just look at your apartment, either - take a close look at the common areas such as laundry rooms, lobbies and elevators. The upkeep and maintenance of these spaces is perhaps the easiest way to evaluate the building’s management team.

The level of service provided by the apartment’s management team is perhaps the biggest factor in determining its value. Is there an onsite property manager? What about an onsite security, or a superintendent who can deal with emergency calls any time of the day? The most valuable apartment to live in is the one where you can trust and count on the management to serve and help you when you need them.

You might also want to consider the demographics of the apartments you look at. What sort of people do you want to share a building with? Each apartment has a different feel to it, whether it’s populated by a lot of young families, university students, seniors, etc. If you value fitting in with the rest of the tenants and looking for social opportunities in your building, the demographics could weigh heavily on your decision to rent there.

The Bottom Line

Of course, the actual monetary value of an apartment is hard to ignore when assessing its value. How much is the rent? Is parking included? What about utilities? With rising gas and hydro costs, knowing how much you’ll have to pay each month on top of the rent is vitally important.

These are just a few of the guidelines that you can use when determining the value of an apartment. Ultimately, the decision of where to rent is not only based on which one has the cheapest rent or the most onsite amenities, but on your own personal tastes and lifestyle as well. Getting the most value out of your apartment is a balancing act, as you have to weigh all of the positives and negatives of the entire package before reaching your final decision.

Looking for an apartment in Ottawa? Paramount Properties is Ottawa’s second largest residential property management company. With more than 4,500 Ottawa apartments for rent in some of the city’s finest locations, we’re your #1 choice for apartment rentals in Ottawa.

If you are like most of us, looking at wealthy people with some envy and wishing you had the same ‘luck’ in making money it is quite a thought to wonder whether you could actually make a million Dollars yourself. It seems so remote and unreal. Not something that you believe could happen to you. The good news is that it is most assuredly possible for you to make a million Dollars. The bad news is that you will not make a million Dollars by sitting on the beach imagining one million Dollars stacked up in your bank account and believing that no other effort is required.

You need to get your passion back. This is your first step that you should take into that new wealth state that you wish for yourself. This first step is to find that passion again that you had when you were a kid. That passion that got you to play a computer game until you got to the top level, the guitar cords you picked until you could play the latest hit song and your finger tips were raw, the butterflies you collected, the Barbie doll clothes and accessories that you were fanatical about and many many more. Think back to when you were so passionate that nothing could stop you, from whatever you were trying to do Those passionate moments were times when you thought nothing could stop you from achieving your goals.

As a kid myself, I used to read passionately. I could read fairly well before I started school, so school just added some extra skills. And then the quest for stories was all consuming. I would read under my blanket with a torch. In later years I used to think that it killed my eyesight as I had to get spectacles from an early age. On the other hand my father was short sighted, so I think it was something I inherited rather than did to myself. To this day, I read through the night if needs be, when I start on a good book.

The first step in your process is to find the thing that makes you passionate now. This can be something like talking to people or helping people. One person who has made a success of talking to people, is Oprah Winfrey and this against some heavy odds stacked against her, another example is Parkinson. Then there is Nelson Mandela who was determined to help his people towards equality and democracy. He spent 27 years in prison on an island, but still never gave up on his passion. There are many examples of successful people whose passions have allowed them to overcome obstacles and pursue their dreams and be successful in their chosen field.

You can do it too. But how to start is of course a huge question. We tend to be stuck in our every day lives, uninspired at work, so-so in our relationships, the dog the only close friend. Alright, maybe not that bad, but it is still difficult to get ourselves out of this mind set. And sometimes it doesn’t seem to be even possible, the drudgery of every day life keeping us back and with no energy left to start something new. That’s when you should get yourself help. You would if you had a really bad flu or a broken leg, wouldn’t you. So why not get assistance to reclaim the life you should be enjoying. You are worth spending time, money and energy on. For more information and some help and inspiration to move forward to great wealth bisit http://www.anjamerret.blogspot.com . It will provide you with all the boost you need to get started.

Anja Merret lives in Brighton, UK. She has recently started a blog and writes on issues that interest her from self-improvement, wealth generation, motivational thinking and anything else that amuses her. You are invited to follow her journey on http://www.anjamerret.com

She now looks after the business interests of her daughter who is a Flash and Accessibility expert at http://www.niquimerret.com

I was recently asked the question: “If I have already maximized my income and minimized my expenses is there really any other way to improve my NOI?” At first blush it sounds impossible. But its not.

Under the circumstances noted, which would be miraculous in and of itself, there still remains a couple of ways to improve the NOI of your property. One would be to add income streams. (We’ll deal with that at a later date.) The second way is to remove certain expenses completely. This can be accomplished by either instituting a C.A.M fee, or by providing the mechanism for residents/tenants to incur given expenses instead of the owner.

The most common process for removing an expense from the owner and transferring it to residents is through submetering. For example; instead of the owner paying for all the electricity going into a property, individual meters could be installed and the individual residents would then be responsible for their own electricity. Yes this can be problematic when you first make the change. Tenants don’t like it much at first as you can imagine. But things typically smooth out very quickly. This process can easily be the equivalent of a 10 to 15% increase in rents. Once the change over has been made, the owner no longer needs to worry about the cost of the utility, instead they need only concern themselves with maintaining the maximum market rental revenue.

One big question regarding this option is “How long does it take me to recoup my hard costs?” The answer is simple, look at all the costs to install the meters, and then divide that by the money saved each month to learn how many months it will take to break even. Thereafter the savings are driven to the bottom line. In many cases this initial expenses pays off handsomely in yield and value increase resulting for the greater NOI.

Like most things in this business, its not rocket science. A little experience, a little motivation, and a little help go a long way toward meeting your goals. Good luck in your career.

Roger Beattie is an accomplished real estate investor and writer. He and his programs have appeared in many major publications including Forbes Magazine and The New York Times. He currently has a real estate investment blog at:
http://www.middleclassmillionaires.com/blog

Unlike akoya seawater pearls, freshwater pearls are grown in ponds, lakes and rivers and most of these pearl farms for freshwater pearls are found in China. With the new improved techniques of culturing pearls, China farms have been able to produce not only large quantity of pearls every year but its quality of freshwater pearls are becoming as good as akoya pearls.

Freshwater pearls are very much cultured pearls. Freshwater pearl necklaces are designed with matching size pearls in many lengths and styles. Most popular length size is princess length (16″-18″) designed with pearl size between 6mm to 9mm (millimeters) of different shapes. One doesn’t have to spend fortunes to buy these freshwater pearl necklaces. Large freshwater pearls production has not only helped the pearl jewelry industry in boosting sales but customers can now buy at much affordable prices. Quality of freshwater pearls is excellent and pearls are really attractive.

Tahitian pearls are known for its black colors and South seawater pearls come in light golden natural colors but these types of pearls command very high prices. Next lines of pearl types are akoya pearls and freshwater pearls. Akoya pearls or seawater pearls are typically expensive than their cousin freshwater pearls. More and more designers are making freshwater pearl necklaces since they can play with multi colors available in freshwater pearls than any other pearl types. Majority of pearl jewelry sold here or abroad are made of freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls are genuine cultured pearls and undoubtedly, freshwater pearl necklaces are choice of millions all around the world.

Freshwater pearl necklaces come in wide array of colors such as white, pink, peach, lavender, pink and black. Among most popular sizes for freshwater pearl necklaces, young girls often go for small size freshwater pearl necklaces whereas others prefer to wear higher pearl size freshwater pearl necklaces around their necklines. Pearls natural beauty and its lustrous appeal have always attracted women of all age. Brides love wearing freshwater pearl necklaces and have often gifted their bridesmaids with all types of pearl jewelry to appreciate their love and friendships. Its very common among men to present their loved ones with freshwater pearl necklaces on their marriage anniversaries. Freshwater pearl necklaces are the perfect gifts for graduation or for valentines.

Kheri
http://www.pearlprincess.com/freshwater-pearl-necklaces.php

There are many people looking for work from home income
opportunities, most of these people think that it is necessary
to have a online business where you sell services or products
to make money online. One of the hardest parts of making money
online is getting people to visit your site, but today with
the development of the internet you can find many ways to get
visitors to your website.

The best way to find work from home income opportunities is by
join work from home online business forums. There are numerous
forums on the internet where you can chat with people that are
looking for work from home income opportunities and many of these
people have already found great online opportunities. Remember
that gathering and organizing information is the most important
step of your work from home income opportunities research.

There are numerous ways to make money online. One of the most common
ways to make money online through internet marketing or electronic
commerce is using pay per click advertising. While there are
numerous ways to start making money online, web publishing is one
of the most effective work from home online business. If you
want to make money with web publishing you need to create your
own website.

Submitting articles is the best way to get targeted traffic to your
website to make money online. If you want to be successful
with your work from home online business then, the first thing that
you need to do is to increase your website traffic. On the internet
traffic is the key to make money because getting people to visit
your website you will have more chances of adsense clicks or sales.

Claim your free Report on how to earn passive income online and how to contact the best freelance networks in the next five minutes, visit:
http://www.howtogetridofyourjob.com
Maria Luisa Ayuso

Bad credit can really put constraints on your ability to borrow money. With poor credit the only option is bad credit loans. Such loans are aimed at protecting the lender, not giving you the best deal.

A traditional loan for someone with good credit is usually constructed in a way that makes it very reasonable and fair to the borrower. A bad credit loan, however, is set up to protect the lender since poor credit makes you a liability and a risk.

Bad credit loans are also not very easy to find. When you do find one you will end up paying very high interest rates and most likely many fees. There are secured and unsecured bad credit loans.

Secured loans involve putting up collateral for the loan. Collateral is an asset that you are essentially giving to the lender to hold so that if you should default on your loan they take possession of the asset and use it to pay the loan balance. Unsecured loans, on the other hand, do not require collateral.

Obviously, a lender is more likely to offer a secured loan. This type of loan guarantees that they will get at least part of their money back should you default. There are some unsecured loans, but they can be especially hard to find.

When searching for bad credit loans it is important to shop around. Do not submit applications, though. You should look at the terms and just gather information when shopping around.

Once you start to submit applications your credit will be checked and this will actually lower your credit score. If you submit too many at once it puts a red flag on your credit to lenders. They see it as you are trying to borrow too much money and will likely turn you down due to this.

You want to look at the terms and conditions for a bad credit loan. You want to check out the interest rates and other fees. The goal is to find the lender who can offer the best interest rates and the lowest fees. You will save money by finding the lender who can offer you the best terms.

Poor credit loans are seen as very risky in the lending industry. A person with bad credit has defaulted on credit obligations in the past. They have shown they do not stick to contracts. A lender prefers to deal with someone who has some record of keeping their credit obligations.

However, in todays world, where credit seems to be essential, lenders are realizing that a few past mistakes do not mean a person is not credit worthy. That is why poor credit loans are an option.

All you need to do is shop around and look for lenders who are willing to take a chance. Once you secure a loan, make sure keep up with your obligations so the next time you need a loan you can qualify for a traditional one.

James Copper is a mortgage and secured loan broker for Any Loans, who help homeowners find href="http://www.any-loans.co.uk/bad-credit-loans.shtml">bad credit loans - In his time off James enjoys writing on all things related to mortgages and real estate.

It used to be so high class, so glamorous to be able to fly first class. However, flying first class is no longer as big deal as it used to be in recent years. In fact, it does not imply as much prestige. This is due to the fact that the first class passengers still have to walk through the metal detector and are still subjected to checks by immigration much like everyone else. Sometimes, you may even need to leave behind your expensive accessories like earrings or cuff links just because they may pose a security threat. This can be quite frustrating. However, when you own a celebrity private jet, you are one of the very few lucky ones.

Celebrity Star Treatment

When you can afford a celebrity private jet, you can expect pampering and luxury every step of the way. Right from the point you leave your house to the airport, the celebrity treatment has already started. You get the star treatment of being ferried to and fro the airport in your very own limousine. In fact, every tiny little bit of detail will be planned and arranged for you by your own concierge. For example, you can even request for special gourmet food to be served to you, perhaps low fat, no carbs or even high protein. The concierge will arrange every detail of your vacation from logistic, transportation, accommodation, trip itinerary and more and all to your whim. What you need to do is probably to approve the arrangement with a “yes”, sit back and enjoy your entire trip. This are the perks that the ordinary folks will never experience even if they travel first class.

Safety First

Another big selling point of taking private celebrity jets is the safety factor. With terrorists getting more and more bold, it is no wonder that air travel is no longer safe. Who knows when and who will launch a terrorist attack? However if you are traveling by celebrity private jet, such a risk is greatly minimised as everyone on board is someone you know. Furthermore your jet is also in top working order with qualified, competent and experienced pilots at its helm.

Upkeep Made Simple

You might think that it is probably very tough to own and to maintain a jet. This is a common misconception as the upkeep of your celebrity private jet is pretty easy and straightforward. How? The best way to go about it, is to assign someone or a professional company to help you take care of the maintenance. This frees you of the hassle of having to personally take care of the jet. The best part is your jet is still well taken care of without any worries.

Celebrity private jet is without a doubt the coolest way to travel. It is the ultimate pampering in the sky and the most stress free way to fly. So thinking of a vacation that you will never forget? This is it!

Did you find the information useful for planning your next vacation? Learn a lot more about private jets, visit Private Jet 101 for more informative articles and tips on private jets…

So you’ve searched the apartment listings, found the one you want and signed all the paperwork. The only thing left is to pick up all of your stuff and take it to the new apartment. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Not quite. A move requires a lot of planning, careful organization and perhaps even a little bit of luck to make sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible.

Whether it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned professional, here are seven tips to help make your move a little easier.

Be Organized

A move isn’t something you can simply prepare for over a weekend. Always plan ahead and never, ever, start packing the day before, as you’ll find that you have a lot more stuff than you initially thought. Make sure all of your boxes are labelled appropriately - it will save you a lot of hassle when you’re unpacking if you know what box goes in what room.

Donate Your Old Junk

In the process of packing, you might discover that you no longer need, like, or have room for old clothes, furniture and knick-knacks. Don’t toss that stuff away, though - donate it to a worthy cause, such as Goodwill, the Salvation Army or the Canadian Diabetes Association. It’s a win-win situation - you’ll have fewer things to haul over to your new apartment and you get to help a charitable organization in the process. Plus, you might get a receipt for your donation, which you can use to lower the amount of taxable income you have to claim on your next tax return.

Van and Truck Rentals

A nice, empty apartment awaits you, but there’s just one problem - you still have to get all of your stuff over there. Unless you have friends or family with large vans or trucks who are willing to help out, chances are you’re going to have to rent one from a company such as U-Haul. Demand for these vehicles is always high, especially between April and October, so it’s always a good idea to book out a van or truck several weeks in advance. Wait until the last minute and you might discover they don’t have any trucks available, and if they do, they might not be available during the time you had hoped to make the move.

Get Some Help

Ideally, you should recruit a personal army of friends and family to help you move, as the only cost you’ll have to pay might be pitching in for a pizza after everything is done. However, what do you do if all of your friends are busy or out of town? Unless your idea of a fun weekend is hauling box after box into your new apartment all by yourself, perhaps it’s best to hire the services of a moving company. Whether you need them to do the entire move for you, or you just need them to help you load up the truck, a moving company has well-trained staff and all of the necessary equipment that will keep your valuables intact and make your move fast and hassle-free.

Be sure to check the insurance policies of the moving company you hire - some offer different levels of coverage than others. You may want to invest in some form of moving insurance, especially if you have lots of rare and breakable items that could get damaged during a move.

Hold That Elevator!

Regardless of what floor you’re moving into to, getting all of your items up to your new apartment - especially those big pieces of furniture - isn’t going to be easy. Luckily, most apartments have large service elevators that can be used specifically for this purpose. However, during the busy times of the year, a lot of people are going to want to use those elevators at the same time. That’s why it’s wise to get those elevators booked in your name as far in advance as possible - some apartments will let you reserve an elevator a few months in advance. If you don’t, it might be a long night of waiting in the apartment lobby, waiting for an elevator to be free.

Always check with the apartment manager to see when you can use the elevators, as some buildings have restrictions about what times of the day the service elevator can actually be used. Get all of the information you can, as far in advance as you can, and plan your move accordingly.

Forward Your Mail

Try as you might, there’s bound to be somebody that you forgot to tell about your change of address. Luckily, you can register your change of address with Canada Post, and for a small fee ($36 for six months), they can redirect any mail sent to your old address to your new one. That will give you plenty of time to make sure all of your contacts are up-to-date regarding your whereabouts without having to worry about whether an important package will arrive at your new place or on the other side of town.

Transfer Your Services

Apart from your mail, it’s important to have any monthly services, such as existing cable, phone, Internet, gas and hydro accounts, transferred over to your new address (or cancelled at your old place, if you won’t need them anymore). This can be extremely important, especially if you’re the type that depends on things such as the Internet for work or school.

These tips should help your move go as smoothly as possible - but like anything in life, you should always expect for the unexpected. But as long you’ve prepared as much as you can in advance, you should be resting comfortably in your new apartment.

Looking for an apartment in Ottawa? Paramount Properties is Ottawa’s second largest residential property management company. With more than 4,500 href="http://www.ParamountApts.com" target="_new">Ottawa apartments for rent in some of the city’s finest locations, we’re your #1 choice for apartment rentals in Ottawa.

I’m a lone voice
A prophet without a pulpit
and man with a mission
A man that is waiting on the sands of time
to pass until the Lord is ready
for the message to come to maturity

I am man misunderstood
Maligned not trusted and not understood
I feel like I am stuck in the Old Testament
Like a prophet of doom
I see judgment looming
Almost crashing over my country and yours

I see an angry God with a backslidden church
I see the church that have lost their first love
And false prophets and teachers teaching people to err
and I feel like screaming in the streets
Feel like taking a full page advertisement in the paper
And prophesying over my nation

But I lack money and I am restrained
by the loving hand of God
Whose Sprit tells me what to do
And whose Spirit directs me what to write

Even if my grammar and spelling need attention
The message is true and from the throne room
I hear the thunder and the lightning

I hear the hooves of the four horseman of the apocalypse
I feel and see the Lord jump on the white horse
And Mary she bids her master goodbye and the scrolls are open
And the book of Revelation is open and
John the apostle seems to have seen our world

What is the matter why can’t they see?

That life on earth is worse then
any time in history
And the evil is coming worse and worse and
men and women are out of control
And the church is not keeping a standard

but flirting in the world like a wanton harlot

Where are the voices of judgment?
Who is blowing the trumpets of warning?
Where is the rebuke and stiff arm of correction?
Who is speaking the word of the Lord?
Doesn’t the world care?
Are they all preachers preaching to itching ears?
Where is the truth?
What is wrong?
And am I to be a lone prophet a weeping prophet?
Meeting people from heaven to comfort me
As I have few on earth that feel my grief.

Oh for a company of prophets
Oh for a real voice of the Lord
Oh for the right way and correction

for the great harlot that has sold her harlotry to the world
as the Beast comes he will love her for a time
this seducing church, their prosperity covetous doctrine
That ensnares the church with the lusts of the flesh

Oh God take me home.

Matthew is one of two people that operate a site at http://www.escapeministries.net Escape ministries is a place where people can be ministered to over the internet, by reading articles, watching videos and receiving personal prophetic words. James and Matthew invite you to visit today to look at some of the articles they have collected and watch some of the video teachings they are setting about to produce for you. You are encouraged to sign up for our monthly newsletter or simply email James or Matthew with any of your comments. We hope that you might bookmark it and come back to visit often as we pursue our mission statement that is found on our home page.

You can visit and view their video’s live at youtube by going direct to http://www.youtube.com/EscapeMinistries

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes harassment both a criminal and civil offence, it was intended to deal with the problem of stalking.

Section 1 - Prohibition of Harassment

A person must not pursue a course of conduct which:-

i) Amounts to harassment of another; and
ii) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of another.

For the purposes of this section the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

Majrowski v Guy’s & St Thomas’s NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34

This case was a claim brought by an employee under the 1997 Act against his employer in respect of alleged harassment at work. The employee argued that his manager had breached a duty placed upon her by the Act and that the employer should be held vicariously liable for that breach.

This was not a case which the employee could bring under any of the discrimination legislation. The allegations were of general bullying intimidation and harassment.

The Act clearly established a statutory tort and the Court of Appeal had to carefully consider whether an employer could be held vicariously liable for a statutory tort committed by one of its employees where the legislation in question does not specifically provide for such liability. On the basis that unless the statute in question directs otherwise or there is a good policy reason why the principle of vicarious liability should not apply, the Court of Appeal believed that there was no reason to reject the argument of the employee.

The Court of Appeal was prepared to accept that although it was generally understood that the 1997 Act had been introduced to deal with the problem of stalking, it was nevertheless an Act which dealt with the prohibition of harassment in a range of different situations, not just stalking.

The appellant NHS trust appealed against the decision ((2005) EWCA Civ 251, (2005) QB 848) that it was vicariously liable in damages to the respondent (M) under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 s.3 for harassment committed by one of its employees in breach of s.1 of the Act. M, who had been employed by the trust, had alleged that his manager had harassed, bullied and intimidated him while acting in the course of her employment. An investigation by the trust had resulted in a finding that harassment had occurred. M had claimed against the trust for damages under s.3 of the Act based exclusively on the trust’s vicarious liability for its employee’s alleged breach of the statutory prohibition of harassment. The trust, relying on the phrase “damages may be awarded” in s.3 of the Act, submitted that the award of damages under that section was discretionary, and therefore harassment could not be equated with a common law tort. The trust also submitted that the Act was not aimed at the workplace but was a legislative response to the public order problem of stalking.

The House of Lords held that: (1) The principle of vicarious liability was not confined to common law torts, but was also applicable to equitable wrongs and breaches of statutory obligations. Unless statute expressly or impliedly indicated otherwise, vicarious liability was applicable where an employee committed a breach of a statutory obligation sounding in damages while acting in the course of his employment, Dubai Aluminium Co Ltd v Salaam (2002) UKHL 48 , (2003) 2 AC 366, Nicol v National Coal Board (1952) 102 LJ 357 and National Coal Board v England (1954) AC 403 applied, Harrison v National Coal Board (1951) AC 639 considered. An employer could be vicariously liable if the employee’s conduct was closely connected with the acts the employee was authorised to do and the conduct might fairly and properly be regarded as done by the employee in the course of her employment, Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd (2001) UKHL 22 , (2001) 2 WLR 1311 applied.
(2) The effect of s.3(1) was to render a breach of s.1 a wrong giving rise to the ordinary remedies the law provided for civil wrongs. The enabling language “may be awarded” was apt simply to extend or clarify the heads of damage or loss for which damages were recoverable.
(3) Neither the terms nor the practical effect of the Act indicated that Parliament intended to exclude the ordinary principle of vicarious liability. By s.3 Parliament had created a new cause of action, a new civil wrong, and damages were one of the remedies for that wrong. Parliament had added harassment to the list of civil wrongs because it considered the existing law provided insufficient protection for victims of harassment. The prospect of abuse in cases of alleged workplace harassment was not a good reason for excluding vicarious liability.
(4) Section 10 of the Act inserted a new section, s.18B, into the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, which assumed that in Scotland an employer might be vicariously liable in damages to the victim of a course of conduct amounting to harassment in breach of the relevant provision of the 1997 Act. Parliament could not have intended that the position should be different in England.

Problems

The Act however presents an employee with hurdles to overcome if a claim is to be brought in this way. Firstly the 1997 Act prohibits only a “course of conduct” amounting to harassment, meaning that a single incident of harassment by an employee will not be sufficient to lead to liability.

Secondly, in order to succeed, a claimant must establish that harassment within the meaning of the Act has taken place. This means “alarming” the person or causing the person “distress” amongst other things.

Thirdly, vicarious liability will only be established where there is a sufficiently close connection between the harasser’s conduct and the nature of his or her duties, and where it is just and reasonable to hold the employer liable for the harasser’s actions.

This is obviously an area of law which is very much in its infancy. However there is possible cause for concern. An employee who brings a claim for damages in the Civil Court has two significant hurdles to clear. The first is that any injury was “foreseeable” and the second is that if the claim is based upon a mental injury that that must be a “recognised psychiatric disorder” requiring significant medical evidence.

Ian Mann - Employment Barrister
http://www.employment-barrister-uk.com

http://www.13kbw.co.uk

13 King’s Bench Walk
Ian Mann was called to the Bar in 2000. He practices in employment disputes representing both employers and employees. His employment practice embraces the full spectrum of Employment Tribunal, High Court and appellate work and covers all areas of employment law, especially discrimination.