Volunteer Receptionist wanted in law firm in East London

[AM00]

We specialise in Immigration and Employment law. We are looking for a full time Volunteer Receptionist with customer services responsibilities to join our vibrant team.

No previous experience is required as training will be provided. An immediate start available. The position is at least for 3 months. There is chance of paid position at end of 3 months, but no promise. Travel costs may be offered. A local person preferred but not essential. Legal / Secretarial experience can be provided if needed.

Your responsibilities will be:

• Answering phone calls in a professional manner
• Taking messages
• Booking appointments & diary managements
• Greeting clients in a friendly manner
• Maintaining an organized reception area

Skills required:

Although no previous experience is required, but volunteer should possess the following:

• Willingness to learn and progress
• Open minded, friendly personality and well presented
• Reliability and punctuality

Your working hours will be:

• Monday – Friday 09:00 – 18:00

Place of work:

East London

To Apply:

Please email your CV with brief covering letter explaining why you think you will be suitable person for this position.

xaisfmalikx@yahoo.com

[Wanderer]

Is this a wind up?

[PaperPusher]

Yes

We specialise in Immigration and Employment law. We are looking for a full time Volunteer Receptionist with customer services responsibilities to join our vibrant team.

No previous experience is required as training will be provided. An immediate start available. The position is at least for 3 months. There is chance of paid position at end of 3 months, but no promise. Travel costs may be offered. A local person preferred but not essential. Legal / Secretarial experience can be provided if needed.

Your responsibilities will be:

• Answering phone calls in a professional manner
• Taking messages
• Booking appointments & diary managements
• Greeting clients in a friendly manner
• Maintaining an organized reception area

Skills required:

Although no previous experience is required, but volunteer should possess the following:

• Willingness to learn and progress
• Open minded, friendly personality and well presented
• Reliability and punctuality

Your working hours will be:

• Monday – Friday 09:00 – 18:00

Place of work:

East London

To Apply:

Please email your CV with brief covering letter explaining why you think you will be suitable person for this position.

xaisfmalikx@yahoo.com

Surely a reputable employer would have stated something like "all shortlisted applicants will be required to bring evidence of their right to work in the UK to their interview"

And it reads like an implied contract to me with those hours shown as a requirement and so on, so isn't the national minimum wage necessary?

If not, please can AM00 explain why not with links to relevant legislation, cases, case studies and so on.

And why the Yahoo address? Even if that is all they have, why not give the postal address and name. Genuinely interested people could then find out the rest of the contact details. Why be shy AM00.

[AM00]

Yes

We specialise in Immigration and Employment law. We are looking for a full time Volunteer Receptionist with customer services responsibilities to join our vibrant team.

No previous experience is required as training will be provided. An immediate start available. The position is at least for 3 months. There is chance of paid position at end of 3 months, but no promise. Travel costs may be offered. A local person preferred but not essential. Legal / Secretarial experience can be provided if needed.

Your responsibilities will be:

• Answering phone calls in a professional manner
• Taking messages
• Booking appointments & diary managements
• Greeting clients in a friendly manner
• Maintaining an organized reception area

Skills required:

Although no previous experience is required, but volunteer should possess the following:

• Willingness to learn and progress
• Open minded, friendly personality and well presented
• Reliability and punctuality

Your working hours will be:

• Monday – Friday 09:00 – 18:00

Place of work:

East London

To Apply:

Please email your CV with brief covering letter explaining why you think you will be suitable person for this position.

xaisfmalikx@yahoo.com

Surely a reputable employer would have stated something like "all shortlisted applicants will be required to bring evidence of their right to work in the UK to their interview"

And it reads like an implied contract to me with those hours shown as a requirement and so on, so isn't the national minimum wage necessary?

If not, please can AM00 explain why not with links to relevant legislation, cases, case studies and so on.

And why the Yahoo address? Even if that is all they have, why not give the postal address and name. Genuinely interested people could then find out the rest of the contact details. Why be shy AM00.

It seems some people have too much free time.

National minimum wage? As stated in add, it is a voluntary assignment suited usually to law students in early stage of their law course who want to polish their CVs. To relate it with case law or legislation? Don't have time for this, why don't u carry out such a research urself. As I m clear a voluntary employee doesn't have to be paid mimnimum wage.

Reputable empoloyer: I am not sure if it is reputable or not as they opened their business few months ago. If reputable means, a big law firm where over 100 practitioners working for many years, no, this is not the one. By the way, I personally don't care whether they are reputable or not.

I m not employer in this post to consider minimum wage Paperpusher. The position has been advertised in law depart of a university; I have just reposted here with the consent of employer for the sole purpose of in case it benefits one in this board.

By the way, there is usually huge competition even for voluntary positions such as this as most of the universities are still providing law courses based solely on theory. Such qualifications without experience cause difficulty for law students, as difficult to find job in a legal sector after completion of their courses.
In reality, early law students in such a placements, are far from an asset to firms, usually they need help themselves rather than being any benefit to the firm. And they are very demanding too. The employer has to bear flexibility in their schedules and teach them how to fill a simple form.

I will be withdrawing this post as soon as they have selected people for interview.

[Wanderer]

And what do the partners charge per hour? £150.00?

[AM00]

And what do the partners charge per hour? £150.00?

Hi Wanderer

I have just looked their website, the senior solicitor with many years practice charge £120 PH. However, there are OISC accredited caseworkers (level 2 & 3) as well, I dont know how much they charge. It seems £120 PH is fix rate regardless who provide consultation/advice.

I was thinking to put their website address here, so people can see rest of the inf themselves, but will refrain as it will be taken as advertisement of business while I have no any personal or financial interest in this.

[republique]

And what do the partners charge per hour? £150.00?

Hi Wanderer

I have just looked their website, the senior solicitor with many years practice charge £120 PH. However, there are OISC accredited caseworkers (level 2 & 3) as well, I dont know how much they charge. It seems £120 PH is fix rate regardless who provide consultation/advice.

I was thinking to put their website address here, so people can see rest of the inf themselves, but will refrain as it will be taken as advertisement of business while I have no any personal or financial interest in this.

I think it is weird job to post. As you say, law students might be interested in it but most people on here are not law students and even law students aren't too psyched to work for free, even in the name of polishing the CV. So please feel free to withdraw the jobpost asap, I think you are deluding yourself regarding your benevolence.

[nshar1]

People aren't even ashamed before putting such ads.

Such a thing might have made sense if this was a charitable organization.

But this seems like a pathetic miserly,penny-pinching law firm which doesn't have the heart to pay for a receptionist they need. I don't know what kind of ethics this law firm must be practicing.

I am sorry AM00 - my words may seem harsh but this is all the respect I could gather for you and your ad.

I fully agree with republique that it is a very weird job to post.

[Frontier Mole]

This is a total joke.

Typical of a scummy little back street immigration law outfit.

Come and bust your balls for the square root of nothing!!

Oh if we like you we will perhaps consider you for a job.

As for students - OSN can not take the role as it would require a Tier 2 licence as it covered as employment regardless of payment, the licence would be revoked as they do not pay minimum legal wage.

I think you should post the company name so we can expose this firm for what it is. A slave employent company.

[PaperPusher]

AM00

Why didn't you put it in quotes with a description of where you found it, so it made a bit more sense?

What I said still stands, and I think you should at least provide the name of the firm so that people can check them out before they spend their time applying or enquiring, if they are actually interested in working for nothing.

I do not like the work at set hours, you will do this and that and be punctual for no money. And now you have said thay they have only been operating for a short while it seems even more like a way to get free staff when they should be paid.

I have posted the guidance for you:

Volunteers
Volunteers do not qualify for the national minimum wage. Volunteers must be under no contractual obligation to perform work or to personally provide services. Volunteers can volunteer for anybody, not just organisations in the voluntary sector. Some people who think they are volunteers could still be workers if the arrangements that they work on amount to a contractual relationship. In these cases, the individuals would qualify for the minimum wage unless a specific exemption, such as the voluntary worker exemption, applied.

http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file47736.pdf

See also here:

Remember you cannot 'require' anything of your volunteers. They cannot be bound by contractual obligations without being considered employees by employment tribunals. For example, if you think it would be best that volunteers remain with you for a certain period of time, you should phrase it such that it is not a demand, but only a hope 'that the volunteer have a long, pleasant stay' with your organisation. Such statements should be reflected in your working practice. Flexibility should be shown toward volunteers who fail to fulfil their expectations.

http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/askncvo/inde ... volunteers

They should really know better than to post that sort of thing in a law department. It seems that they have fluffed the wording up pretty badly, and they are supposedly specialists in employment law.

All the best

PP

[Wanderer]

The email is xasifmalikx which could be Asif Malik which could be AM00?

There is a Malik Law in East London isn't there?

Could be no connection of course, just surmising....

[PaperPusher]

There are a few firms, past & present, that I am aware of with Malik in their name.

AM00

Please can you post their name so we check them out.

[shandave2001]

I m confident AM00 has deliberately and purposefully posted this post here and keeping it to have sort of fun. Quite a few things in his writting indicate he having a laugh after seeing fools queing up and getting serious.

I will rather have a fun too by watching next half brain fools on this thread instigated by AM00.

AM00 u have succeeded in ur plan.

[nshar1]

I m confident AM00 has deliberately and purposefully posted this post here and keeping it to have sort of fun. Quite a few things in his writting indicate he having a laugh after seeing fools queing up and getting serious.

I will rather have a fun too by watching next half brain fools on this thread instigated by AM00.

AM00 u have succeeded in ur plan.

shandave2001 - I am surprised that you are not able to see AM00 has been serious.
Either you have an extremely good sense of humour that you found something very funny in his serious posts Or "You need a brain scan to diagnose whats wrong ".
I see the probability of the latter at 100%.

[shandave2001]

I m confident AM00 has deliberately and purposefully posted this post here and keeping it to have sort of fun. Quite a few things in his writting indicate he having a laugh after seeing fools queing up and getting serious.

I will rather have a fun too by watching next half brain fools on this thread instigated by AM00.

AM00 u have succeeded in ur plan.

shandave2001 - I am surprised that you are not able to see AM00 has been serious.
Either you have an extremely good sense of humour that you found something very funny in his serious posts Or "You need a brain scan to diagnose whats wrong ".
I see the probability of the latter at 100%.

nshar 1, AM00 seems active on this board but he hasn't denied my coments so far. If he denies, he should prepare to answer some of my questions. If he doesn't, it will automatically prove who are 'half brain fools and need brain scan.'

BTW, 'half brain fools' may be the harsh words I have used, but these are not mine words. One of the senior Immigration Judges while meeting with trainee lawyers in a private meeting said:
"Majority of immigration practitioners in this country are 'half brain fools', so if u wish to practise or specialise in immigration, don't be one of them."

I didn't pay much attention when he made these comments, but now I agree as there are tangible evidence to prove the Judge is right.

Anyway, I wouldn't be posting more on this thread unless AM00 deny what I have said above, so u r free to live in ur world.

[nshar1]

nshar 1, AM00 seems active on this board but he hasn't denied my coments so far. If he denies, he should prepare to answer some of my questions. If he doesn't, it will automatically prove who are 'half brain fools and need brain scan.'

BTW, 'half brain fools' may be the harsh words I have used, but these are not mine words. One of the senior Immigration Judges while meeting with trainee lawyers in a private meeting said:
"Majority of immigration practitioners in this country are 'half brain fools', so if u wish to practise or specialise in immigration, don't be one of them."

I didn't pay much attention when he made these comments, but now I agree as there are tangible evidence to prove the Judge is right.

Anyway, I wouldn't be posting more on this thread unless AM00 deny what I have said above, so u r free to live in ur world.

Are you kidding...AM00 will come back to this board claiming that he was serious and face more attacks from fellow boarders !! or he will come back denying any seriousness in his ad which will draw him even more ridicule for his sick sense of humour.

Can't you see he has clearly defended it in his posts.
Assume that he was serious and come back with your points/questions.

by the way did you get an appointment for brain scan?

[Wanderer]

Methinks AM00 and shandave2001 are the same person or closely connected.