The initial electronic advice system works as follows:

• You enter the details of the legal question you have together with your email address and a few other basic details.
• You choose the area of law which covers your question.
• You submit the question.
• The LawWorks system will then try to find a lawyer to answer your question.
• You will receive a response within ten working days.
• If it is not possible to answer your question, you will be directed to an alternative source of help and/or information.
  
  

What can I ask?

Your question must provide enough information for a lawyer to be able to answer it but must not be too long. The service is designed to provide answers to simple legal questions of a general nature and is not able to advise on specific situations.

Examples of suitable questions (specific questions requiring brief answers):

• “What is Statutory Sick Pay?”
• “On what grounds can an organisation refuse a request for information under the Data Protection Act?”
• “How do I change a company’s constitution?”
• “How do I secure copyright on publications?”
• “Can we employ a temporary, part-time worker on an hourly rate of pay, with no provision for a paid lunch hour, when permanent (full and part-time) staff have a paid lunch break?”

Examples of questions which are not suitable (questions requiring more detailed advice):

• "I want to sack Ms. X tomorrow as she really is not doing a good job.”
• “I need to get help on whether I should settle a claim under a contract for payment of £x for work under a contract a former Trustee made with a Computer company which never worked.”
• “What is the best and most inexpensive way to set up a trading arm for a charitable organisation?”
• Please note: this system cannot answer questions relating to family law, criminal law or immigration law.

Check your question carefully before you submit to ensure it makes sense – maybe run it by a colleague first! If you do not supply enough information, we will contact you to let you know what information is required to allow a lawyer to respond fully.

I’m ready to submit my question