(more…)

“We recently represented a migrant woman who was trafficked to the UK by a wealthy family. She was forced to work extremely long hours as a nanny, housekeeper and cleaner. She didn’t receive anywhere near the minimum wage, and the family had control of her passport and bank account.”

This situation, shared by Sara Taylor, CEO of Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre, is all too common. However, this particular woman went through an even worse experience. Sara explains, “The family said that she could visit her family. When she returned, not only had her employment been terminated, but she’d also been made homeless. This is a woman in her early 60s, who had been with this family, in servitude, for decades.

“When she turned up in our reception, she said, ‘When I came back, they wouldn’t let me in the house, so I’ve got nowhere to live; I don’t have my medicine; I don’t have my money; I don’t have a job; I have nothing.’ It seems an extreme situation, but it’s one that unfortunately we do come across.

“We not only assisted her with a tribunal claim against her employers for unpaid wages and damages, we also made a homelessness application and arranged for her to receive pension credit. She got her own flat and with the money she’s now received, is hoping to go back to her country of origin and retire.”

Without the Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre, this outcome could have been very different. There is no Legal Aid for employment law advice, other than for a small area relating to discrimination, and many workers simply cannot afford to pay a solicitor.

Thankfully, Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre offers free legal advice to people who are on a low income, including delivery drivers, nannies and factory workers.

Sara shares, “The people who come to us are facing a myriad of issues. Unfortunately, lots of people are dismissed unfairly by their employers. We also see a lot of claims for unpaid wages, holiday wages or sickness pay as, again, lots of employers don’t pay workers what they’ve earned.”

The Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre can help with legal issues such as:

• Being trafficked to the UK and made to work for little or no pay
• Unfair dismissal
• Discrimination due to a worker’s gender, religion or another protected characteristic
• Wages being under the legal minimum
• Unpaid holiday or sick pay
• Reasonable adjustments not being made if a worker is disabled

Sara adds, “Some people are seeking compensation; others are trying to get their job back or to stay in their job with the adjustments that they’re entitled to. Some have agreed to leave their job and are just looking for a good reference.”

The Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre supports clients in a number of ways. Sara explains, “We draft witness statements, accompany clients to meetings with their employer, represent them at hearings and so on. Sometimes, we’ll just spend a couple of hours with a client, going through their legal options, giving them legal advice, and then confirming all that in writing, and that’s as much as they need. Other times, we will represent them in a whole tribunal claim, from the beginning to the end.”

Hammersmith United Charites’ grant

The Law Centre helps clients with a wide range of challenges, such as being unlawfully evicted, living in an unhealthy rental property and applying for indefinite leave to remain. However, these cases are usually covered by Legal Aid, while the centre’s employment-related cases are not.

Earlier this year, we provided Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre with a £10,000 grant. Sara says, “Without charitable grants like this, we wouldn’t have an employment law solicitor; we just couldn’t do this work. It was a really difficult situation for that client [mentioned above], but we were able to help, partly due to this grant.”

Find out more

If you’re on a low income and need legal advice, you can make an appointment with Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre by emailing reception@hflaw.org.uk, calling 020 3880 1727 or visiting their office during working hours.

Everyone at Hammersmith United Charities would like to thank Vivienne Lukey as she steps down after 12 years as a trustee, including six years as Chair.

During her time with the charity, Vivienne made a significant contribution to its governance and direction, working closely with trustees, staff, residents, and community partners to ensure that our historic 400-year-old charity developed to meet the needs of our 21st-century community. She played a key role in supporting both our almshouse housing for older residents and our grants programme for grassroots organisations tackling inequality in Hammersmith.

Her leadership was particularly important in steering the charity through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a period of turbulent economic conditions and the cost of living crisis, ensuring that the community was supported and that the charity remained resilient and responsive during exceptionally difficult times.

We are grateful for Vivienne’s commitment, leadership, good humour and care, and for the way she has helped the charity to evolve while staying true to its values.

We are pleased to welcome Guy Vincent as our new Chair and look forward to working with him as the charity moves into its next chapter.

Assistant Community Gardener

Salary:  £28K (pro rata) depending on experience and generous benefits package

Appointment Type: Permanent

Hours: 4 days per week/ 30 hrs per week

Location: Hammersmith

About us

Hammersmith United Charities was founded in 1618 and makes grants to community organisations helping local people address complex social issues such as poverty, inequality or mental ill health. We also have two almshouses in Hammersmith, for older members of our community. Over the years our gardens have been developed to ensure they are not only beautiful, but creative spaces where our residents can get involved if they choose or simply relax and enjoy. The gardens are based on organic principles.  They include plants that attract butterflies, bees and birds, and plants that are stimulating in colour, aroma and texture.  Residents can tend to their own hanging baskets, pots and allotments and get involved in various gardening projects and workshops that are run to help and support residents in engaging with the gardens.  Our gardens have won many awards at the London Garden Society competition, which are judged according to Royal Horticultural Society guidelines.

About you  

This is an exciting opportunity for a hardworking, professional gardener to continue the fantastic achievements of previous gardeners working with our Community Gardener. We are looking for someone who has demonstratable knowledge and experience, with the relevant horticultural qualifications/experience to support this. Knowledge and experience in a range of gardening disciplines/techniques is essential as well as an open mind to continuous development and learning new skills.

The successful applicant must be self-motivated with the ability to perform their tasks to achieve the highest standards. We are looking for someone with imagination and flair, an understanding of community organisations who has good communication skills, a caring disposition who is empathetic, with an unrelenting capacity to encourage and support our residents.

Experience in a similar role or position is desirable and a relevant horticultural qualification along with an eye for detail, the ability to take responsibility, act decisively and the ability to turn your hand to most tasks, is essential.

This is a physically demanding role, working outside all year round, in all weathers. The role involves carrying out tasks requiring high levels of manual dexterity, as well as physically demanding tasks, such as trimming hedges, shovelling, digging, mulching, lifting and carrying.

The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS Check.

We value and respect all the differences that make us who we are, including: age, cultural background, disability and mental health, ethnicity and race, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and social background.

How to Apply

If you have any questions or are unsure about whether this is for you, please feel free to contact Victoria Cripps on 07909 203 924 for an informal chat.

Please complete the Application Form and send to lisa.dasilva@hamunitedcharities.com along with your CV by midday on 9^th January 2026.

Solidarity Sports works with more than 100 children in West London, most of whom have been referred by children’s services. Jasmine, Fundraising Coordinator at Solidarity Sports, explains, “These are children who have often been stripped of their childhood. They’ve gone through unimaginable things. We’ve had children who have experienced neglect and sexual abuse, who have fled war-torn countries, who have parents who are in prison, or who were born into homelessness.

“They’ve sometimes grown up in an environment where they’ve been completely ignored. They’ve not been taught about love or given any praise or encouragement, so they then develop this belief that they’re not really worthy of love, or that they’re not good enough, they’re not smart enough, they’re not bright enough. As a result, these children are very insecure and have very low self-worth and low self-esteem.”

Giving children a childhood

The majority of Solidarity Sports’ work is during the school holidays, when children are most at risk of neglect or abuse. The charity runs four activities a day, such as basketball, drama, art and gardening. It also organises trips to places that the children would otherwise be financially excluded from.

Jasmine says, “We give them a space where they can just simply be kids again. They can discover the joy of throwing a ball or painting a picture – the simple things that most people don’t think twice about. It’s about giving them a space to heal, to grow, to discover their passions and to not worry for a while about whether there’s food at home or where they’re going to live in six months’ time.”

Many of the children are on the verge of being taken into care or have already entered the care system. Solidarity Sports’ staff are all trauma-informed and aim to build long-term, positive relationships with the children – offering them a sense of stability. One-to-one mentoring is available throughout the year for those children who are most at risk. The charity also runs after-school programmes and works with grandparent carers and parents of younger children, to offer support and early intervention when needed.

Impact

While Solidarity Sports can’t fix all the difficulties that the children are dealing with, it can still make a significant impact on their lives. Many of the children attend for several years, during which time they are often able to rebuild their confidence and self-esteem, and to develop aspirations for their future. As one child, aged 12, says, “Solidarity Sports has changed my life. You have helped me so much and my mum likes you too. When I have a problem in my life, you guys are the first people I think of. You make my little sister happy too.”

Jasmine shares the story of one of Solidarity Sports’ former service users: “She’s grown up in a two-bedroom flat, heavily infested with mould, with five younger brothers, so she never had privacy. On top of that, her mum has very severe mental health issues, and her father is really ill with cancer.

“I take 30 children on a residential trip every year and she never wanted to do the zip line or rock climbing or participate in anything. She wanted to sit by the beach, read in peace and have a moment to just breathe.”

The girl attended Solidarity Sports programmes for several years, where she was encouraged to study, aim high and aspire to a better life. She set her sights on a career in law after speaking to one of Solidarity Sports’ employees. After working incredibly hard at school, she achieved two A*s and an A in her A Levels and is now studying law at university. Without Solidarity Sports’ intervention, encouragement and belief, it’s unlikely that she would have found the strength to achieve all that she has.

The teenager above is far from the only child who has been encouraged to aim high by Solidarity Sports. The charity supports children to improve their grades and stay in school. It also arranges scholarships to private schools and boarding schools for some of the most talented children.

Under-fives

Solidarity Sports has a programme for under-fives, most of whom are witnessing domestic abuse at home or who are refugees or asylum seekers living in overcrowded accommodation with no recourse to public funds. The children attend the centre with their parents. Jasmine says, “If a woman has gone through years of abuse, she will often become very isolated and lonely. Some of the women have endured such trauma that they can’t create a bond with their child; they’re very disconnected. We provide an environment where parents and children have the opportunity to bond.”
Earlier this year, we provided Solidarity Sports with a £5,000 grant to cover the cost of new specialist toys and equipment for the under-fives programme and to help cover some of the charity’s expenses. Jasmine shares, “The children’s development is often severely delayed. We use specialist toys to help with their fine motor skills and other needs.”

Our Christmas card

Every year, HUC commissions a local person or group to design our Christmas card. This year, children from Solidarity Sports took on the challenge, with wonderful designs created by all age groups.

Jasmine shares, “We told the children, ‘This is a competition. One child will design a Christmas card that’s going to go out across London.’ The children really enjoyed it and got very competitive! There’s a feeling we’re constantly trying to create for the children, the feeling of being valued and cared for and listened to.”

We received some fantastic artwork from the children, so it was very difficult to narrow it down to one design. In the end, we chose the below pictures. One of the artists, who is just eight years old, said, “Find joy in the little things – they make life beautiful.”

We’d like to thank all the children who took part for their creativity and for bringing so much warmth and joy to this year’s card. And we would like to thank the Solidarity Sports team for helping make the project such a success.

Get involved

Donate

Solidarity Sports is taking part in the Big Give campaign. If you make a donation here by Tuesday 9^th December, it will be match funded. So if you give £5, the charity will receive £20. Solidarity Sports is aiming to raise £100,000 to support more than two hundred families this winter.

Volunteer
Solidarity Sports relies on a large team of volunteers to support the children on trips and help with activities. One volunteer, Emily, shared, “I’m constantly inspired by the children and the amazing people I’ve met through this journey.”

If you want to join the team, call or message Joanna on 07455 906418 to find out more.

Corporate partnerships
Solidarity Sports can offer team-building volunteering days and is also keen to hear from businesses that are looking for a new Charity of the Year to support.