Employment for your business

Introduction

Employment law is one of the fastest growing areas of law and employees' rights frequently change. We work closely with our clients to ensure that they are alerted to changes and their businesses are prepared for them. 

Our experience of acting for organisations across a wide range of industries and service areas in the public and private sector means that we also appreciate the issues clients face in the context of their business.

To ensure our advice is cost effective we will, where possible, agree a fixed fee with you, otherwise we will give you a clear estimate for the work and keep you informed of the costs.

Set out here are some of the services we provide. If you require advice in any other area of employment law please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573.

Our Services

• Employment contracts (including directors’ service agreements), handbooks and policies
• Preparing post-termination covenants and acting in injunction proceedings
• Managing day-to-day employment issues
• Equal opportunities and discrimination
• Redundancy situations
• Advising on other employee dismissals
• Negotiating termination packages and compromise agreements
• Defending employment tribunal and employment appeal tribunal claims
• Business sales, acquisitions and outsourcing

If you require advice or assistance on any employment law issue please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Do you need an employment contract or policy?

We provide clients with contracts and policies that are individually tailored to your business requirements. We also draft directors’ service agreements, handbooks, consultancy agreements and other employment-related documentation. Having up-to-date and jargon-free employment documentation is essential, and will not only assist with the day-to-day running of your business but could prove to be invaluable if a dispute arises.

We can draft your contracts of employment or update your existing documents to bring them in line with the most recent legislation. We will also provide practical advice on which policies and procedures are suitable for your business. We will keep you informed of developments and amend your policies, or provide new ones, as and when the law changes. 

If it is some time since you had your documents reviewed, why not let us provide you with a free check so that you can see what steps need to be taken to bring your documentation up-to-date.

We can also advise on changing employees’ terms and conditions of employment.

If you want to know more or require advice on drafting employment documents please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by emailing Joanne or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment Team.

Do you worry about employees misusing your confidential information?

We regularly assist clients in drafting post termination covenants to protect their business interests from departing employees/directors. We can also advise on whether existing post termination covenants are likely to be enforceable and if necessary act in injunction proceedings with our Dispute Resolution Department. 

If you want to know more or require advice or assistance in dealing with employees apparently in breach of post termination covenants please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Do you need practical legal advice on day-to-day employment issues?

Many of our clients require telephone or email advice on a range of issues arising in their business, from answering a query on maternity or holiday rights to advising on a situation where an employee is taking excessive absence from work. We offer a fast call-back service to ensure you receive advice quickly. We can also assist in the preparation of appropriate letters or emails.

If you want to know more or have a query on which you require advice please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Are you considering redundancies?

Redundancy is when a person is dismissed because they are no longer needed by their employer. Generally, this happens for one of three reasons:

• Complete cessation of your business
• The shutting down of a place of work
• Reduction in the number of employees needed to do a particular job

You are obliged to consult your employees about their potential redundancy, and must undertake collective consultation with employee representatives where twenty or more employees are to be made redundant at one establishment (i.e. usually a single workplace) within a period of ninety days or less.

Employment tribunal claims, such as unfair dismissal or discrimination, most often arise where redundancy is not the real reason for dismissal, where the employee feels they have been unfairly selected for redundancy or where there has been no genuine consultation about the redundancy prior to dismissal. 

We can advise you on all aspects of redundancy, including the consultation process, redundancy selection and the appropriate statutory redundancy pay. Where necessary we can also facilitate a compromise agreement. We appreciate that redundancies are often a last resort and we can assist you in considering alternatives such as short time working, temporary lay-offs, staff re-organisations or pay deductions. 

If you want to know more or require advice on handling a redundancy situation or alternative strategies for your business, please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Do you require advice on a business sale/acquisition/outsourcing?

If you are buying or selling a business, or outsourcing your in-house services such as Payroll or HR, it is likely that the employment rights of employees involved will be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. We can provide answers to queries you may have such as:

• What happens to employee contracts?
• What are your consultation obligations?
• What employee information are you obliged to provide to the other party in the transaction?
• What happens if you need to make redundancies or other changes in connection with the business transfer or outsourcing arrangements?

We will work closely with our Corporate & Commercial Department in guiding you through the transaction.

If you want to know more, or require advice on the impact of a business sale or acquisition on your employees, please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Do you need advice on a termination package for an employee/director?

We regularly assist employers in negotiating tax-efficient termination packages for employees where a quick exit is required to avoid damage to the business and/or the time and costs of undertaking a full dismissal procedure. Such situations need to be carefully handled and we can assist in all aspects including the appropriate time to offer a termination package and also briefing notes for your without prejudice discussions.

It is usual to set out the terms of the settlement in a compromise agreement. These are written agreements under which the employee (or ex-employee) will refrain from issuing or continuing legal proceedings, usually in return for a lump sum payment. 

We can prepare a suitably worded agreement to protect your business interests and, because the employee is obliged to take legal advice on the terms of the agreement, can also negotiate settlement on your behalf with their adviser to achieve the best outcome for your business.

If you want to know more or require advice on terminating employment by way of a compromise agreement, please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573. or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team. 

Have you received a tribunal claim against you/your business?

Employment tribunal claims are often costly and time consuming to defend. Even if you win, it is unlikely you will recover these costs, and if you lose you could also be required to make a large compensation payment. We therefore recommend you take legal advice as soon as you receive an employment tribunal claim.

We have extensive experience of dealing with all types of employment tribunal claims such as constructive/unfair dismissal, discrimination claims and claims of unlawful deductions from wages.  Whether you wish to settle a claim or to fight it at tribunal, we will advise you on an appropriate strategy.

If you want to know more or require advice on defending an employment tribunal claim, please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Are you contemplating dismissing an employee?

There are currently five potential fair reasons for dismissal:

• Conduct e.g. theft, unauthorised absence from work   
• Capability e.g. where the employee is not performing to the required standard
• Redundancy
• Some other substantial reason e.g. unreasonable refusal to accept changes to terms and conditions of employment
• Statutory illegality i.e. where it is illegal to employ such as where the employee does not have permission to work in this country

We can assist you with determining whether you have a fair reason for dismissal and ensuring that you follow the appropriate dismissal procedure. 

We can advise you of the risk of a successful tribunal claim when dismissing an employee and how best to minimise this. Where appropriate, we will advise on a severance package and facilitate termination negotiations under a compromise agreement.

If you want to know more or require advice on dismissing an employee please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.

Are you aware of your obligations to prevent unlawful discrimination?

You may be faced with an employee who has raised a grievance based on alleged harassment because of their sex, or you may be concerned that your workplace practices and procedures do not comply with the anti-discrimination legislation.

It is unlawful to discriminate on grounds of:

• Race
• Sex
• Disability
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation 
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Gender re-assignment
• Marriage and Civil Partnership
• Age

We can assist you in handling a specific complaint of unlawful discrimination, whether made as part of a grievance or an employment tribunal claim. We can also advise on drafting an equality policy and its effective implementation within your business.

In high risk areas, such as the recruitment and selection process, we can assist in ensuring your managers/supervisors comply with the anti-discrimination laws by providing in-house training awareness and auditing your recruitment documentation.

If you want to know more or require advice on equal opportunities or discrimination law relating to your employees please contact Joanne Kavanagh, Head of Employment, in confidence and without obligation, by email or by calling 01737 854 573 or speak to your usual contact in the Employment team.