Our services
For employers
Whether you are taking on a new board director or a junior technician, reorganising your business, managing the exit of a key account manager, dealing with a grievance or with poor performance, or being taken to a Tribunal by a disgruntled ex-employee, we can help.
Here are just some of the services we offer for employers
Grievance & discipline
Grievances and disciplinaries are are often time-consuming and disruptive. Unless tightly managed, they can create additional problems rather than resolving the original issue. We can support you through any process, from the moment of the complaint, through an investigation, formal hearings and an appeal, advising on procedural and legal issues and drafting and reviewing documentation, with the least possible difficulty.
Business protection
It’s a commonly held belief that restrictive covenants aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Not true. If restrictive covenants are well-drafted - tailored to the employee in question and the particular damage they could do to the business were they to leave and either join a competitor or set up in competition – they are very likely to be enforceable. We draft covenants and advise organisations on the enforceability of their existing covenants, negotiating amendments and acting to enforce the covenants where necessary.
Training
Our lawyers are well-regarded public speakers on employment law and hold regular training sessions for employers and HR specialists based on what they need to know to perform their roles. We also deliver practical and lively bespoke in-house training. The fact that the in-house training is bespoke means that your employees and managers will see the relevance to them and therefore are far more likely to put into practice what they have learnt.
Ill health
Many employers are finding days lost through employee absence on health grounds, together with management time spent supporting those employees back to work, increasingly difficult. Striking the right balance between an employee’s recuperation and the needs of your business is often very tricky. We will help you deal proactively with ill-health absence, whether it is short-term but persistent, or long-term.
Commercial specialists
Wherever possible, our starting point will be your ideal solution. We won’t beat about the bush or run up your costs. We will give you a practical and sensible recommendation for dealing with the problem you raise.
Dismissal & redundancy
It is rare for the termination of employment to be an entirely smooth process. Sometimes – in a collective redundancy situation, for example – it will be important to stick to the letter of the law. At other times, a swift, low-key exit is what’s needed and that may involve taking calculated risks. We can advise on the appropriate process and the possible risks and benefits of any decision you make.
Managing change
Whether the change is a restructuring (which may or may not involve redundancies), an acquisition, the outsourcing of a function or perhaps changing or harmonising terms and conditions of employment, we have substantial experience advising on all aspects of change management. This means that we can assist employers with every step from strategic planning to successful practical implementation.
Settlement agreements
Where a business wants to offer an employee a departure on enhanced terms - whether or not a claim has already been raised, either formally or informally – a settlement agreement gives certainty that you will not end up in a Tribunal. It also offers the potential to get a contractual agreement on all sorts of other issues such as confidentiality, business protection, agreed internal and external messaging or a reference. We can advise on starting the conversation with minimal risk, what to offer and how to negotiate, and produce the necessary documentation.
Bullying and harassment
These are terms which are often used loosely and which can encompass a tangle of different issues and very frequently a breakdown in communication – a manager’s robust performance management may feel to the employee like bullying or one person’s banter may sound to a colleague like unacceptable and offensive harassment. We can help you devise a strategy to identify and resolve the key issues, containing the disruption that can otherwise flow from a breakdown in working relationships.
Contracts & handbooks
These are the foundations of any employment relationship. We can draft new individual policies or an entire handbook from scratch ensuring they dovetail with contracts of employment. We can also review your existing documentation, make recommendations to give your business the best protection and then keep you up to date with both changes in the law and best practice. Having clear, concise and up to date documentation will always put you in a better position whenever a problem arises.
Employment tribunals
Of course, no-one ever wants to end up in an Employment Tribunal – even as a witness - but sometimes it is simply inevitable. We are a small, specialist firm, and this means that we can run Tribunal claims from start to finish in a flexible, cost-effective way, giving you as much support as you need. We can represent you at hearings or select the right barrister to do the advocacy if that’s more appropriate and better value.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
A diverse and inclusive workplace is likely to be a productive and happy one which will get the best out of all its employees. We can assist you by ensuring your policies and procedures are up to date and implementing these in a fair and effective way.
We also know that allegations of discrimination are potentially the most damaging source of disputes in the workplace. These will always need to be handled sensitively but firmly. We can help you engage constructively to resolve these disputes in a way which is fair to all concerned, giving clear advice on what is a complex area of the law.
Atypical working
Flexible and hybrid working is what employees now expect – regardless of family commitments. We can help you navigate these employee expectations within the legal framework, helping you decide where the boundaries should lie and how to justify and enforce them.
Performance management
It’s easy to spot poor performance but many managers find it very difficult proactively to manage the performance of their direct reports. As a result, employers frequently find themselves on the defensive when performance has deteriorated to the point where it is significantly impacting the business. Whether your business is on the front or back foot, we can advise you on a pragmatic strategy either to improve your employee’s performance or manage them out of the business.
How much will I pay?
