Employment Law for Employers
All employers, no matter how big or small, have a legal duty to treat their employees fairly and to comply with all aspects of UK employment law. Understanding your legal obligations to your employees and how you can work within these to effectively manage your workforce can be complicated, so it is essential to take specialist legal advice.
Our employment lawyers recognise that all companies adopt a slightly different approach to employee management. You may operate a full internal human resources team, have a single human resources person or, like most small businesses, have you, the boss, doing it all.
Whatever your set-up, you are likely to face a number of issues where you should seek professional legal advice. Whether you are producing contracts of employment, dealing with a disciplinary issue, dismissing an employee, making redundancies or dealing with an employment dispute, in the long run, having expert advice can save you time and money.
Employment law is a potential minefield for the inexperienced and uninitiated. It is one area of law that probably seems to you to be in a constant state of flux, often because of the European Community angle. As employees become more aware of their rights and become increasingly prepared to seek legal redress, it is vital that employers stay abreast of developments.
With over 130,000 applications annually by employees to employment tribunals in the UK, and with the upper limits of some awards now raised to more than £50,000 (with some unlimited), employers need to be fully and properly advised about relevant law and procedures.
Our employment lawyers can help you to take proactive action, such as ensuring contracts of employment are well-written and that issues such as dismissal are handled properly, minimising the risk of disputes and disruption to your business.
Where an employment dispute has arisen, we can help you find a fast, effective solution that protects your business and lets you move on as soon as possible. In most cases, we are able to use settlement agreements and other non-confrontational approaches to solve employment disputes, meaning an employment tribunal is rarely required.
For expert advice on any area of employment law, please contact our local offices in Blackheath, Croydon, Medway and Guildford.
Our employment law services for employers
Whether you need help with a single issue or are looking for a more comprehensive HR and employment law solution, our team can provide the clear legal expertise and professional service you require.
Our employment lawyers provide practical advice on all employment law issues including:
- Contracts of employment
- Data Protection
- Disciplinary action and grievance procedures
- Discrimination for sex, race, disability
- Employment Tribunals
- Family friendly policies
- Maternity leave
- Minimum wage
- Paternity leave
- Redundancy and dismissal
- Restrictive covenants
- Service agreements
- Trade unions
- Transfer regulations upon company acquisitions
- TUPE including indemnities and warranties
- Unfair dismissal
- Whistle blowing
- Wrongful dismissal and breach of contract
How we can help you find the right outcome to employment disputes for your organisation
In general, most employers will want to avoid an employment tribunal when faced with an employment dispute. Tribunal proceedings can be time consuming and costly, with the outcome never certain and the potential for significant damage to your reputation.
For this reason, our employment dispute team will usually recommend seeking alternative solutions that allow you to side-step the need for an employment tribunal.
Most employment disputes can be resolved through processes such as early conciliation and settlement agreements. We can advise you on how these options work and whether they may be right for your situation and interests.
Our employment lawyers can support you during early conciliation and can draft settlement agreements that match your interests where required. We can also provide representation for employees to whom you wish to offer a settlement agreement, which is a requirement for a settlement agreement to be considered legal.
Our employment law pricing for employers
We recognise that cost is always an important consideration for any business or organisation. We aim to keep our pricing straightforward and transparent, so you can be confident you are getting good value and can stay in control of your costs.
We are able to offer some services on a fixed fee basis, such as drafting standard contracts of employment, while other services may be charged according to a pre-agreed hourly rate. All billable work will be agreed in advance and invoices provided to an agreed schedule to make things as easy as we can for your budgeting.
To find out more about our employment law pricing for employers, please get in touch.
Get in touch with our employment law solicitors today
To speak to one of our employment law solicitors today then please ring 0208 680 5018 or contact your local Atkins Hope office in Blackheath, Croydon, Medway or Guildford. Alternatively, email ja@atkinshope.co.uk for a quick response.
