Employment Law for Employers

It is our aim to fully understand your needs and the needs of your business, and in doing so to guide our clients through complex and often high-stake legal matters. We understand that employment law is a rapidly evolving area and, as your legal advisors, we are here to help you navigate that change to ensure compliance in a way that works for your organisation, whether as trusted advisor or a flexible extension of your HR or management teams.

Our experienced employment lawyers and litigators work alongside a variety of businesses and organisations from large FTSE 100 corporates to SMEs and owner-managed companies. Among our many valued clients, we have acted for employers in the publishing, education, marine, real estate, retail, healthcare and technology sectors.

Latest employment law insights for employers:

• Q&A for Employers: Dealing with flexible working requests >
• Q&A for Employers: Getting redundancy right >
• Employment Law Top Five: Practical tips for handling redundancies > 
• Q&A for Employers: Handling dismissals fairly >
• Employment Law Top Five: Practical tips for conducting disciplinary proceedings > 

From HR advice to employment tribunal representation

Although we have successfully guided many employers through the employment tribunal process, most clients wish to avoid the ‘worst case’ scenario, and our wide-ranging experience means that we are well placed to advise our clients on alternative routes to resolve disputes.

Commercially minded employment lawyers

We advise employers on all aspects of employment, from recruitment through to disciplinary actions, grievances, redundancies and other employment terminations and post-termination matters.

We also regularly provide employers with support and legal guidance through the employment aspects of acquisitions and disposals, many of which involve the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).

In addition to our employment law services, we offer businesses the unrivalled expertise of our corporate and commercial litigation and dispute resolution solicitors, ensuring that you, as an employer, benefit from an end-to-end approach to all of your legal needs.

Helping employers with HR and employment law

Our specialist employment lawyers can advise your organisation on all employment law issues throughout the employment life cycle, from recruitment through to termination. These services include:

• Recruitment – getting the recruitment process right from advert to offer
• Contracts & Policies – drafting contractual and policy documentation for employees, workers, directors and consultants
• Changing Terms and Conditions of Employment – both individually and collectively
• Restrictive Covenants – drafting and enforcing restrictive covenants
• Whistleblowing –advising you on your legal responsibilities as an employer and how to respond to protected disclosures
• Commercial Transactions & TUPE – the employment aspects of buying or selling your business or changing service provider
• Disciplinary & Grievances – advising on the process of dealing with and resolving disciplinary and grievance matters
• Redundancy & Re-structuring – devising and implementing redundancy and re-structuring schemes and providing advice and documentation to support the process from beginning to end
• Termination & Settlement Agreements – advising on the termination of employment and settlement agreements
• Defending Tribunal Claims – representing your organisation in employment claims, whether in an employment tribunal or the courts

Why employers choose our employment law specialists?

Our employment lawyers have received praise for their ‘pragmatic advice and support’ and are recognised by leading legal industry guide, the Legal 500.

Peter Rolph, Partner and employment dispute specialist, received client praise for his ‘commercially focused advice that takes into account the specific needs and concerns of his client’.

Our employment lawyers have:

• Assisted the inhouse Legal Team of a multinational publishing and educational FTSE 100 company on the employment aspects of several acquisitions and disposals, including the TUPE transfer of part of its business to a non-EU country and the re-structure of its non-transferring UK staff.
• Advised the UK arm of the world’s leading dredging company on the employment aspects of its business, both contentious and non-contentious, including the restructure of its business and the re-negotiation of collective agreements with the two trade unions that it recognised in respect of its seafaring employees.
• Acted for an international cruise line operator in relation to all its UK employment matters for its seafaring staff, including: drafting employment documentation; successfully defending several employment tribunal claims, including those involving issues of jurisdiction; and training senior HR managers from both the UK and US on UK employment issues.
• Advised one of the UK’s leading property agents on the employment aspects of their business from recruitment through to disciplinary actions, grievances, redundancies and other terminations.
• Advised a luxury retail brand in relation to the employment aspects of concession agreements with major department stores and the introduction of new terms and conditions of employment and a new bonus scheme for staff across its stand-alone, outlet and concession stores.
• Instructed by a former Chief Executive of well-known Plc, in his role on the Board of an investment company, to advise on the terminations of senior employees in various businesses in which the investment company had interests.
• Advised a multi-national white goods manufacturer on the full range of employment issues for its UK business, including the termination and settlement terms of staff working in both EU and non-EU jurisdictions.
• Advised a multi-academy trust on the terms of a complex consultancy agreement and terms of service for the supply of a highly specialised employee to other academy trusts and local authorities.
• Advised on the handling of a complex whistleblowing and disability discrimination grievance for a large prep school.
• Advised on and drafted the employment aspects of a bespoke catering outsourcing agreement for a large prep school.
• Advised a private medical care company on the TUPE transfer of its business to an NHS Trust.
• Advised several tech start-ups on the employment aspects of their business and the recruitment of key hires.

Here to help you

Peter Rolph

Peter is a Partner in the firm’s dispute resolution team and acts in a wide range of commercial disputes. He has particular expertise in the enforcement of restrictive covenants and has considerable experience in acting for employers on contentious employment claims before the Employment Tribunal and High Court.

Email [email protected] or call 01202 983 999

Fees & Transparency

We can offer flexible fee structures to best suit your organisation’s needs – in addition to the traditional hourly ‘pay as you go’ option, we are able to offer fixed fees for drafting documentation and annual retainers to cover day to day employment support.

We are committed to transparency on legal fees. Further details and indicative pricing for bringing or defending a claim of unfair dismissal can be found here. Details for the employment team and their experience can be found here.