Employment law and HR

Keeping up to date with the latest employment law advice

The landscape of employment law is constantly evolving. Whether you’re an employer or employee, staying compliant and making confident decisions requires up-to-date, accurate legal guidance. Our experienced employment lawyers help clients to navigate this rapidly evolving area of law by offering employment law advice cost-effectively, providing accurate legal advice, support and guidance tailored to your specific needs. We aim to protect your interests, reduce risk, and provide clarity.

Our expertise and knowledge ensure that you are up to date with the latest legislation by reviewing or creating your essential staffing contracts, staff handbook, policies and procedures and providing tailored employment law advice where needed.

Any employment law breach, inadvertent or otherwise, can be draining on your business, both financially and operationally, given the management time often required to rectify these issues. 

With the law regularly changing and new employment cases being decided daily, we produce a monthly e-bulletin which will keep you updated with any significant changes or milestone decisions. You can sign up to receive our e-bulletin here.

Our areas of expertise

Managing employees' performance

Performance can be one of the most challenging aspects of managing people, and it shouldn't just be left until employee reviews. The challenges you face when you're dealing with an individual’s performance or ill-health can put a strain on your business, so it is crucial to have plans in place from the outset.

Performance and capability policies are designed to improve and maintain standards of performance and ensure that those standards are consistent across your business. These policies can be a great tool in your armoury when dealing with performance issues as they offer a benchmark to work towards.

Performance issues due to sickness or short-term absences can be far trickier to deal with. It's advisable to have a clear absence management policy, which is applied across your business and is accessible to all employees.

Employee grievances

Conflicts in the workplace will happen. Employees will encounter problems, concerns and issues that they feel need resolving. Some of these can be resolved informally, and if necessary by following a grievance policy that has been designed specifically for your business. However, if things escalate, it's important to seek an early resolution to try and avoid any disruption to your business, and the costs and stress of having to involve the Employment Tribunal.

The ACAS Code of Practice sets out the requirements for dealing with grievances. All employers are required to act fairly and in a reasonable manner when dealing with grievance issues.

By having a clearly defined grievance procedure, it will be clear to all employees the process you will go through to address their concerns. As with all policies, your grievance policy and procedure  should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain compliant, are updated in line with any changes made to employment law and continue to suit the needs of your business.

Our advice on managing grievances is tailored to you and is specifically designed to achieve a resolution quickly to minimise the time and risks to you and your business. We are able to advise you in the background and/or chair grievance meetings on your behalf. We are also happy to provide your management team with tailored training on how to manage grievances.

Restrictive covenants in employment contracts

Employment contracts often contain clauses restricting an individual’s working activity when they leave a business. These clauses, known as ‘post termination restrictive covenants’, typically restrict the ex-staff member’s ability to work in competing businesses, to deal with clients, to try to win business from them, or to poach other staff members.

From an employer’s perspective, restrictive covenants are an obvious way of protecting its interests after an individual’s employment terminates. By the same token, employees will not want their freedom to work elsewhere or to deal with business contacts curtailed. Given these competing interests, it is not surprising that, as several court cases have shown, enforcing restrictive covenants is rarely straightforward so careful drafting is crucial. To succeed, a restrictive covenant has to be very specific, proportionate to the employee’s status, reasonable in its demands, and the employee must agree to the terms.  

We have considerable experience in advising on restrictive covenants, having drafted clauses into all levels of employment contracts.

Mediation

Taking a claim to a tribunal can be costly, time-consuming, and emotionally draining. Courts and tribunals have long encouraged the (voluntary) use of mediation as a confidential method of settling disputes in a more conciliatory, less confrontational way, which is why it is most effective when used by parties who are actively seeking an agreement.

Mediators themselves are independent, professionally trained individuals, many of whom are lawyers, who help both parties to see the wood for the trees. Mediators do not offer an opinion on the dispute; they are there to facilitate reaching an agreement. They are able to put a positive interpretation on proceedings to help both parties reach an agreement that works for both sides. At Wright Hassall, we are able to offer mediation service and have qualified in-house mediators.

Both sides to an employment dispute often find the use of mediation to be a constructive method of resolving a dispute. It is cost-effective and should produce a positive outcome, provided that both parties fully commit to the process. If you would like to find out more about mediation and whether it is the right route for you, get in touch with us.

Restructuring and redundancy

Businesses restructure for many reasons, to downsize, to cut costs or to concentrate on other product lines and markets. In many cases, this involves making some employees’ roles redundant to avoid the business going into administration.

It is essential as an employer to ensure this process is carried out fairly and legally. For example, if you're making up to 99 employees redundant, you need to start the consultation process at least 30 days before the first redundancy takes place. For over 100 employees, this changes to 45 days.

You should always seek legal advice from a qualified employment lawyer on this process, including the option to request voluntary redundancy and to understand whether TUPE applies. Seeking advice will ensure that the risk of any employment tribunal claims is minimised. If you require any advice in relation to proposed redundancies then please do not hesitate to contact any of the member of our employment team who would be happy to discuss this with you.

TUPE

TUPE (“Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006”) can be a complex area of employment law, and one that most employers overlook. However, it is crucial that employers are aware of their obligation and liabilities under this complex, but frequently engaged piece of legislation.

There are several scenarios where TUPE applies, for example, when a business or part of it, is sold to a new employer. TUPE is designed to protect the original rights and terms and conditions of the employees before and after the sale.

Our lawyers specialise in TUPE work, supporting the TUPE aspects of the transactional work undertaken by the commercial, corporate and social housing teams. We have advised both purchasers and vendors in company acquisitions, sales and outsourcing transactions and the team is particularly experienced in advising registered providers on the TUPE implications of Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVTs).

Employment Tribunal claims

Bringing or defending employment tribunal claims can be stressful, time-consuming and costly. Our employment solicitors are experienced in dealing with any employment disputes and are able to guide you through the tribunal process from start to finish, gather evidence, and provide you with practical steps on how to progress matters.

The most frequent disputes in an employment scenario are unfair dismissal, constructive unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination.

Before submitting a claim, all employees have to follow the ACAS Early Conciliation (EC) process. This gives both you and your employee a chance to resolve the dispute without the need to go to the employment tribunal. Our employment lawyers have a wealth of experience in handling the ACAS EC process, and would be happy to provide you with any assistance you may require.

If the ACAS EC process is unsuccessful, and the employee does proceed with a claim, it is advised that you seek legal advice quickly. You will have to respond to the employee’s claim within by a specific deadline and it is vital that you do not miss this deadline and that the defence you submit is as strong as possible.

We can assist you in responding to the claim by helping you to complete the ET3 response form including the specific particulars of your defence, ensuring all the details and facts are captured. We can also assist in gathering and preparing witness statements and evidence to support your defence.

We work with a wide variety of clients, ranging from SMEs and start-ups through to global organisations and public sector bodies. In the event that an employee did submit a claim against your business, we are well placed to guide, advise and assist you seamlessly through the tribunal process.

We have defended a wide range of cases on behalf of both corporates and senior directors involving an extensive range of issues such as whistleblowing, unfair dismissal, discrimination on the grounds of religious belief, age, race, sex and disability as well as TUPE related dismissals.

Disciplinary issues

Disciplinary issues involving employees are something that should never be taken lightly. ACAS set out clear guidance on following a reasonable procedure when considering disciplining an employee. This called the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, often referred to as the 'ACAS Code'.

It’s wise to have a disciplinary policy and procedure in place which follows the ACAS Code as part of your overall people management toolkit. Your policy should set out the exact steps to be followed should a disciplinary situation arise.

However, with or without a policy, you still have to abide by the four-stage process so that, no matter what the outcome, you can demonstrate that you have followed a fair procedure. This process includes: conducting an investigation; informing the employee of the allegations against them; having at least one formal meeting with them to allow them to respond; confirming the outcome in writing and giving them the right to appeal against the outcome.

It is essential to deal with cases requiring disciplinary action as soon as they arise to avoid the situation spiralling and to protect your business, it is also part of a fair procedure to deal with issues promptly. Knowing the right steps to take can save you time, and mean you avoid a claim being brought against your business. If you require advice or support in respect of a potential disciplinary issue, then our employment lawyers are on hand to help and guide you through the process.

Settlement agreements

A settlement agreement is used to bring a contract of employment to an end without the risk of the employee bringing a claim in the employment tribunal against you; you offer them a “sweetener” in the form of compensation and they agree not to pursue the business in respect of any potential claims they may have.  Settlement agreements are usually comprehensive, well-drafted documents that list out all the possible claims to indemnify the business against them.

Our employment law solicitors can work with you to negotiate the terms of the settlement agreement, the amount offered as part of the agreement and ensure details such as post-termination restrictions are covered to protect you from ex-employees taking current and future business or key personnel from you. If you are considering offering an employee a settlement agreement our employment law solicitors can guide you through the process and can draft the agreements for you to issue.

Why choose our employment lawyers?

We know you want prompt, reliable and accurate employment law advice – we go above and beyond by adding a friendly face and consistent contact to guide you through whatever issue or process you’re facing. You’re not just another client; you’re an advocate.

Our team of employment lawyers offer bespoke advice tailored to your unique situation. The team is recognised in the Legal 500 for their outstanding knowledge and service delivery.

"The team at Wright Hassall offers an exceptional legal service. They make you feel valued, supported and equipped to deal with complex situations with legal implications. It’s a gold standard service’"

Employment law and HR training 

We have developed a comprehensive training programme for companies so they can equip their managers with the skills and knowledge they need to run and develop their teams or departments. We can develop bespoke training to suit your needs, covering an extensive range of topics, including the following:

• An introduction to employment law for managers.
• An introduction to HR processes and procedures.
• Recruitment and selection: how to pick the 'right' candidate.
• Bullying and harassment in the workplace.
• Preventing workplace bullying and harassment in conjunction with Conduct Change. View brochure here.
• Banter v discrimination in the workplace.
• Termination of employment: an overview.
• How to manage stress in the workplace.
• Managing absence: holidays, family friendly leave and long-term sickness.
• Conducting effective disciplinary investigations and hearings.
• Conducting an effective grievance process.
• Flexible vs hybrid working: what are the differences?
• Homeworking: practical considerations for employers.
• Discrimination in the workplace: the impact of the Equality Act 2010.
• Sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Redundancy: how to conduct an effective and legal process.
• Protected Conversations/Without Prejudice discussions and Settlement Agreements: what are they and when can they be used?
• How to manage underperforming employees.
• Conduct vs capability: which process should you use?
• Worker, employee or self-employed: how to determine employment status.
• What do the Working Time Regulations mean for your business?
• Employer and employee obligations post termination.

We believe the maximum benefit of these training sessions or interactive workshops can be achieved by delivering them face to face. However, we are happy to discuss delivering this training remotely if this is more suitable for your organisation.

We are also able to offer our training programmes in a more informal and flexible way via our shorter Lunch and Learn sessions.

If you would like more information on what we can offer, or to organise training sessions, please contact us for more information. You can view our training brochure here.

Pricing transparency

Quality assured: Wright Hassall is Lexcel accredited, the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for practice management and client care.

The cost of running a tribunal depends on the complexity of the case: *complex cases involving a range of claims, multiple witnesses and extended documentation will, inevitably, cost more than routine or straightforward cases that concern one single claim, fewer witnesses and less documentation.

Speak to an employment lawyer today