Employment Law Solicitors for Employers

As an employer, you have various rights, responsibilities, and obligations that can often be challenging to navigate. When issues arise between you and an employee, it is vital that you understand the actions you can take to reach a positive outcome and avoid further complications.

At Biscoes, we have a specialist employment law department that can take the sting out of employment issues when they arise. Better yet, we can act promptly to prevent them from arising in the first place, saving you time, stress, and money.

Our specialist employment law team is ready and waiting to provide your business with pragmatic, and commercially sound advice. No matter the size of your business, what your circumstances involve, or how serious the matter at hand may be, we can offer you a tailored service to suit your individual and business employment needs.

Specifically, our employment solicitors for employers can assist with: 

• Restructure and Redundancy
• Dealing with Grievances
• Issues with Performance of Employees
• Issues with Ill Health and capability of employees
• Business Transfers and Service Provision Changes - TUPE
• Constructive Dismissal
• Disciplinary Assistance for Employers
• Discrimination
• Dismissal of Employees
• Employment Tribunal Process
• Enforcing Restricted Covenants
• Equal Pay for Employers
• GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
• Race Discrimination for Employers
• Negotiating Employee termination and drafting Settlement Agreements
• Stress at Work for Employers
• Whistle Blowing - Public Interest Disclosures
• Workplace Grievances for Employers

Speak to our employment law solicitors for employers today

If you would like to contact one of our employment law solicitors for employers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, please call 02392 60261. Alternatively, please fill out this simple contact form, and we will respond promptly.

Why work with our team?

Biscoes has a specialist employment law department dedicated to resolving matters for commercial clients who are burdened with the weight of strict employment law regulations and parameters. We have years of experience helping businesses of all sizes resolve complex employment law issues, avoid disputes, and minimise disruptions to their operations.

Our employment law team will tailor their services to your commercial operations to ensure a seamless and significant improvement, anticipating any potential legal hurdles well in advance.

By working with our specialist employment law solicitors, your business will be in the best position to secure positive results, save time and money handling complex disputes and ensure that matters are handled as efficiently as possible.

In addition to handling individual claims and disputes, we also offer specialist HR and training services to ensure that your business has all of the essential tools and resources to handle employment matters with confidence.

Our HR Services can include assistance in dealing with grievances, disciplinary action and Performance issues, as well as drafting policies and advising on restructures, contract variations, redundancy and business reorganisations and transfers. 

We also provide bespoke training for managers in handling the conduct of employees at work and performance issues.

As a firm, we proudly hold the prestigious Lexcel accreditation, a testament to our excellence in legal practice management and outstanding client care.

Our employment law for employers’ services

Restructure and redundancy

Several situations could necessitate restructuring or making several employees redundant. Whatever the circumstances, it is essential that the correct processes are followed.

Our employment law solicitors are experienced in dealing with all types of restructuring and redundancy issues and will be well-placed to advise you on the best course of action to protect your business from any potential legal claims.

Dealing with grievances

An employee might raise a grievance if they have any concerns or complaints at work. It is extremely important that you, as an employer, handle grievances in the correct manner.

We have extensive experience in advising employers on all types of grievances and how to effectively handle them, as well as supporting with the process of drafting a clear grievance procedure to refer to.

Issues with the performance of employees

Addressing an employee's poor performance can be a sensitive issue, as there may be a variety of factors at play. Regardless, it is important to have a clear plan in place and understand the options available for reaching a suitable resolution.

Our employment solicitors can explain the informal and formal solutions that you can consider when handling issues with the performance of your employees, including dismissal where appropriate.

Issues with ill health and capability of employees

The capability of employees can be significantly affected by ill health. This can be an extremely sensitive issue to correctly navigate, so it is important that you have a robust set of policies in place.

We can work with you to make certain that your employment contracts make the correct provisions for potential ill health, consider whether you need to make reasonable adjustments to their job under the Equality Act 2010, or if you are in a position to issue a fair dismissal.

Business transfers and service provision changes – TUPE

The Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”) acts to enforce an employee’s rights when the service that they perform is contracted to another organisation or when the business itself is transferred to another owner. These transitions open businesses up to vulnerabilities and potential lawsuits.

Our employment law solicitors have substantial experience in helping employers handle TUPE, ensuring that all essential obligations and duties are fulfilled, including Duty to Inform and Duty to Consult where applicable.

Constructive dismissal

A claim can be made where an employee accuses you of breaching the terms of their contract of employment. This is known as constructive dismissal and can come into effect under various circumstances, typically relating to an allegation that you have failed to meet a duty of trust and obligation not to incite dismissal without reasonable cause and proper process.

Constructive dismissals are complex and require legal experience to resolve. While the burden of proof to prove the claim settles on the employee, there are still critical steps an employer should take to both prevent such claims and mitigate the potential damages they may cause.

Our employment law solicitors can support employers in defending their dismissal protocols and in establishing new practices to prevent future claims.  

Disciplinary assistance for employers

It is a statutory requirement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 for Employers to have disciplinary and grievance procedures, which will typically be set out as a policy in a staff handbook or a separate document that must be made readily available to employees.

An accurate disciplinary procedure which has been correctly drafted can help to save your business valuable time and money, by mitigating the potential for claims being raised by current or former employees.

Employers disciplinary procedures must also comply with a minimum standard within the latest ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Performance and capability can be called into question, and particular sensitivity and discretion is expected when disciplinary matters arise around situations of ill health.

We can work with you to help establish secure disciplinary procedures and draft them into company literature and handbooks. We also assist you in following these processes and dealing with capability, disciplinary, or performance-related issues.

Discrimination

Direct and indirect discrimination claims can have devastating consequences on businesses and employers. We particularly specialise in the management of discrimination claims relating to age harassment.

Our employment law solicitors for employers discuss your legal needs relating to a discrimination case, acting on your behalf where required. 

Dismissal of employees

For the dismissal of an employee to be legally fair, it must be for one of the following reasons: capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality, or any other substantial reason. These fair reasons are set out in detail in the Employment Rights Act 1996.

You are advised to seek legal advice before terminating an employee’s contract. Failing to do so could leave you vulnerable to a claim. This is something our team can provide you with, guiding you through a legally sound and commercially focused dismissal process.

Employment Tribunal process

Facing an Employment Tribunal claim can be a very stressful process, particularly as a negative outcome could have a serious impact on your business. Our employment law solicitors can provide robust representation during any type of tribunal claim, ensuring that you are in the strongest position to achieve a positive outcome. Depending on the circumstances and strength of an employee’s claim, this may include advising on an early settlement to save time, money and stress.

We can help you with every aspect of an Employment Tribunal case, including case management orders, preliminary and final hearings, interlocutors applications, the obligation of disclosure, witnesses, the conclusion of the hearing and judgement, and finalising any settlements.

Enforcing restricted covenants

If a former employee is diverting business away from your company, or making profit from your clients outside of the business, then they are likely breaching one or more restrictive clauses in their employment contract. This could include a non-compete clause, non-dealing, or non-solicitation.

Employers should be mindful to secure legal assistance when crafting their employment contracts to ensure that such clauses are properly defined and enforceable. Our employment law solicitors for employers can intervene on your behalf if a former employee is breaking a restricted covenant by diverting business away from your company, or in the early drafting and implementation of non-compete and other such clauses.

Equal pay for employers

The Equality Act 2010 provides that employers must make sure that all employees within their workforce, regardless of gender, receive the same pay for performing like-work or work of equal value. The term ‘pay’ of course includes basic pay, but also other elements such as overtime, bonuses, pension schemes, and so on.

It can be complicated to determine if two or more jobs are worth equal financial value and how that value is constructed from many employment payments or advantages. We can assist and advise you on your options if a worker suspects they have suffered from unequal pay.

Our team also frequently help businesses conduct investigations into their own practices to determine whether there are issues with pay equality that need to be addressed.

GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation

Our General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) specialist advisors can help your company ensure it is fully compliant with all data protection regulations by providing template policies, privacy notices, compliance assessments, and assistance in managing data breaches and Data Subject Access Requests. Protecting employees’ information is critical to your company’s welfare, and a mistake can have devastating consequences.

Race discrimination for employers

Employers are bound by The Equality Act, which combines the laws relating to discrimination and makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees or job applications directly or indirectly because of race or subject an employee to race-based harassment or victimisation.

Our employment law solicitors can assist if an allegation of race discrimination has been raised or should you wish to establish protocols and practices to help you avoid discrimination claims.

Settlement agreements

A settlement agreement prevents an employee from bringing claims against their employer in a County Court, High Court, or Employment Tribunal. There are multiple circumstances in which negotiating a settlement agreement is an attractive means of bringing a dispute with an employee to a conclusion without further delays.

Under Section 203(3)(c) of the Employment Rights Act 1997, there are strict regulations on how a settlement agreement must be drafted, what it must include, and the conditions that constitute its validity, including requiring legal advice, witnesses, and other protocols.

We can play a key role in the settlement agreement process and either visit you or provide suitable premises for all the involved appointments, managing all of the paperwork and legalities on your behalf, saving you a lot of time and internal resources.

Stress at work for employers

Employers must follow strict health and safety legislations, including conducting risk assessments and stress audits, alongside owing employees a common-law duty to safeguard their health and safety.

It can be relatively easy to be found in breach of stress-related responsibilities. Our team have substantial experience in supporting both large and smaller commercial businesses to establish suitable stress preventing protocols and ensure that the duty of care is followed. We also oversee stress-related complaints and advise on proper responses and investigations, alongside any necessary further action.

Whistleblowing - public interest disclosures

Whistleblowing refers to an employee publicly reporting certain sorts of alleged wrongdoing in their workplace. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and Public Interest Disclosure Act (“PIDA”), whistleblowers are protected under certain qualifiers regarding the nature of their disclosure.

Employers must take immediate legal advice to prevent further damage to their reputation and avoid potentially significant claims. We have specialist expertise in handling even the most sensitive cases involving whistleblowing, and will assist in navigating businesses out of this volatile situation with commercially minded legal advice and support.

Workplace grievances for employers

Employers should take decisive steps when an employee raises what appears to be a formal complaint, even if the nature of the issues raised are not immediately clear to be a formal grievance. Preventative action is always recommended to prevent the situation from deteriorating.

Grievances are notoriously difficult to manage. Biscoes has a dedicated team of experts poised to address workplace grievances with effective legal counsel and minimal fallout to your company. If you have received an informal complaint from an employee, a formal grievance, or were contacted by ACAS, then reach out.

Frequently asked questions about our employment law for employers’ services

What constitutes employment discrimination?

An employer must not treat an employee or job applicant unfairly, or less favourably due to protected factors, including:

• Disability
• Gender
• Gender reassignment
• Age
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Race
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Religion of belief
• Marriage or civil partnership

Failing to do so could be considered employment discrimination.

What is the time limit for making an Employment Tribunal claim?

Employees have 3 months minus 1 day from the problematic event that happened at work to make an Employment Tribunal claim. There are, however, some exceptions.

If you ended an individual’s employment due to matters relating to the claim, such as a complaint over unfair circumstances, then the time limit starts on the day that the employment ended.

Employees are required to complete Early Conciliation through ACAS before being able to commence most claims before an Employment Tribunal. Early Conciliation can extend these limitation periods by the time spent in Early Conciliation or by at least a month from the end of Conciliation.

Furthermore, if the claim is for redundancy pay or equal pay, then the limit extends to 6 months minus 1 day. For working time regulations claims, the time limit starts 3 months from the date when the right ought to have been permitted. In all of the situations Time Limits can also be extended through Early Conciliation through ACAS.

Are settlement agreements legally binding?

In short, yes, so long as the settlement agreement was drawn up and signed in the correct, legally binding manner. Your settlement agreement with an employee must have valid terms, clauses, and conditions of signature, and any mistake can leave you vulnerable to future disputes.

Speak to our employment law solicitors for employers today

If you would like to contact one of our employment law solicitors in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, please call 02392 60261.Alternatively, please fill out this simple contact form, and we will respond promptly.