Employment law advice for employers: contracts and policies, disciplinary and sickness issues, redundancies, settlement agreements and tribunal claims.
We advise employers, from businesses taking on their first member of staff to companies with their own HR teams, on contracts and policies, disciplinary and performance issues, sickness absence, redundancies, settlement agreements and employment tribunal claims. Tribunals look closely at the process an employer followed as well as the reason for its decision, so we advise while decisions are being made and when a claim arrives. We also work with HR consultancies and payroll bureaus whose clients need a solicitor.
Our employment work covers the whole working relationship. At the start, that means contracts of employment, the written statement of terms that employees and workers must receive by their first day, contractor agreements, staff handbooks, policies and restrictive covenants. During employment, it means disciplinary and grievance issues, performance management, long-term sickness, flexible working requests and family leave. At the end, it means dismissals, redundancies, settlement agreements, references, and the transfer of staff when a business or a contract changes hands.
Employment law is changing in stages under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Since April 2026, statutory sick pay has been payable from the first day of sickness, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave have been available from the first day of employment, and the maximum protective award for failing to consult on collective redundancies has doubled to 180 days' pay. From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims is six months instead of three, where the dismissal or other act complained of happens on or after that date. From 1 January 2027, employees can claim unfair dismissal after six months' employment instead of two years, and the cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal is removed. We can review your contracts, handbook and probation arrangements against these changes and tell you what needs updating.
When you contact us about a live issue, tell us the employee's start date and role, what has happened so far and any deadline, such as a meeting date or a tribunal response date, and send us the contract, the relevant policy and the main emails or notes. We give you our view of the risk and the steps to take, and confirm the scope and cost in writing before we start. If an HR consultancy or payroll bureau already supports your business, we will work with them so that the advice and the paperwork are consistent.
Before bringing most tribunal claims, an employee must notify Acas for early conciliation, which gives both sides the opportunity to settle before a claim is issued. If a claim is issued, the employer must respond within 28 days, and if the response is late or not sent, the tribunal may decide the claim without a hearing. We prepare the response, the documents and the witness statements, represent you at the hearing, and advise on settlement at each stage.
The work we do most often in this area. If your matter is not listed, ask us.
Employment contracts, written statements of terms, contractor and consultancy agreements, staff handbooks and workplace policies, drafted for your business or reviewed against current law, including the changes being introduced in stages by the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Advice on handling misconduct, poor performance, sickness absence and grievances in line with the Acas Code of Practice, from the investigation and the letters to the meetings and any appeal, so that the decision you reach can be defended if it is challenged.
Agreements ending employment on agreed terms, under which the employee gives up the right to bring tribunal claims in return for a payment. We draft the agreement to meet the legal conditions for a valid waiver and set out the tax treatment of each payment for your payroll.
Planning a redundancy or reorganisation: selection pools and criteria, individual and collective consultation, suitable alternative roles, notice and redundancy pay, and the notification to the Redundancy Payments Service required where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment.
Non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses drafted for the employee's role, and action when a former employee is using your confidential information or approaching your clients or staff, including applications to court for an injunction where the evidence supports one.
Defending claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, unlawful deductions from wages and whistleblowing, from Acas early conciliation through the response, disclosure of documents, witness statements and the hearing, with advice at each stage on the cost of continuing and on settlement.
We tell you early whether there is a problem to deal with and what your realistic options are, with the likely cost of each.
An experienced solicitor does the work on your matter and stays your point of contact until it is finished.
We keep the matter moving and update you at each stage: what has happened, what happens next and when.
Employees and workers must receive a written statement of the main terms of their employment on or before their first day, covering matters such as pay, hours, holiday, the job, the start date, notice periods and any probationary period. Some further information, such as details of pension arrangements, can be given within two months. A full contract of employment usually goes further than the statutory minimum, with terms on confidentiality, intellectual property and restrictions after the employment ends.
Two years, where the employment ends before 1 January 2027. Where it ends on or after that date, the qualifying period is six months, even if notice was given in 2026, and the cap on the compensatory award no longer applies. No qualifying period is needed where the reason for dismissal is automatically unfair, such as whistleblowing, pregnancy or asserting a statutory right, and discrimination claims can be brought from the first day. If you are considering dismissing someone, check the date on which their employment would end and take advice on the process.
When you and an employee agree that their employment will end, or agree to settle a dispute, and you want them to give up the right to bring tribunal claims in return for a payment. For the waiver to be valid, the agreement must be in writing, relate to the particular complaints, and the employee must have received advice on its terms and effect from a relevant independent adviser, usually a solicitor, who is named in the agreement. Acas guidance suggests that employers consider offering to pay for that advice.
It depends on what each payment is for. Pay in lieu of notice, wages, holiday pay, bonuses and payments for agreeing to restrictions are taxed as earnings, with National Insurance, in the normal way. Statutory redundancy pay and a compensation payment for the loss of the job can usually be paid free of income tax up to £30,000 in total, with income tax due on the amount above that and employer's Class 1A National Insurance on the excess. The agreement should list each payment separately so that your payroll can process it correctly.
Yes. Each employee at risk should be consulted individually before a final decision is made. Where you propose to make 20 or more employees redundant at one establishment within 90 days, you must also consult employee representatives collectively, starting at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect, or 45 days if 100 or more redundancies are proposed, and notify the Redundancy Payments Service on form HR1. For dismissals on or after 6 April 2026, failing to consult collectively can lead to a protective award of up to 180 days' pay for each affected employee.
If you buy a business or part of a business as a going concern, its employees usually transfer to you automatically under the TUPE regulations, on their existing terms and with their continuous service. Both the seller and the buyer have duties to inform, and in some cases consult, representatives of the affected employees before the transfer. TUPE does not usually apply when you buy the shares in a company, because the employer stays the same. We check which employees will transfer and what liabilities come with them.
Before any work starts, we write to you setting out what we will do, what is not included and what it will cost, as a fixed fee or an estimate. If the work changes, we agree any change in cost with you in writing first.
One of our solicitors, Robert Festenstein or Alon, handles your matter and is your contact throughout. The letter confirming your instructions names the solicitor responsible.
Send us a short summary using the enquiry form, with the names of the other people or businesses involved and any deadline. We check for conflicts of interest and then arrange a call with one of our solicitors.
Tell us what has happened and we'll arrange a call with one of our solicitors.