Employment Law Advice for Employers & Businesses

You may have to consider redundancies if the whole business is closing down or the business no longer needs as many employees doing the work.

You need to follow a correct process for it to be a fair redundancy dismissal. The employees have to be fairly selected, been provided with a consultation period and considered for suitable alternative roles that might exist. If you do not follow a fair process, you are leaving the business at risk of an unfair dismissal claim.

If the employees have been employed for two years’ or more, they will be entitled to statutory redundancy payments.

Employees are also entitled to their contractual notice period and you may require employees to work this or receive it as a payment in lieu of notice.

If you would like to discuss options for reducing your workforce, contact us

It’s important to have employment contracts that are tailored to your business and to individual employees and their responsibilities.

Depending on the role within the business, either bespoke or generic contract will be required.

The employment contract should include clauses that protect the business for the duration of the employee’s employment and once they are no longer employed. You may want to ensure that they do not work for a competitor or take clients to a new company. We can help you to draft a contract that will be enforceable.

If you would like to discuss your existing employment contract or require a new one to be prepared, please contact us

It could result in a costly employment tribunal. It is important to deal with it correctly and quickly as it is harder to rectify the mistakes.

As a business it is important to have clear policies and procedures to show your employees what is exactly required of them in terms of behaviour, performance and attendance. They also explain how employees are disciplined when they fail to meet the required standards.

Having these policies in place encourages the behaviour that you want and helps you manage issues when they arise.

We can help you with new policies and these should be an extension of your employment contract. Please contact us to discuss which policies you need for your business.

If the employee is not performing or just not working out and has been employed for less than two years, you could terminate their employment without having to follow a process.

Once an employee has been employed for two years or more, you have to have a fair reason and follow a fair process to dismiss the employee. Without following a fair process and a fair reason, the employee will have a claim for unfair dismissal. As part of the process, you have to give the employee full information in advance of the reason for the meeting, details of any evidence gathered and they have the right to be accompanied at any formal meetings. They have the right to an internal appeal against any decision to discipline or if they are dismissed.

Contact us before you dismiss your employee to ensure that you are compliant and do not end up in an employment tribunal

As the employer you have to consider the request as long as the employee has been continuously employed for 26 weeks or more. They can only make one request per year.

The employee could ask to change their hours, times they work and changes to the place they work – for example, could ask to work from home.

As the employer you can refuse the request if it does not suit the business needs.

The legislation does not give the employee the automatic right to appeal the decision but it is recommended that you allow this.

If you need help in managing a request for flexible working, please contact us.

A settlement agreement is a legally binding document that agrees the terms between the employer and the employee mutually leaving their job. This is offered so that there is a clean break from their employment with no opportunity for them to pursue a claim in the employment tribunal or court.

The settlement agreement sets out all the payments you will pay them in full. Any compensation payments can be paid tax free up to £30,000 as long as it is not a contractual payment.

The settlement agreement will deal with their notice period and whether they are required to work their notice or receive it as a payment in lieu of notice. Any notice paid in lieu is subject to tax deductions.

The agreement is a confidential agreement between the employer and the employee.

Normally the employer will make a contribution towards the legal fees on employee seeking advice.

If you want to discuss the options of offering a settlement agreement, please contact us.

We offer bespoke training for your business which can include:

• how to remain compliant with employment law;
• how to conduct a disciplinary procedure;
• dealing with a grievance meeting;
• capability issues.

We come to your premises to offer the training, so this saves you and your managers time as you do not need to travel and take extra time out of the business.

If you want to know more about the training we can offer you, please contact us.

We always make sure that we get to know you and your business, so when you need advice, it is tailored to your business.

We know you want to focus your time running your business and we help you:

• manage your people;

• avoid tribunal claims;
• keep up to date with employment law changes;
• have up to date contracts and policies.

You may want the option of paying monthly and we offer a monthly payment scheme which suits your business and budget, so you know you will not run up huge costs.

If you want to know more about our HR consultancy and manage your costs each month, please contact us.