Commercial Employment Overview

Your business is only as good as your people. Finding the right management tools to make sure you get the most from your staff and also manage the potential risks that people bring, is a key challenge to businesses.  

Once you have the right tools, keeping up to date with what is relevant for your business, whether you’re considering UK or European employment law can be daunting.  

We can save you time and potentially costly mistakes by assessing how employment law changes affect your businesses and make recommendations for how to incorporate the developments into your policies and procedures.   

We can help you set up your policies and procedures to help ensure disputes don’t arise in the first place, or join with you to help you review your existing people-management tools.  Our aim is to both protect you as employer and also to protect your business reputation. 

You can choose to contact us on an ad hoc basis, or retain us as your advisors under our LegalShield service. Whether your company is large or small, we ensure our advice is put in the context of your business, to allow you to meet your business objectives.  We will also help you ensure your employees are provided with the consideration afforded them under the law.  

Sadly even the best employment relationships can occasionally turn sour. Our experienced employment lawyers are also able to assist with contentious matters should the need arise.  

We are always happy to talk through the issue with you via our FREE initial consultation and provide advice on a preferred strategy and likely outcome.

Employment Contracts

Employees must have written statement of particulars within eight weeks of starting work. By law certain terms must be included.  

You and your employee are bound by the conditions of the contract until it ends or the terms are changed, so ensuring you enter the right terms for your business needs is vital. Having the right terms in the written contract can also help prevent or resolve any disputes at a later date.  

Our team of experienced Employment Lawyers are on hand to draft your contracts or advise on the right contractual terms for you and your employees. 

If you subsequently wish to vary the terms of your employment contracts, our Employment Lawyers will advise you on the best way to proceed to ensure the new terms are accepted.

Redundancy and reorganisation

New technologies or processes can result in the need to reduce your workforce. This can be a stressful time for the employer as well as of course for the employee.  Certain steps must be followed to ensure the redundancy is fair in law. Consultation procedures also apply if 20 or more employees are being made redundant within a 90-day period.  

A reorganisation of work may not result in a direct reduction of employees however. Our experienced and helpful Employment Law team can provide you with strategic advice on redeployment, including the drafting of any new contracts that may require different terms and conditions. We can also guide you through the redundancy process and ensure that you act in the best interests of your business and your staff. 

TUPE

If the business, or a part of the business transfers from one owner to another, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) may apply. The Regulations provide strict criteria under which employees and their employment contracts transfer been employers.

If you are changing your supplier due to bad service then under the law the new service provider may have to employ your previous supplier’s staff. Our experienced lawyers can assist you in making the decision and the logistics of a contract change. 

Restrictive covenants and confidential information

Every business has information that it considers both integral and invaluable to its success. Restricting the use of this information, or the soliciting of customers by employees after their term of employment may be vital to the protection of your market position. The inclusions of restrictive covenants  and confidentiality clauses in the contracts of senior or key staff at the commencement of the employment relationship aims to protect the use of this information. 

Such covenants must be written to show that the covenant is designed to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests and that it extends no further than is reasonably necessary to protect those interests 

Our experienced team of Employment Lawyers can advise on existing restrictive covenants or draft new covenants that ensure your business interests are upheld should the contract terminate. 

Compromise agreements and dismissal disputes

Dismissals may not always be straightforward, or accepted by the employee.  

A compromise agreement is a legally binding agreement that aims to resolve the disputed dismissal. It usually provides for a severance payment from the employer in return for a warranty by the employee not to pursue any claim they may feel entitled to at an employment tribunal. 

Such agreements must be carefully negotiated to ensure the best outcome for both parties, respecting the employer’s need to protect his/her interests, and the employee’s requirement for sufficient compensation terms to waive their rights to any further claim. If a compromise agreement does not meet the strict guidelines set out in law, it may be unenforceable.

For more information call our team on 01432 278 179 or email your enquiry to us.