Employment Law for You

At Coole Bevis, our Employment Law team provide expert legal advice on all aspects of employment law to a wide range of individuals. Whether you are an employee, self-employed, contractor or fall into another worker category, we are here to help you navigate the complexities of employment law to find practical solutions, avoiding costly disputes wherever possible.

We are committed to providing our clients with clear advice that cuts through legal jargon and explains the options that are available to them.

How We Can Help

We understand that dealing with a legal issue related to your employment can be emotionally challenging and time consuming, as well as expensive if not approached correctly. Our team are highly experienced in managing complex and difficult situations, including where necessary bringing, conducting or defending legal proceedings in employment tribunals.

Our Employment legal experts work closely with other teams such as Dispute Resolution, to ensure a seamless service to clients.

Our Employment Law Services for Individuals Include:

  • Advice on negotiating contractual terms prior to the start of your employment or following a change of circumstances e.g. promotion
  • Advice on the disciplinary or grievance procedures you may be facing
  • Advice where redundancy is threatened or has been notified to you
  • Advice on your statutory or contractual rights including, for example, claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination
  • Advice on ‘end of employment issues’, including Settlement Agreements
  • Advice on the enforceability of post termination restrictive covenants including assisting with defending proceedings brought by an employer seeking to enforce these
  • Representation at employment tribunal or other proceedings.

 Why Choose Coole Bevis for Your Employment Law Needs?

“[Nigel] you are really brilliant! Thank you for always making things so clear and succinct! I am so grateful for the stress you have helped to remove over this whole situation!”

FAQs

Exploring an employment matter or dispute can be a difficult process. To help you explore key aspects of employment law and how we can help, our employment solicitors provide answers to some frequently asked questions.

Can my employer make changes to my contract and/or job description?

A contract of employment cannot legally be changed without agreement from both employer and employee unless the contract provided otherwise. An employer should clearly state any proposed changes to the contract terms and employees should be given time to consider the changes so they can plan ahead.

If your employer decides they need to make a change to your contract they should make a ‘variation’ within the contract or a ‘flexibility clause’ to allow the change. Both the employer and the employee must agree to the change.

Can my employer legally reduce my pay?

A company cannot reduce your working hours or give you a pay cut unless they have changed your contract of employment. Changes to contracts of employment must be agreed by both the employer and employee.

The only times where deductions from pay might be acceptable would be for National Insurance, tax or previous overpayment purposes. These, however, must all be outlined in your contract.

What is workplace discrimination?

Discrimination defines the prejudicial treatment of someone from a particular group and can include race, age, religion or disability among others. Discrimination within employment is illegal in the UK. The following are just a few of the numerous ways someone can be discriminated against in the workplace:

  • Sexual harassment or discrimination because of sex or sexual orientation
  • Victimisation e.g. refusing to promote an employee if they have had time off for a grievance
  • Age
  • Parental Status
  • Disability
  • Gender Identity
  • Making someone else discriminate
  • Pregnancy i.e. unfavourable treatment whilst you are pregnant, breastfeeding or you have recently given birth

If you believe you have suffered any type of discrimination you should keep a record of all situations where the discrimination took place and seek legal advice as soon as possible

Does my employer have to provide ‘reasonable accommodations’ to me if I have a disability?

Reasonable adjustments for disabled people should be made for an employee if they are practical but changes will differ depending on the individual and their needs. An employer should ensure policies and practices do not put a disabled person at a disadvantage if they are a successful job applicant.

Adjustments can vary from ramps for wheelchair users to modifying performance targets.
If an employer fails to make the correct and reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee, then this is deemed discrimination, and a claim could be made.

What are employment rights?

Otherwise known as statutory rights, employee’s rights have been laid down to ensure all individuals are treated fairly in their place of work and have been put in place by the state (UK). Rights will differ depending on type of employment along with other variables and your employment contract.

What is redundancy and what are the different types of dismissal?

Redundancy arises in just three ways: when there is a closure of the business, a closure of the workplace or the employer has less need for employees.

People commonly say that they have been made redundant. In fact, this is technically incorrect, as the redundancy relates to the job and not to the person.

Unfair Dismissal
Employers can dismiss people for a number of reasons, but to be a fair dismissal it must fall into one of the categories set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996:

  • The employee lacked capability or qualification for the work they were employed to do.
  • The employee was guilty of gross misconduct. Examples of this might include dishonesty, indecent or offensive behaviour or perhaps their failure to follow reasonable instructions.
  • The employee can no longer legally perform their job. For example, if an employee’s job is as a driver and they are banned following a drink driving conviction. If the employer has no other work for them, they could be dismissed.
  • Redundancy
  • The employee must have been dismissed for ‘some other substantial reason’ known as SOSR. This is valid dismissal not falling into the above categories.

If you feel you have been unfairly dismissed, it is possible you may be entitled to compensation, however, claims have a qualifying period so if you should contact a solicitor as soon as possible.

Wrongful Dismissal
This describes a breach of contract from the employer. An example is failure to give the correct notice to an employee in accordance with the entitlement set out in their contract. Unlike unfair dismissal, there is no qualifying period to claim wrongful dismissal.

Constructive Dismissal
This occurs when the employer has committed a serious breach of contract, therefore allowing an employee to resign in response to that conduct. This is referred to as a ‘repudiatory breach’ by the employer and the employee is entitled to the same treatment as they would if they had been dismissed.

An example of this might be demoting an employee without their agreement or failing to pay an employee their correct wages.

Voluntary Termination of Employment
Otherwise known as voluntary redundancy, this is where an employer asks an employee to agree to terminate their contract in return for a financial incentive. The decision is left up to the employee and does not have to be taken.

Legal rights will be no different from compulsory redundancy and under the Employment Rights Act 1996 it is still classed as dismissal.

 

What is ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)?

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) is an organisation which endeavours to improve companies and the lives of employees through problem solving and setting out guidelines for organisations to follow. They provide free and impartial information on all aspects of employment law.

 

What is the ACAS Code of Practice and what happens if my employer breaches it?

The ACAS Code of Practice outlines the disciplinary/grievance procedures and how they should be handled within a workplace. If an organisation decides not to follow procedures this is misconduct. An organisation must have reasons for not following the Code of Practice and if it reaches tribunal stage the reason will be thoroughly explored.

Most issues can be resolved before they go to court, particularly those which are minor misconduct. ACAS are able to provide a standard for reasonable behaviour within most cases but if there are some cases where formal action is required, investigations will need to be carried out to find case facts.

If in an employment tribunal it is proved your employer has not followed the ACAS code, compensation can be increased by up to 25%. Reasons your employer may be breaching the code are most commonly:

  • They have not set out allegations made against you
  • You have not been told about a possible disciplinary outcome
  • Your employer has not provided copies of evidence against you
  • You have not been advised that you can be accompanied to a disciplinary hearing
  • You have not been offered a right of appeal by your employer
  • Both the person who deals with your disciplinary and your appeal are the same

If you are an employee, you must follow the ACAS code yourself or your compensation could be reduced.

What if I intend to make an Employment Tribunal claim?

If you intend to make an Employment Tribunal claim, it is crucial ACAS are made aware so early conciliation can be organised. This is where an impartial ACAS conciliator can have a discussion with both parties in an attempt to resolve differences. This early conciliation period can be up to a month but an extended time of 14 days can be added if necessary.

This route to solving disputes is heavily encouraged as it is faster, cheaper and far less stressful than attending a tribunal.

Enforcing Your Rights
A first step to enforcing your rights should be trying to find out why your employer is not respecting the rights that you have. In many cases it is because an employer does not know the rights themselves, and are therefore, unaware their behaviour is unacceptable.

If you feel your rights have not been respected you should seek professional advice as soon as possible as the deadlines for employment tribunals are very short.

Settlement Agreements
Settlement agreements offer the benefit of certainty and a clean break between an employee and their employer. They can be produced for disciplinary/redundancy processes or can be used for bringing disputes to a close.

ACAS have a Code of Practice for Settlement Agreements which discloses how a settlement agreement should be operated and how best to negotiate between parties. This code is not binding but should be used as a guideline and if not adhered to employers would have to justify their reasons for this.

Employment Tribunals Pricing 

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal (all fees noted below are subject to VAT @ 20%):

Case typeCost
Simple case£5,000 - £7,500
Medium complexity case£7,500 - £12,500
High complexity case£20,000 - £30,000

We charge based on an hourly rate which varies depending on the member of staff dealing with your matter. Our lowest hourly rate is £150 plus VAT @ 20% and our highest hourly rate is £290 plus VAT @ 20%. The seniority of the members of staff dealing with your case will depend on its complexity. We will discuss this with you when you instruct us.

Factors that could make a case more complex:

  • If it is necessary to make or defend applications, to amend claims, or to provide further information about an existing claim;
  • Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person;
  • Making or defending a costs application;
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties);
  • The number of witnesses and documents;
  • If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim. For example, if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer;
  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £2,500 per day (plus VAT @ 20%). Generally, we would allow 1-3 days depending on the complexity of your case.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees estimated between £2,500 to £3,500 per day plus VAT @ 20%, (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);
  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
    Preparing claim or response;
  • Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party;
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
  • Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;
  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing;
  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents;
    Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses;
  • Preparing bundle of documents;
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list;
  • Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.

How long will my matter take?

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 2-4 months. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 12-15 months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Contact us

For expert advice on all aspects of Employment Law, contact our experienced team at Coole Bevis today.

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