Our Personal Employment Law Services
Breach of Employment Contract.
Parental, Family-Friendly and Flexible working rights.
Employee Grievance Procedure.
Disciplinary, Appeals and Dismissal.
Discrimination in the Workplace.
Employment Tribunal.
Harassment and Bullying at Work.
Redundancies and Redundancy Package.
TUPE.
Settlement Agreements / Compromise Agreements.
Breach of Employment Contract:
A breach of employment contract typically occurs when your employer has acted unfairly towards you or has made changes to your work or job that you did not accept. In most cases, if you continue to work after these changes, it could be perceived as implicit acceptance of them. Therefore, in cases where you think a breach of contract may have occurred, we recommend you speak with an employment law solicitor as soon as possible.
Remember there are laws in place to protect you in the workplace, and it is important for your employer to respect your rights, as set out by these laws. Our employment law solicitors can provide legal advice, answer any questions you might have, and can assist you through this complicated area of employment law.
Parental, Family-Friendly and Flexible working rights.
From maternity and paternity leave and pay issues, to parental leave, adoption rights and flexible working requests, shared parental leave and pay available to eligible working parents during the first year of birth, adoption or surrogacy.
We work in helping employees who are experiencing issues at work get the right support whatever their issue.
There are rights and protections embedded in the law and your contract to ensure that you are safeguarded. These include:
Maternity leave and pay.
Paternity leave and pay.
Rights to flexible working.
Adoption and parental leave.
Part-time working.
Time off for dependants.
Parental leave.
Employee Grievance Procedure:
If the problem cannot be resolved at an informal meeting between you and your employer, you may decide to raise an official grievance.
It is important to note there is no legally binding process that both employers and employees must follow in order to raise a grievance. However, the benchmark for best practice is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice which is applicable to most disciplinary and grievance procedures. The Code sets out a series of principles both parties must follow, including the need for fairness and consistency throughout the process.
Our experienced employment law solicitors are happy to provide legal advice and guidance to help you through the employee grievance procedure. We will make sure you are fully aware and informed of the various steps available to you.
Disciplinary, Appeals and Dismissal:
We handle a range of disciplinary, appeals, and dismissal cases.
We know how worrying it can be if you have been suspended, you are under investigation, or you are facing other disciplinary action at work. Our experienced employment law solicitors can help you to ascertain where you stand from a legal perspective in these sorts of situations. We can help you to understand what next steps are available to you, making everything as clear and simple for you as possible.
While disciplinary policy varies from employer to employer, all employers must have a written procedure in place. Typically, this is outlined in your employment contract. If it is not, you should ask to see it right away, so you understand how the policy affects you before you enter into any disciplinary proceedings.
Discrimination in the Workplace:
Dealing with discrimination in the workplace can be particularly upsetting. Remember you are not alone, and there are laws in place to protect you. The Equality Act 2010 has made it illegal to discriminate against individuals on the grounds of their age, race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, religion, or belief.
If you feel that you may have a workplace discrimination claim, it is best to speak with an employment law solicitor as soon as possible. An expert will be able to advice you of your rights and may be able to assist you with making a claim against your employer.
Employment Tribunal:
There is a number of reasons why you might need to attend an Employment Tribunal. The decisions made by Employment Tribunals are legally binding, similar to the Court but less formal, and will aim to settle a range of employment disputes, including grievances, discrimination, disciplinary issues, or unfair dismissal claims.
Employment Tribunals should be seen as a last resort when you are engaged in a dispute with your employer, and only pursued when all other means of resolution have been exhausted. In most cases you must make an application to begin an Employment Tribunal claim within three months of the date that your employment ended, or within three months of the date that the incident occurred.
We are experts in representing clients during every stage of the legal process, including bringing cases before an Employment Tribunal.
Harassment and Bullying at Work:
Your quality of life at work can be severely impacted by harassment or bullying in the workplace. The law states that everyone should be able to feel comfortable at work.
Our expert team of solicitors can give you legal advice and can assist you with your case if you have been a victim of sexual harassment, racial harassment, or bullying in the workplace.
Redundancies and Redundancy Package Advice:
Employment law in the UK is extremely complex, especially when it comes to redundancy. The procedure your employer has to follow is highly structured, and if they fail to do so correctly, you may be able to bring a claim against them.
Many employment disputes, including redundancy, often occur because an employer has failed to give proper notice. Our employment law team understand that redundancies and job cuts are extremely stressful for employees, and we will always provide full help and support.
We can help at every stage of the redundancy process, including situations where you feel you may be at risk of being made redundant in the near future. We will be able to give you expert legal advice, drawing upon our vast expertise in handling employee redundancy cases and reviewing redundancy packages.
Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE)
The policies and procedures involved in the transfer of a business, or a major contract and its employees, can be complex and costly to any organisation.
We can offer advice to both employees and the employer, consulting on the correct procedures that need to be followed during this process and ensuring above all the legal obligations are met and complied with.
TUPE introduced three concepts into Employment Law:
The automatic transfer principle: where a new company takes over all or part of another company, or when a major contract moves between providers, they automatically inherit the existing staff as well. The contracts of the existing staff are retained as well, and the new company inherits all rights, liabilities and obligations in relation to them.
Protection for employees against dismissal in connection with a TUPE.
The obligation to inform and consult with representatives of the affected employees.
For example, if there is a failure to carry out the duty to inform and consult with the affected employees then the businesses can be liable to pay compensation.
Then there is a high degree of protection for transferring employees, meaning that dismissal for a reason connected with the transfer will be automatically unfair, unless it is for an economic, technological or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce (an “ETO reason”), with set limitations upon when this reason will apply.
Businesses often face issues as to the terms and conditions of the transferring employees and may wish to consider altering these to align them with the workforce already in place, for example if the rates of pay of the incoming staff are higher. However, such changes will be unlawful unless they are unconnected to the transfer or for an ETO reason, so again employers must beware taking such action and should never do so without taking advice.
We can provide you with advice in relation to the following:
Changing terms of employment in a TUPE Transfer.
Dismissals.
Obligations to inform and consult.
Obligation to provide ‘employee liability information’.
We are specialists in handling these complex legal matters for businesses. We can assist both the old employer who is transferring the business or contract and the new employer acquiring the business or contract.
If you need expert advice and assistance with TUPE issues, schedule a free consultation.
Settlement Agreements / Compromise Agreements:
A settlement agreement, formerly known as a compromise agreement, is a legally binding document that outlines the terms upon which your employment will be terminated. It will also detail any compensation to be paid.
You will be asked to sign the document prepared by your employer’s solicitor, but before you do, you are required to seek advice from a qualified solicitor. In order for the document to be valid and for you to receive the compensation you are owed; the settlement agreement must be signed off by your solicitor.
The cost of your legal advice is usually funded by your employer, either partially or in full.
Our team of solicitors are well versed in employment law and can clearly advise you on the terms of the settlement so that you know exactly what you are signing, what it means, and what you will need to do next.
Other Areas of Employment Law:
Why choose Bank Solicitors:
At Bank Solicitors we will be with you every step of the way, providing advice and services to help you through any area in employment law – from contracts to dismissals, redundancy to discrimination. We can also represent you at an Employment Tribunal or can help you negotiate a settlement.
We provide our clients with expert legal advice, as well as friendly and straight-talking legal services. You can rely on us to keep you informed of any changes throughout the process.