Employment Law for Employers

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Employment Tribunal Claims

If you receive a claim in the Employment Tribunals, we can help you to defend that claim. We will meet with you to discuss the prospects of the claim succeeding and the likely costs of the claim (including legal fees and awards of compensation). We will robustly defend any claim against your business and advise you on the risks and tactical options at each stage of the claim.

Settlement Agreements/ Compromise Agreements

We can advise on termination packages and prepare a compromise agreement that protects your business from claims in the Employment Tribunals and help with the negotiation of the terms of the compromise agreement with your employee or former employee.

Contracts

We can prepare new contracts of employment or update your existing contracts of employment to ensure that they are legally compliant. We can also deal with director's service agreements, consultancy agreements, apprentice agreements, secondment agreements and contracts for casual or temporary workers – including zero hours contracts and fixed term contracts.

HR Policies Package

We understand the challenges and complexities faced by employers when it comes to establishing clear guidelines, fostering a positive work environment and ensuring legal compliance. Our Staff Handbook and Contracts of Employment Package have been meticulously crafted to address these needs, enabling you to streamline your HR processes and enhance employee satisfaction and productivity.

Our package consists of 26 policies and 2 contracts templates that cover a wide range of areas crucial to the smooth operation of any business. Some key policies included are:

• Recruitment policy
• Holiday policy
• Flexible working policy
• Equal opportunities policy
• Drug and Alcohol policy
• Wellbeing policy
• Menopause policy
• Maternity and Family friendly policy
• Homeworking policy
• Social media policy
• Harassment and bullying policy
• Performance improvement policy
• Absence management policy
• Grievance policy
• Whistleblowing policy
• Bribery policy
• Data Protection policy
• Modern slavery policy
• Disciplinary policy
• Redundancy policy
• Right to work policy
• Religious and national holiday celebrations policy
• Car policy
• Computers & Internet policy
• Appraisals policy
• Training and development policy

These policies have been carefully drafted to align with legal requirements and best practices, ensuring that your business remains compliant with applicable laws and regulations while fostering a positive work culture.

Moreover, our contracts of employment templates will provide a solid foundation for employer-employee relationships. They cover essential terms and conditions, compensation and benefits, working hours, termination procedures, confidentiality clauses and restrictive covenants.

By implementing our Staff Handbook and Contracts of Employment Package, you can enjoy several benefits, including:

• Legal compliance: our policies and contracts are regularly updated to reflect the latest employment legislation, reducing the risk of potential legal issues.
• Consistency and clarity: standardised policies and contracts create a consistent and fair working environment for all employees, minimising misunderstandings and disputes.
• Efficiency and time saving: with our comprehensive package, you can save valuable time by avoiding the need to develop policies and contracts from scratch.
• Employee engagement: clearly defined expectations and procedures empower employees and promote a positive work culture, leading to increased engagement and productivity.
• Brand reputation: demonstrating your commitment to fair and equitable employment practices enhances your reputation as an employer of choice.
  We would be happy to discuss your specific requirements and customise the package to suit the needs of your business.

Should you have any questions or wish to schedule a meeting, please feel free to contact us on employment@eatonsmith.co.uk or 01484 821300. We are dedicated to providing excellent customer service and ensuring your business’ success.

Restrictive Covenants/ Anti-Competitive Behaviour

We can draft restrictive covenants for your senior employees that give you the best chance of protection for your business. If you know or suspect that a former employee has breached their restrictive covenants, we can advise on the steps you can take to enforce those restrictive covenants. If you have started or would like to start legal proceedings in relation to restrictive covenants, our Dispute Resolution Department can help you.

Handbooks

We can write new policies and procedures for you or audit the rules and procedures that you already have in place. Recommended policies and procedures include disciplinary procedure, grievance procedure, IT and social media policy and equal opportunities policy (covering discrimination, bullying and harassment).

Family Matters

We can advise you on the current entitlements to statutory maternity leave and pay, statutory paternity leave and pay, and statutory adoption leave and pay. We can keep you up to date on changes in the law. If you receive a flexible working request we can advise you on the procedure you should follow and make sure you have the right letters and documents to use.

Grievances

If you receive a complaint from a member of staff (for example a complaint about their hours of work or an allegation of discrimination by a co-worker), we can advise you on the procedure you should follow and make sure you have the right letters and documents to use.

Disciplinary Procedures, Dismissal and Performance Management
If you need to discipline or dismiss an employee because of their behaviour (e.g. bad attitude, insubordination, poor performance, gross misconduct) we can advise you on the procedure you should follow and what level of warning or sanction may be appropriate. We can make sure you have the right letters and documents to use and guide you through the process to achieve the outcome that you need with the least risk to your business.

Absence Management

If you have an employee with a high number of sickness absences or an employee on long term sick leave, we can help you to manage that situation to either achieve a reduction in sickness absences or return to work, or to terminate the employee's employment on the grounds of ill health/ capability in a fair and lawful way, with the least risk to your business.

Redundancy or Restructure

If you are contemplating short time working, temporary lay-offs or redundancy or you are planning a restructure of your department we can provide you with the toolkit you need to deal with the selection and consultation process in a fair and lawful way, with the least risk to your business.

Buying, Selling and Outsourcing

If you wish to buy or sell all or part of a business, or you wish to outsource work to another organisation or bring work in-house that has previously been outsourced, then we can advise you on the impact of TUPE (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) and provide you with the toolkit you need to meet your obligations to inform and consult with staff. If you are considering a transaction, our Corporate and Commercial team can help you.

Knowledge

We prepare regular email bulletins on changes in employment law legislation and the outcomes of key cases and we deliver regular seminars including employment law updates and hot topics for employers. These services are free of charge. To subscribe to the email bulletins and request an invitation to our seminars please contact events@eatonsmith.co.uk.

Employment Law Solutions

We have a number of fantastic fixed price packages for employers to give you the advice and support you need in relation to your employee issues. Whether you just want the option of occasional telephone support or you need someone to come along to your employee meetings and give you legal representation in the event of an Employment Tribunal claim, we can offer a package that will suit you.

For more information on the packages available contact Eaton Smith's Employment team today to discuss your requirements.