Employment

The Department is headed by Partner Andrew Payne supported by Assistant Solicitor, Katharine Dakin.

Employment Law Revolution

There’s a new balance of power in the workplace. There have been big changes in employment law and more are on the way in the Employment Relations Act which will gradually come into force.

More employees are turning to Employment Tribunals to assert their rights or settle grievances. Farnworth Shaw are here to help you assert your rights.

Redundancy

Compromise Agreements

 When an employee has been selected for redundancy, often the firm involved will offer them a combination of their statutory entitlement and an additional payment.  They want the employee to sign a Compromise Agreement, which confirms that the employee will not take any legal action against the firm.  Most firms are prepared to pay for the legal advice that the employee needs in these circumstances and we are ordinarily able to give that appropriate advice to the employee within the charges that the employer authorises, which means that it does not cost the employee anything.

We give advice about the amount of the payment, the basis of the award and ensuring that the various statutory entitlements are complied with.

Redundancy and Unfair Dismissal

Often people who are told that they are being made redundant need advice about whether or  not the dismissal counts as redundancy or unfair dismissal, which has entirely different implications.

We give advice about whether there is a redundancy situation and about whether the employers selection process  is fair or not and  about the right amounts of money for redundancy. 

If there is not a redundancy situation or if an employee is not selected for redundancy using appropriate criteria, an unfair dismissal award can be applied for, but it needs to be done quickly.

Employees have been able to claim unfair dismissal after one year at work since the law changed in June 1999 but, recently, a number of key changes have occured:

• Measures to help parents combine home and work responsibilities
• Increasing maternity leave for all employees to 18 weeks
• 40 weeks’ maternity leave after one year, rather than two
• Three months unpaid parental leave, including for adoptive parents
• The right to take time off for domestic emergencies
• Tacking discrimination against part time workers
• Minimum standards for all individuals at work

If you feel your rights have been infringed or your employer has not been fair with you, please contact us using this form - we may be able to help you.

Other Employment Issues

Discrimination :- Race, sex and age discrimination even for someone only recently employed can give rise to a substantial unfair dismissal claim. 

Disciplinary and Grievances :- Independent advice as to how to respond to an employer and what your rights are

Restrictive Covenants and Information Protection :- For the more senior Employee

Contact: Andrew Payne, Partner in the firm and Head of Civil Litigation Department or Katharine Dakin, Solicitor and Employment Law Specialist on telephone 01282 865885.

 What about the Cost?

We operate a scale of fixed costs for different stages with regard to employment law, including a fixed fee for the 1st interview of £50 + vat to make it affordable for people in difficult circumstances to take advice and to pursue proceedings.