The Employment Law department is headed by Director, Andrew Payne.
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 from 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. Since the advent of the coalition government, qualifying periods for unfair dismissal have been extended and there are moves afoot to make it harder for an employee to bring Industrial Tribunal Proceedings and it is important that your solicitor is up to date with regard to this fluid area of law.
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 something towards the cost of legal advice that the employee needs in these circumstances and we are ordinarily able to give appropriate advice to the employee without any substantial extra charge and sometimes within the charge the employer contributes. Our basic charge is £450.00 plus VAT.
For more senior managers who may be subject to covenants post-employment, there may be more involved, but we do try to make this as painless as possible.
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 two years at work since the law changed in April 2012, but a number of other recent changes have not been reversed, which include: –
- 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
- Tackling 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.
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, Director in the company and Head of the Employment Law department.
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 £50.00 + VAT to make it affordable for people in difficult circumstances to take advice and to pursue proceedings. We also offer a service to assist people during the course of employment and we give advice in that respect.
