Employment is one of the largest and fastest changing areas of law, with legislation and case law constantly setting new precedents. Every employee has a contract, whether it is in writing or not, and as an employer, you are legally obliged to comply with minimum statutory requirements.
At Clifton Ingram our employment law solicitors in Farnham, Wokingham and Reading are here to make sure you stay informed about areas of law that can affect you, and if you find that you need to take action in some form, be it in drawing up new employment contracts, handling disciplinary or grievance issues, or dealing with contractual redundancy issues. Our solicitors provide tailored employment law advice for employers and can make sure that you follow procedures correctly and avoid opening yourself to any unwanted exposure or liability.
Our Employment Services include:
- Employment Law Training
- Settlement (Compromise) Agreements
- Contracts and Policies
- Disciplinaries and Dismissals
- Disputes and Tribunal Claims
- Employment Status, IR35 and Related Issues
- Redundancy / Restructuring
- TUPE
Why choose Clifton Ingram?
At Clifton Ingram, our solicitors have been providing high quality employment law advice for employers for many years and have expertise in a wide variety of legal issues related to employment law for businesses.
We are known for our professional and efficient service, working with you to ensure that your business is operating in a manner that is compliant with existing employment law standards and, in doing so, making sure that you are legally protected.
Our employment law solicitors always stay up to date with the constantly changing world of employment law, ensuring that you also are aware of any adjustments that could put you at risk or compromise your position as an employer.
Employment Law Training
We offer training for those in your company who deal with HR issues. Our training will help line managers, HR and management to carry out this crucial role effectively.
Our HR training is delivered by our experienced employment lawyers and can be carried out at your offices or, if you prefer, at our offices in Wokingham or Reading. The sessions are practical and make use of case studies to help attendees understand how the employment law issues affect them and their staff in the workplace. We can also use examples taken from your own experiences.
Depending on the number of topics you wish to cover, we can run a 2-hour training session to a full day, on areas such as:
- HR issues for SMEs
- Disciplinary Issues and Dismissals
- Managing Poor Performance
- Workplace Discrimination
- Employee Grievances
- Changing Terms and Conditions
- Working Time Issues
- Carrying out a Redundancy Programme
- Protecting the Business – Hiring and Firing
Settlement (Compromise) Agreements
In situations where an employer and their employee are unable to resolve their issues, but there is no requirement for a dismissal or disciplinary action, a settlement agreement is an alternative option. This is a contract that stipulates the ending of an employment relationship on set terms.
Our employment solicitors can assist you in making sure the Settlement Agreement is drafted correctly and ensure that it is followed properly.
Contracts and Policies
Employment contracts and workplace policies are vital to any employment relationships, providing a framework for the terms of employment as well as outlining the rules that employees are required to follow. Not having these components can leave employers vulnerable should they find themselves in a dispute as they won’t be able to rely on specific clauses or rules to support themselves in a legal setting.
Our employment law solicitors in Farnham, Wokingham, and Reading are able to prepare employment contracts that apply to employees of all levels, in the process ensuring your legal protection. We can also assist in producing a wide range of workplace policies, as well as any disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Disciplinaries and Dismissals
As an employer, it is essential that you ensure the correct processes are followed during any disciplinary or dismissal procedures, as this will ensure you are protecting your legal and financial position by complying with employment law obligations.
Often, employers fail to follow the necessary procedures and find themselves in a difficult position later down the line. Our employment law solicitors stay up to date with any new changes or revisions in employment law legislation, allowing us to ensure that our clients remain compliant and therefore protected.
Our expert team at Clifton Ingram will guide you through the entire process, using our expertise and knowledge to assist you and reduce the risk of claims and compensation awards.
Disputes and Tribunal Claims
Employment contracts are required to contain the implied term of trust and confidence, meaning that the employer should not act unreasonably towards an employee. It is important to note that this implied term is easier to break than many employers believe, for example, handling a workplace issue in the incorrect way can result in an employee handing in their resignation and then attempting to claim constructive dismissal.
Our employment law solicitors for businesses are adept at resolving issues you may be having with employees, no matter what stage they are at. Should it prove impossible to resolve the issue, our team will be able to represent you should the matter result in an employment tribunal.
Employment Status, IR35 and Related Issues
When hiring someone to work for you, it is your responsibility to determine what their employment status will be, for example, if they are employed or self-employed as a worker. This is because this will affect their rights within the workplace as well as how tax and national insurance will handled.
Specific anti-avoidance regulations are relevant for contracts involving individuals offering services to an employer through an intermediary, such as their personal limited company. The IR35 legislation guarantees that if the nature of the relationship between the individual and the engager would resemble an employment arrangement without the intermediary, the individual will be subject to tax obligations similarly to those of regular employees.
Our employment law solicitors can advise on all of the above topics, ensuring that you have correctly classified your workforce.
Redundancy / Restructuring
Sometimes, it becomes necessary for employers to downsize and/or restructure to achieve enhanced efficiency within the business, which unfortunately can often result in staff redundances. However, the redundancy and/or restructuring process is often complex, requiring the guidance of an experienced employment law solicitor. This is even more true when the process is likely to affect a large number of employees.
Our employment law solicitors in Farnham, Wokingham, and Reading are available to advise on these matters, ensuring that all the correct procedures are followed in regard to redundancy and restructuring.
Contact our employment lawyers in our Farnham, Reading, Wokingham, Thames Valley and M3 Corridor offices
Our solicitors at Clifton Ingram can advise you on a wide range of employment law issues. We are a highly experienced, proactive and down-to-earth team of solicitors, bringing a high quality and professional service to your local area.
We regularly advise clients across the South East, including Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Wiltshire and London. Speak to one of our team today to see how we can help on 0118 978 0099. Our solicitors will move fast to find a solution personal to you.