Contracts of Employment

By law all employers must provide all their employees with a written statement of terms and conditions. If this is not provided an Employment Tribunal can, in some cases, order the employer to pay compensation to the employee of up to £1,240* (this figure is to be reviewed in February 2008).

The needs of our clients vary hugely - some want bespoke contracts for their directors or senior employees, others prefer a simple standard statement of terms in writing to comply with the legal requirements. We are able to deal with both requirements and anything in between.

For an agreed fixed fee (dependent upon the type of document you want and the number of employees you want it for) we will provide you with your chosen contracts or written statements which will fulfil your requirements under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

To minimise the time which you need to spend giving us instructions about your practices and requirements, we have a checklist which you complete. Then we draft your contracts to meet your needs. We also provide some guidance notes as part of the fixed fee to assist you in understanding the relevance and importance of various parts of the contract.

We provide a simple written statement of terms and conditions for only £100 plus VAT.

We provide a ‘tailor made’ contract of employment that meets the requirements of your business for only £500 plus VAT.

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Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures

Since October 2004, all employers are required by law to follow mandatory procedures for dealing with disciplinary issues and grievances.

If your procedures do not comply with the new law, and you continue to follow them, you are at huge risk of successful unfair dismissal claims being brought against you.

It also makes sense for you to have written disciplinary and grievance procedures which comply with the new law, so that you can familiarise yourselves with them and make them work in the best possible way for your business.

For a fixed fee of just £100 plus VAT we will provide you with a fully compliant disciplinary and grievance policy.

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Employment Policies

There are certain areas of the employer/employee relationship which are likely to give rise to disputes. Examples of these potentially contentious issues include:

• Employee use of telephone, email and internet
• Requests for flexible working
• Bullying and harassment at work
• Time off and compassionate leave

Having a formal policy to deal with these often sensitive areas has many benefits. It means that employees are aware of your policy on these issues from the start and may prevent problems from arising in the first place. Where issues do arise, having a written policy will be an invaluable guide for you when you come to deal with them - and can save legal costs. Last, but certainly not least, if the matter does lead to a tribunal case, being able to show that you acted in accordance with your formal policy is likely to assist greatly in successfully defending the claim.

We will provide you with policies on the above matters and more, specially adapted to suit the needs of your business, for a fixed fee of £150 plus VAT per policy.

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Advice on Dismissals and Redundancies

Employers often come to us for advice when an employee they have dismissed brings an Employment Tribunal claim against them. Often we have to advise them that the claim is likely to succeed, because of simple mistakes made by the employer when dismissing the employee.

Coming to us for advice as soon as you think about dismissing an employee, be it by way of redundancy, for misconduct, lack of capability or any other reason, is likely to be far more cost effective.

We can advise you on the various options, how to handle the meetings and any appeal made by the employee and prepare the letters to be sent out.

We can put you in the best possible position to avoid an expensive and time-consuming Employment Tribunal claim.

We will agree with you a fixed price in advance, taking into account the particular circumstances and the number of employees affected. As a guide, a likely fee would be £500 plus VAT for guiding you through the process for:

• Dismissing or disciplining a single employee
• Making a single employee redundant
• Dismissing a single employee for ill health/incapacity
• Warning or dismissing an employee who is under performing

We have confidence in our advice. If we have advised you on the procedure for dismissing an employee, and you have followed our advice, we will deal with any resulting Employment Tribunal claim by the employee on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

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Severance/Compromise Agreements

A Compromise Agreement is a legally binding document under which an employee, or former employee, agrees to give up the right to bring any court or tribunal claims, usually in return for a sum of money.

This can be a valuable tool in ending employment disputes quickly and cost-effectively at any stage from when the issue first arises right through to the Employment Tribunal hearing itself.

We are able to advise you on when a Compromise Agreement might be appropriate, provide you with an Agreement which protects your interests - and deal on your behalf with any negotiations with the employee or his or her representative regarding the terms.

Again we will agree a fixed fee with you in advance for this work. A standard fee for preparing a Compromise Agreement for you can be as little as £250 plus VAT.

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Training

We are able to provide training for you or your staff on employment law issues. We will discuss with you the areas which you wish such training to cover but these may include:

• Dealing with disciplinary and grievance meetings
• Redundancy procedures
• Managing those on long term sickness absence

Prices for the training start from £500 plus VAT for a half day session.

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