Navigating the world of employment law!

I have studied Employment Law as part of the Legal Practice Course. I remember that my reading of the subject largely consisted of construing a lot of case law, statutes and applying various tests to determine; whether an employee has been dismissed, if there was a potential fair reason for the dismissal, if a claimant can bring a claim for redundancy, if there is a defence to age discrimination, whether harassment has taken place at the workplace and so forth.

However, I don’t think the course was designed in a way to illustrate just how important Employment law actually is because it affects everybody, especially at various stages of their career. It can affect those who have just started out in their career right through to those who are nearing their retirement.  Irrespective of one’s duration of being employed and their experience, employment disputes can be unpleasant and unsettling as people’s lives and their livelihoods are at stake.

Although, the case law does highlight how the average person can easily be up against a giant corporate company; thereby showcasing how the individual can be in a vulnerable -position and therefore should be protected. Therefore, it is imperative to focus on how the law is applied in real life. Whilst the textbook law might be straightforward and easy to digest, applying the law to real life scenarios is very different. In other words, how the law is perceived and understood by the general public is very different to how employment professionals perceive the law.

Employers commonly have access to their own in-house solicitors who can advise them on employment matters with their best interests in mind. Moreover, as a rule of thumb, employers are generally expected to stay updated with key changes in legislations and policies as they have various duties and obligations towards their employees that they must fulfil. Sadly, this is not the case for an average person. For instance, in cases where employees are served with a 17-to-20-Settlement Agreement consisting various legal jargons to decipher and sign within tight deadlines, they are undoubtedly placed in a very helpless situation. Therefore, Employment law is more than just case law and legislation as it deals with individuals’ lives. This is why Employment Law is such an important area of Law.

Unfortunately, disputes at the workplace are very common and so when things go wrong, we are here to provide solutions, as well as support and guide you through what can be a very stressful, overwhelming and emotional experience.

If you are an individual, we provide a plethora of services. Please see below for a non-exhaustive list of issues we can assist you with:

1.      Discrimination

2.      Unfair dismissal

3.      Redundancy

4.      Settlement Agreements

5.      Breaches of contract

In the event that you are unable to resolve your employment issue and Employment Tribunal proceedings are necessary, we can assist you with taking matters further.

We also advise businesses (any size and industry) on a wide range of employment matters, namely:

1.      Grievances

2.      TUPE

3.      Tribunal Claims

4.      Restrictive covenants

5.      Managing performances

6.      Training

When advising businesses, we cannot take a one size fits all approach as each business is different. This is where a strong commercial literacy and having a good understanding of the various industries and how they operate is important when advising them about policies, employee performances, training and so forth. Therefore, providing effective support and assistance to employers that is tailored to their business needs and structure is pivotal which again is not something that is covered in law textbooks.

Whether you are a business or an individual, we can support you in your employment disputes.

If you require any employment advice, please contact our Employment Law team on 01604 828282 / 01908 660966 or email info@franklins-sols.co.uk