Employment Law

• Defending Employment Tribunal claims
• Drafting Employment Contracts
• Employee Handbooks
• HR advice
• Disciplinary / Capability procedures

Employment Law Solicitors Leicester for your Business

Steven Mather Solicitor is an expert in Employment Law and I regularly act for and advise local small businesses. I have dealt with hundreds of employment law and every time we strive to provide:

• Plain English Advice
• Time – to understand your situation and all that you’re faced with
• Results – getting the best possible result for you
• Value – fixed fees for your certainty where possible
• Convenience – meetings by phone, video call or in-person at a time to suit you.

What Employment Law Services for Businesses do I offer?

My clients tend to be small business owners who want great advice, in the minefield of employment law. Well, my clients tell me it can be a minefield but it isn’t really. Steven Mather Solicitor is an experienced and specialist employment law solicitor with masses of experience since qualifying as a solicitor in 2008.

I know that business owners want to deal with employment law matters quickly, effectively and affordably. The reality is you’ve got a business to run, and the last thing you want to do is get bogged down in HR and Employment law – so let me help.

I have a monthly/annual subscription service, more details below, in which we offer complete protection for business owners. It’s ok if you do not want to join that scheme, even though it is amazing value. Here’s what I can offer generally:

• drafting employment contracts, statements of terms, offer letters
• drafting and reviewing employee handbooks, employment law policies etc
• advising on dismissal, disciplinary process and capability process
• advising on redundancy
• settlement agreements
• defending Employment Tribunal claims
• dealing with Employment Tribunal hearings

How to defend an Employment Tribunal Claim?

Let’s jump straight in. You’ve received an Employment Tribunal Claim Form (ET1) from an Employee or Ex-Employee of yours. What do you do next?

The first step is to provide a full and detailed response using Form ET3. This will confirm or deny some basic information, such as dates of employment and wages. It will also need to address the substantive accusations raised against your company. The general allegations are:

• unfair dismissal including constructive dismissal
• discrimination claims including:
  • age discrimination
  • sex discrimination
  • disability discrimination
  • gender reassignment discrimination
  • sexual orientation discrimination
  • religion or belief discrimination
• redundancy pay
• claims for money such as:
  • notice pay
  • holiday pay
  • arrears of pay
  • other payments owed
• deductions from pay

It is crucial that you properly address each and every claim the Employee makes, and even if they don’t do it fully, you should as it puts you in the best position. I recommend you ask me to be your solicitor so that I can deal with this expertly.

How can we dismiss an employee?

Easy!

Dismissing employees is something most employers are scared of these days, but as long as you follow the right process and the decision isn’t because of or by reason of a “protected characteristic” (i.e. it is not discrimination) then a dismissal can be fair.

You just need to follow the process.

You have a process right?

If you have a written disciplinary or capability process then you MUST follow that to the letter. If you do not have a staff handbook, then you would be well advised to follow ACAS guidelines on it. I can also advise on the process.

As long as you go through the correct process and deal with the matter fairly, then you should not have to worry about any Employment Tribunal claims.

If an employee has committed gross misconduct, then you can sack them immediately without notice (called “summary dismissal”). Otherwise, you must either give them notice or pay them in lieu of their notice.

What is the legal obligation with employment contracts? Do we need a staff handbook?

There is a legal requirement for employees to be given a written statement of employment particulars, which sets out the basic terms of their employment. These basic terms include:

• the business’s name
• the employee’s name, job title or a description of work and start date
• if a previous job counts towards a period of continuous employment, the date the period started
• how much and how often an employee will get paid
• hours of work (and if employees will have to work Sundays, nights or overtime
• holiday entitlement (and if that includes public holidays)
• where an employee will be working and whether they might have to relocate
• if an employee works in different places, where they will be and what the employer’s address is

I fully recommend that all employees have a proper Contract of Employment which then include the minimum statement of terms above but to include some additional terms and conditions that you might need, such as confidentiality and restrictive covenants.

For more senior staff, including directors, I would recommend more comprehensive contracts of employment or service contracts for directors, which set out in significant detail some of the extra protections that you might require.

Employers Employment Law Monthly/Annual Package

I offer business clients a really simple, low cost but high quality, Employment Law Package as part of the Law Protect scheme.

For a small fee equivalent to between £180-350 plus VAT depending on the size of your business, I can provide you with:

• drafting new employment contracts and offer letters
• full employee handbook with useful policies such as:
  • disciplinary policy
  • capability / performance policy
  • maternity and paternity rights (and similar family-friendly policies)
  • social media policy
  • holiday policy
• ongoing advice from a solicitor on any HR and Employment Law matters all year round, by phone and email.
• yearly review of all paperwork to ensure they are up to date and as good as they can be.
• discounted rates on Employment Tribunal claims

Contact me now for more information about my NexaFlex Employment Law scheme or download the packages information here.

Why use me as your Employment Law Solicitor?

I’m Steven Mather and I’m a very experienced Employment Law Solicitor for Businesses. I have dealt with hundreds of employment law matters for businesses. I qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and was previously Head of Litigation and Employment at a top Leicester law firm.

I can help you and your business in all aspects of Employment Law from contracts and documentation, to Employment Tribunal Proceedings. General steps in Employment Tribunal claims from an employers point of view include:

• Dealing with ACAS to explore settlement
• Responding to the Claim with ET3
• Dealing with the initial Case Management Discussion with the Tribunal
• Preparing for disclosure of documents
• Drafting witness statements for relevant witnesses
• Instructing a barrister to represent you at the Tribunal hearing.

How much does it cost to defend an Employment Tribunal claim?

There is quite a wide range in costs, as it depends on the value, complexity and other party’s actions. The following costs are estimates only, and do not include disbursements such as Court Fees, Experts or Barristers costs. You will be given a bespoke estimate or fixed fee when we discuss your case.

For a simple matter, such as unpaid holiday or deduction from wages – £2000-4000 plus VAT

For a moderate matter, such as unfair dismissal – £4000-10000 plus VAT

For a discrimination based matter – £5000-25000 plus VAT

Recent examples of Employment Law matters

• Unfair dismissal claims
• Deduction from wages claim
• Wrongful dismissal (not paying notice pay)
• Disability discrimination on the grounds of dyslexia
• Transgender Discrimination
• Advising on dismissal
• Advising on redundancy process
• Drafting contracts and handbooks, from small 1-employee firm, to a 100+ employee chain of coffee shops
• Employment Tribunal hearings

Next Steps

If you’re unsure on the question of fees, or on any aspect of employment law for employers then get in touch.

Just fill in the form on the side of this page, or give us a call to discuss further.