Employment

Experience

Through the comprehensive skills and experience of all our employment team members, based in our Colchester and Chelmsford offices, we are extremely confident to be able to offer you as an individual employee or worker specialist, high quality and effective advice on your rights and obligations in any particular work situation.

Such advice will, in all cases, be tailored to meet your particular needs; we recognise in this respect that no two situations are the same and that there are always a range of factors, both legal and non-legal, to take into account when advising you on the best way forward. 

We will take a practical approach in such circumstances including the consideration of, where appropriate, alternatives to litigation.  We are very experienced in dealing with compromise and settlement agreements up to and including senior executive level, often involving city instituions.

Our extensive experience with the Employment Tribunal system, including the Employment Appeal Tribunal, has achieved many positive results for claimants including success in a variety of different types of claims, from sex and disability discrimination to maximum unfair dismissal awards.

We increasingly advise individuals on international aspects of their employment using our range of language skills and links with European lawyers. The firm has a bespoke International Team which facilitates this process.

The 2006 Legal 500 entry describes the team as “outstanding”. The 2007 Legal 500 entry describes the team as "widely admired".

Main Services

Employment Law

All areas of employment law including:  

•  Unfair dismissal
•  Wrongful dismissal
• Redundancy (including collective redundancies)
• All types of discrimination (including age)
• Equal pay and equal opportunities
• Transfers of undertaking
• Restraint of trade and confidentiality
• Vicarious liability of employers
• Maternity/paternity rights
• Breach of contract/contractual disputes
• Employee status
• Employment Tribunal procedure
• Retirement
• Working Time
• References
• Compromise agreements

Employment Documentation

• Contracts of employment
• Handbooks
• Maternity/paternity and other family friendly policies
• Equal opportunity policies
• Email/internet policies
• Drink/drug/smoking policies
• Health & safety policies
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures
• Recruitment/relocation/training matters

Employment Disputes

• Rights and liabilities of employees
• Rights and liabilities of employers