BL Education HR Core

We understand that the education landscape is ever changing and that educational institutions are operating in a challenging environment. That is why it is important to have dedicated, experienced and trusted lawyers to work by your side.

It is the mission of the Education Team at Birkett Long to deliver high quality, practical, accessible, straightforward and prompt specialist advice. We have years of experience in advising and assisting a range of educational institutions from across the country, ranging from standalone nurseries to universities. Our reputation stems from decades of providing legal services to educational institutions.

Our legal retainer provides you with access to our dedicated Education Team and our standalone HR retainers provide you with access to an Education Employment Solicitor whose sole focus and responsibility is providing employment law and HR advice and services to those in the education sector. Our support to those in the education sector is not limited to retainer products. We offer a range of bespoke legal services to our clients, including:

Training
HR consultancy
Data Protection Quickcall Service
Academy conversions and school transfers
Governance reviews
SENCo support quick call service

What is most important to the Education Team at Birkett Long is that clients trust us to provide them with the right legal advice, delivered in a timely fashion and with empathy and reassurance when dealing with what are often difficult and sensitive situations. Should you wish to discuss anything please do get in touch.

BL Education HR Core
The BL Education HR Core retainer provides unlimited day to day employment law and HR support for a fixed fee. As part of the retainer, a specialist Education Employment solicitor will:

Review and update any existing contract of employment, staff handbook and HR related policies (HR and Employment Related Contracts and Policies) or provide you with new documents (for population by you) tailored to your needs and ready for you to populate so you are protected and fully compliant with current legislation and best practice;

Provide you with HR and employment law advice and assistance relating to individuals employed by your organisation and:

recruitment
basic right to work checks
grievance procedures
disciplinary procedure
including suspension and dismissal
sickness absence management and performance management, including assistance with obtaining medical reports; and
managing and responding to flexible family-friendly rights: maternity, working requests paternity, parental rights responding to reference requests statutory apprenticeships, individual redundancies and restructuring.

Provide you with initial or straightforward HR and employment law advice and assistance relating to:

discrimination and equality issues
public interest disclosures (whistleblowing)
harassment and bullying
collective redundancies and restructuring
transfer of undertakings (TUPE) advice
pension schemes
termination negotiations and negotiating changes to terms and settlement conditions of employment
trade union consultation; and
data protection.

Advise you by telephone, email, video-conference and in person at our offices, to suit your needs and preference.

Draft or review HR and employment related documents and letters (for population by you) as you need them, including invites to meetings and decision letters based on your instructions.

You will also receive:

Details of any recommended updates or changes to your HR and Employment Related Contracts and Policies for you to consider as and when they happen. We can update the documents based on your instructions which you can then populate. You won’t have to wait for an annual review; you will be as up to date as you can be all the way through the duration of your retainer with us. You can choose as many people, within your organisation, as you like to receive these updates at no extra charge
An annual review meeting at your premises or virtually
Discounted fixed fees and estimates for instructions that fall outside of the BL Education HR Core retainer scope of service
Discounted rates for our training sessions.