Employment Line UK

If you are an employer and your need for employees to do a certain job have either ceased or diminished or the job itself is no longer required you can fairly dismiss the employee concerned. You must however follow a fair procedure and, if you don't, it could become an unfair dismisal. We can help you with this. If you are an employee who has been put at risk of redundancy we can advise you as to your rights.

If you feel that you have been unfairly dismissed we can advise you as to your rights. Please remember that unless you have been dismissed for (i) an automatically unfair reason eg pregnancy ( including all reasons relating to maternity), family (including parental leave), paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependants, acting as an employee representative, acting as a trade union representative,
acting as an occupational pension scheme trustee, joining or not joining a trade union, being a part-time or fixed-term employee, pay and working hours (including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage), whistleblowing or (ii) because of what is called a "protected characteristic" you will need to have been employed for at least two years to bring a claim. Protected characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sex.

Terms and conditions of employment can be changed provided a fair procedure is followed. If you are unsure as to your rights or obligations then please contact us for more information.

We offer advice on how to raise or deal with a grievance once it has been made. It's important to ensure that, as an employer, you act fairly in order to avoid unfair dismissal claims. As an employee, raising a grievance could save the employer/employee relationship keeping you in employment. If however the process fails it is important to have exhausted the workplace processes before taking your case to an Employment Tribunal to avoid any consequent reduction in compensation. We can help you with all of this.

We can advise on a fair process when a disciplinary matter occurs. This is important to avoid unfair dismissal claims if the worse comes to the worse. If you feel that you may have been unfairly dismissed then call us for advice.

We can look over a new employment contract to ensure that it does not contain any disadvantageous provisions or, if you are an employer, we can draft it for you from scratch. Remember every employee should have a principal statement of their main terms and conditions of employment when they start work, with a wider statement of their terms and conditions being given to them within 2 months of their start date.

If you need a handbook drafting then please give us a call. It's extremely important for all parties to know what policies and procedures govern their working relationship, even more so if a court or Tribunal later scrutinises it.

We love Employment Tribunals! We can advise you on every aspect of your case to ensure that you achive the best possible result. We also attend court or Tribunal on your behalf, saving on Counsel's fees. Call us to discuss your case and we''ll be delighted to tell you how we work.

Discrimination law is very complex and compensation is unlimited. If you feel that you have been duscriminated against in the workplace or if you are facing a claim please call us to discuss how we can help you. We have over 20 years experience in this field.