Services:
EMPLOYMENT LAW
With today's myriad of employment related laws, it is vital to get the right advice at the right time. Law At Work has the specialists who are fully briefed on the latest developments waiting to assist you.
Employment law is a minefield with more than 70 different kinds of statutory complaint that employees today can make against their employers! And the laws are changing almost daily with new decisions from Parliament, the European Union, and the courts. The risks include unfair dismissal, unlawful race, sex, and disability discrimination, and redundancy. These have been added to recently by a wide range of new rights for employees, including protection for staff who raise health and safety or trade union concerns, protection for whistle-blowers, and protection from discrimination for lesbians, gay men, and transsexuals, to name only a few. Against this backdrop, it is not difficult to understand why many employers have come to believe that the law is stacked against them. Understanding the combination of old and new legislation now presents a formidable challenge to employers who are being confronted by their staff more often than ever before. Employment tribunal statistics show that in 1998 employees made around 80,000 tribunal complaints against their employers: by April 2004, the annual total had reached more than 115,000. Most employment disputes are wholly unnecessary. Law At Work's suite of employment law and HR services has been designed to help clients get things right from the start and avoid becoming entangled in time-consuming, costly wrangles. Our core services include: Our clients also have an opportunity to take out complementary Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Law At Work's CompliancePlus service starts with a thorough audit of the policies, procedures and employment related documentation already used by the client. This ensures that the procedures and paperwork are legally compliant. Then we offer guidance on how to move the policies and procedures onto a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness, taking special account of the client's plans for the future. For example, prior to the introduction of religious discrimination legislation, we advised our clients to deal with this potentially contentious subject in their equal opportunities policies. And where we know of planned business changes, such as relocation, expansion, or technology changes, we draft employment contracts and related documentation in a way that makes those changes easier to implement. We prepare a written audit report and discuss its findings with the client. Where necessary, we assist in the preparation of new policies and procedures, and the redrafting of existing paperwork. This is not a one-off exercise. Part of our undertaking to the client is that we ensure that their polices and documents are kept up to date throughout the life of their relationship with us. Well thought out policies, precisely drafted contracts, and clearly written procedures are an excellent starting point. However, they don't provide for every eventuality. If they are to work in practice, then they must be interpreted and applied effectively. That is where our Advisory Service can help. Our team are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be contacted by telephone, email, fax, and, where necessary, face-to-face. Although most issues can be dealt with during the day, Monday to Friday, we provide cover around the clock, seven days a week, to deal with matters that need to be addressed immediately. Underpinning all of our advice is a detailed knowledge of the relevant areas of law. But we aim to pitch our advice in commercial terms, based on our knowledge of our clients' businesses. We know that our clients sometimes need to make commercial decisions, as opposed to adhering to the letter of the law, and in these circumstances we help the business to get as safely, and quickly as possible to the desired outcome. Law At Work can also help to protect clients' financial well-being. Clients can take out Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to cover any legal defence costs incurred in defending Employment Tribunal complaints. The insurance also covers compensatory awards made by the tribunals. For further information please contact Gareth McKnight, Director of Business Development gareth.mcknight@lawatwork.co.uk 0141 271 5555
| 
