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Employee
A career is more than just earning money to pay the bills. It almost always forms a significant part of one's identity, self-confidence and sense of purpose. Understandably, when workplace changes or disputes occur the upset and worry can be significant if not overwhelming.
I understand this intuitively and is where my approach will be of great comfort to you. I won’t pull the wool over your eyes or make promises that I cannot keep, but I can almost always reassure you that there are options and potential solutions.
I also understand apprehension surrounding fees, and believe that transparency is key to alleviating concerns about costs. I therefore provide realistic fee estimates upfront and keep you informed throughout the process. Moreover, whenever feasible, I strive to recover your legal expenses from your employer or insurance provider.
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​I advise on the full spectrum of employment law issues, and below are a few common problems that I can help you with.
Employee
Discrimination
You feel that you have suffered discriminatory mistreatment at work because of your age, gender, race, sexual orientation or disability (mental or physical). For example, you feel harassed or victimised.
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Unfair Dismissal
You have been dismissed without a fair reason or fair opportunity to defend yourself, or you feel that the decision was predetermined and/or too severe.
You may also feel that redundancy is being used to hide the real (often unspoken) reason for your treatment, such as a minor performance concern or personality clash, which your employer does not want to deal with or cannot fairly use as the legal basis for dismissal.
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Construction Unfair Dismissal
You are the victim of mistreatment by your colleagues, such as bullying. You want to leave but are afraid of taking that significant step because you do not know where you stand legally.
You do not know if the type of mistreatment that you have been subjected to sufficiently justifies your resignation or forms the sound basis for a constructive unfair dismissal case.
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Complaints and Grievances
You are the victim of mistreatment by your employer or colleagues, such as being spoken to in an abusive manner, side-lined for promotion or changes to your terms and conditions have been unfairly imposed.
You wish to complain about it but do not know what to do next or how best to frame your complaint to force a resolution.
You may also be facing accusations made by a colleague about you. Your employer may have asked you to a meeting to discuss the complaint which worries you because you do not know what to say (or not) or what happens afterwards.
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Redundancy
You have been threatened with redundancy, or been made redundant, and advised of the consultation and selection process. You may feel that you have been or will be unfairly selected because;
1. the selection process was, or will be, defective or biased e.g., you are not the worst-performing employee, or the person making the decision is very friendly with a colleague against whom you are being measured;
2. others doing the same job as you have been excluded from the process;
3. there is another reason for your role being made redundant, such as a complaint you made a few months ago, or a cross word that you had with your line manager which annoyed them; or
4. the decision to make you redundant has been, or was, made before the process began i.e., it was predetermined and thus unfair.
Business Transfers (TUPE)
Your employer’s business is being sold, or it has lost a customer contract that you were assigned to work on, and your employment is being transferred to the new company.
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You are not sure what the transfer process involves, you are worried about the future with the new business and do not know where you stand legally.
For example, you are worried that the new company will;
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favour their current employees over you;
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try to get rid of you first if they need to economise; or
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change your terms and conditions in some way, such as pay you less or reduce your paid holidays.
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Disciplinary Investigations and Hearing
You are facing a disciplinary hearing, having been charged with misconduct or poor performance. You do not know where you stand legally, how best to defend yourself or protect your reputation.
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Restrictive Covenants After Leaving
You wish to leave your employer and work for yourself, or a new employer, but are worried about the contract of employment that you signed which you think might stop or restrict your plans to deal with your industry clients and contacts.
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Alternatively, you might have already started a new role but received a letter from your former employer making threats that they are going to go to Court unless you sign a document promising to abide by your old contract.
Settlement Agreements
Your employer has offered you some money to leave the business, or maybe you want to leave but want to negotiate a deal before you do so. In either case, a written agreement setting out the terms has been presented for both parties to sign.
The document presented will almost certainly be a formal ‘settlement agreement’, and will contain, as part of the deal, your agreement not to sue your employer in the future (known as a ‘waiver’).
Often this arises when there has been a dispute, but sometimes it is just a function of the end of the relationship, such as where you are being made redundant fairly but the employer wants the peace of mind that the waiver provides.
To make a settlement agreement legally binding, you must receive professional advice on the terms and effect of the document.
I have successfully advised on, and negotiated, hundreds of settlement agreements, and I partner with a law firm to be able to do so for you.
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