Employment Personal

At Douglass Simon Solicitors, we have experience in all aspects of employment law and any workplace-related action. We can advise on a wide range of employment law issues including:

 

  • Age & Disability Discrimination
  • Bullying & Harassment
  • Constructive Dismissal
  • Contractual Disputes
  • Drafting Of Employment Contracts
  • Employee Fraud
  • FCA Regulatory Issues
  • Maternity & Paternity Issues
  • Part-Time Workers’ Rights
  • Professional Regulatory/Disciplinary
  • Redundancy
  • Regulatory, Compliance & Professional Disciplinary Matters
  • Settlement Agreements
  • Sex Discrimination
  • Tribunal Representation
  • TUPE & Collective Redundancy
  • Unfair Dismissal
  • Whistle-Blowing
  • Working Time Regulations

 

Funding Options

  • Fixed fee- We can agree a fixed fee with you upon commencement of any work.
  • Hourly rate – We offer a competitive hourly rate to clients. 
  • Contingency fee- We also offer no win no fee agreements for claims which we believe are likely to succeed, which means that you do not have to pay our fees from the date of the agreement if you follow our advice and lose.

 

  • Settlement Agreements

    If you have recently been involved in a dispute with your employer or you are being made redundant then you may be invited to a discussion at which they raise the issue of a settlement or compromise agreement. You might be asked to sign a settlement agreement in exchange for an additional payment or other benefits. This is not always as straightforward a process as it sounds and we would recommend that to protect your best interests, you seek professional advice.

     

    We can represent you in negotiations with your employer about the terms of the settlement agreement, including the financial compensation, ensuring that you defend your rights through what can be a highly complex process. We can also advise you on the specific terms of the settlement agreement (or compromise agreement), ensuring that you understand the limits that it will be likely to impose on any future employment tribunal claims you might make. Employers usually provide a contribution to legal fees. In most cases, the employers’ contribution to legal fees would normally cover all our fees, which would mean that our client does not have to pay anything. We would raise an invoice in your name but mark it payable by your employer as part of the settlement and would send this directly to the employer.

  • Discrimination

    We have significant experience of pursuing complex race, sex, maternity and pregnancy, disability, age, religious and sexual orientation discrimination claims on behalf of employees. 

     

    Under the Equality Act 2010 employees have a right not to be treated less favourably because of a ‘protected characteristic’, such as sex, race or disability. The Act protects job applicants during the recruitment stage, employees and potentially ex-employees. Unlike unfair dismissal claims, there is no qualifying period of employment for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal.

     

    The Act makes unlawful certain types of discriminatory treatment and we have helped clients recover significant sums of compensation for direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation claims.

     

  • Unfair Dismissal

    We advise on unfair dismissal claims and other employment related disputes such as breach of contract/wrongful dismissal, constructive unfair dismissal, pregnancy/maternity related dismissal and discrimination claims.

     

    An employee with 2 years’ service (1 year if employment commenced before 6 April 2012), has a right not to be unfairly dismissed. In order for a dismissal to be fair, there must be:

     

    • A fair reason for dismissal
    • A fair procedure must be followed and the decision must be fair in all the circumstances.

     

    There are five potentially fair reasons for dismissal:

     

    1. Misconduct
    2. Capability
    3. Redundancy
    4. Illegality
    5. Some other substantial reason

     

    Even if a fair reason for dismissal is established, an employer must follow a fair process prior to dismissal. A Tribunal will then consider whether the dismissal fell within the “band of reasonable responses” test.

    If successful, a claim for unfair dismissal will lead to compensation being awarded by the Employment Tribunal.

     

    For further information on unfair dismissal law or if you would like to discuss a specific problem with a specialist employment lawyer, please contact our offices.

  • Redundancy

    Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996.  A genuine redundancy exists only when either there has been or there is going to be:

     

    • a closure of business (‘the business disappears’)
    • a closure of business at the employee’s site (‘the workplace disappears’)
    • a reduction or cessation of work (‘the job disappears’).

     

    It is normally sufficient for an employer to adduce evidence that the reorganisation was genuine and that it resulted in the need for less staff to carry out work of a particular kind.  The only exceptions to this are where it can be shown that the redundancy situation was a sham to get rid of an employee for some other reason and/or where there has been no reduction in the number of staff carrying out work of a particular kind.

     

    A dismissal for redundancy may be considered to be unfair on general principles for one or more of the following reasons:

     

    • There was no genuine redundancy situation
    • The employer failed to consult
    • The employee was unfairly selected
    • The employer failed to offer alternative employment.

     

    A redundancy dismissal because of pregnancy or maternity is automatically unfair and an employee can make a claim for automatic unfair dismissal and/or maternity and pregnancy discrimination even if she does not have two years’ service.

     

    If an employee is selected for redundancy because of pregnancy or maternity, then this could potentially constitute direct sex discrimination. Similarly, if an employee is selected for redundancy because of their race or religion, then this too could amount to race or religious discrimination, contrary to the Equality Act 2010.

  • Employment Tribunal Litigation

    At Douglass Simon Solicitors, we try to settle disputes efficiently and cost effectively before any claim is issued with the Employment Tribunal.  If however a settlement is not possible, we are experienced in Tribunal litigation. 

     

    Our employment team are experienced litigators and regularly pursue and defend complex claims in the Employment Tribunal, the County Court and the High Court. They also have significant experience of dealing with appeals and judicial review applications against public bodies.  We are therefore very familiar with the litigation process and the tactics used by our opponents.