We regularly advise employers on their duties with respect to employees suffering from stress, including dealing with the common interrelationship between stress and disciplinary action.
 

Complying with the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures and good practice while remaining sensitive to the commercial concerns and the specific work environment is a balance we are used to striking. Recent examples include employees who have defrauded their employer and repeatedly been aggressive to colleagues.
 

Ensuring that employees’ concerns are treated appropriately, whether or not they form a formal grievance is important for good employee relations. As well as advising on the statutory and good practice requirements we provide hands-on guidance, especially for our clients who do not have a dedicated HR function. We also advise employees regarding their grievances, ranging from removal of duties to failure to pay bonuses.
 

Despite their regular occurrence, redundancies and restructuring involve complicated legal issues. We advise clients on whether a genuine redundancy situation exists and, if so, how to undertake a fair selection and consultation process, bearing in mind the statutory dismissal procedures, good practice and general HR concerns. We also advise employees as to whether they have genuinely been made redundant and whether they have been treated fairly, often managing to secure increased payments offered to employees.
 

While many clients have decided not to take a proactive stance by introducing an information and consultation committee, others have taken the opportunity to address employees’ concerns about lack of communication with their organisation. We have advised on the legal requirements, prepared a draft constitution and, in one case, advised a client about an employee body which addressed both European and domestic works council considerations positively, in sympathy with the organisation’s culture.
 

In consultation with our dispute resolution colleagues, we advise on the enforceability of restrictive covenants, often securing undertakings from ex-employees and therefore avoiding the need to take injunction proceedings. We also advise ex-employees whose previous employers allege they are acting in breach of their post-termination restrictions.
 

We draft terms of employment for all types of employees, always ensuring that they are suitable for the particular business concerned.
 

We prepare all employment related policies, whether individually or as a handbook. We suggest varying the detail included in the policy depending on the type of business and degree of HR function available.
 

We act for both employers and employees in preparing and advising on the terms of Compromise Agreements.
 

We advise on whether individuals are likely to be considered as genuine consultants and prepare appropriate documentation.
 

Recent examples include: acting for an employee who was forced to resign after effectively being required to work full-time due to the obligations and constraints imposed on her during her maternity leave in response to her request to work on a part-time job share basis; and acting for an employer who was alleged to have dismissed an employee due to her pregnancy.
 

We recently successfully persuaded a claimant to withdraw a spurious race discrimination claim against our client.
 

We are experienced in acting for both employers and employees in cases concerning physical disabilities (e.g. blindness and deafness) and mental disabilities (e.g. clinical depression), including all aspects of such claims (e.g. less favourable treatment, duty to make reasonable adjustments and harassment).
 

In addition to the unfair dismissal elements of discrimination claims such as those mentioned above, we act on stand alone unfair dismissal claims such as acting for employees who were allegedly dismissed on the grounds of redundancy where they dispute a genuine redundancy situation existed and where a fair procedure, including compliance with the minimum statutory procedures, was not followed.
 

Recent examples involved acting for an employer in defending a claim for constructive unfair dismissal on the grounds of unauthorised disclosure of medical information, and acting for an employee where substantial changes were made to her terms and conditions of employment so that she was, in fact, redundant but this analysis was denied by the employer due to a very substantial contractual redundancy payment entitlement.
 

Recent examples included acting for ex-directors spuriously dismissed on alleged misconduct grounds following a board dispute.
 

One of our more unusual claims involved acting for an employer defending a claim for alleged dismissal for taking paternity leave.
 

We support our corporate colleagues on transactions, including: reviewing employment documentation and reporting on risks to potential purchasers; negotiating the employment parts of the sale and purchase documents; advising on TUPE consultation requirements, often devising a practical strategy which is consistent with the business’ aims and objectives and in the interests of good employee relations; preparing the employment sections of disclosure letters and associated documents, such as service agreements, non-executive letters of appointment, consultancy agreements and compromise agreements.
 

We give seminars to clients, such as on the statutory disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures.
 

We provide training tailored to each organisation’s need, for example, we recently provided a 3-stop “roadshow” training session in conjunction with a senior HR manager of a client on various topics ranging from absence management to religious discrimination and provided a presentation on redundancy and fair procedure to a client in advance of a restructuring of its business.
 

We notify our established clients of significant changes in employment law which we consider that it will be important or useful for them to be aware of. We also seek to give our clients the opportunity to participate in government consultation processes on new / amending legislation, such as the proposed changes to family friendly rights.