Employee Legal Support
It may feel like a daunting prospect the thought of taking legal action against your former employer. However, sometimes it is necessary to protect your financial security, career prospects and legal rights.
Our employment law experts understand it’s natural to feel apprehensive and concerned about the financial implications of taking legal action, especially if you’re now unemployed as a result of your dispute.
Resolution
We would like to reassure you that most disputes can be resolved with quickly and cost-effectively. Our employment law solicitors will always endeavour to seek a compromise that it is in your best interests. Of course, where this is not possible we will escalate the matter and do not shy away from taking employee disputes to court. Our approach is to forcefully defend your best interests and get the result you deserve.
Our Approach to Employee Legal Support
Our approach to employee law is to offer fixed fee advice and fixed fee employee law services. Therefore, you will never receive an unexpected bill. Equally as part of our jargon-free law promise, we will unravel the complex nature of employment law and the terms used.
Partner, Lloyd Clarke has significant experience in all types of workplace disputes, acting for employees. This includes the bringing and defending of claims in the Employment Tribunal Court.
Attwells are proud that we always achieve a high rate of success for our clients. Our Feefo and Review Solicitor rating reflects this too.
Employee Case Assessment & Letter of Advice
- Initial telephone conversation
- Review of documentation in advance of drafting letter of advice (subject to reasonable number of documents)
- Letter of advice setting out the legal position, our advice and an assessment of prospects of success for any potential claims
- Answering any questions subsequent to a letter of advice
What can we cover in the advice letter?
All aspects of employment law / HR e.g. disciplinary, grievance, family-related rights, dismissal, redundancy/restructure, staff absence, poor performance, discrimination etc.
Assessment of any potential claims
Contract terms
Defending breach of contract claims including those dealing with training fees
Defending allegations of breach of restrictive covenants/post-termination obligations such as those dealing with working for a competitor, poaching former clients or colleagues
Self-employed contracts including IR35
Commission and bonus disputes
Director disputes
Shareholder disputes
What is excluded from the service?
Meeting at your local office with a specialist employment lawyer (this can be arranged at an additional cost)
Tax advice
Advice on benefits
Legal advice outside of the service requested
Why use Attwells?
Employment disputes can be costly, distracting and time consuming. They can interfere with and damage your career and professional reputation. In the event that they do arise, you must act quickly to ensure you receive the correct advice and that the best case is put forward for you.
As an employee, you have in excess of 80 legal rights from day one. Our expert Employment Team can provide you with all the advice that you need to ensure your rights are properly protected and advanced.
We can advise you on the whole employment cycle from interviews, contract terms, probationary periods, promotions, sickness, holidays, disabilities, maternity leave, grievances, disciplinaries, dismissals, appeals, restrictive covenants and the bringing of Employment Tribunal proceedings.
I advise employers, employees, independent contractors, businesses and individuals in contentious and non-contentious matters, regularly appearing in the Employment Tribunal.
A typical week for me would involve advising upon settlement agreements, negotiating exit packages, drafting claims and defences to the Employment Tribunal or County Court (such as those relating to unfair dismissal, discrimination, breach of contract etc.), contracts of employment, staff handbooks and other HR documentation, advising on grievance and disciplinary proceedings, TUPE transfers and poor performance/sickness absence and attending Tribunal.
Alongside my general offering, I specialise in advising those operating in a small handful of key sectors, including care, estate agency and IR35.
I have provided seminars on legal issues affecting the care sector to members of both Suffolk Care Association and Essex Care Association (whom Attwells are proud to Partner with), in addition to talks at a national level. I have also delivered talks across East Anglia and London to Estate Agents on key legal requirements for their business, in conjunction with NAEA Propertymark.
My clients value my tenacity, attention to detail, communication and negotiation skills, alongside my supportive approach to all of my client relationships.
Employment Tribunal Claims
Our employment tribunal calculator provides transparent fixed fee costings for the legal work on your potential claim and also different costings depending upon whether your claim relates to unfair/constructive dismissal or discrimination.
The reason for this is that discrimination claims are more time consuming, generally require a larger attendance at a tribunal hearing and a greater amount of resources. Unlike our competitors, we do not differentiate our costs on the rather opaque grounds of ‘complex’ and ‘simple’ claims.
All email and telephone correspondence between each step is included free of charge.
Around 80% of our client’s employment tribunal claims settle before the final hearing. We have broken down the key steps involved in an employment tribunal claim, what is included within each step and pricing.
What is the process involved in an employment tribunal?
Initial assessment of prospects – We take your initial instructions, review all relevant correspondence / documentation (not exceeding 100 pages) and advise you upon relevant time limits, the prospects of your potential claim and the likely compensation you will receive, if successful.
ACAS Early Conciliation – Before an employee can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal, they must go through early conciliation. We will submit your application to ACAS, advise on settlement and at what sum (where in your best interests, represent you in all discussions with ACAS (4-6 weeks in duration), setting out your position clearly and effectively and where settlement is reached, ensuring that the terms of the COT3 agreement are favourable to you.
Issuing Claim with Employment Tribunal – We prepare, draft and submit your claim to the Employment Tribunal so as to ensure that the relevant deadline is met.
Response to claim – We receive, review and advise you upon the response that your employer has filed with the Employment Tribunal.
Preliminary hearing – Where ordered, we draft, agree with your former employer’s solicitor and submit a preliminary hearing agenda to the Employment Tribunal further clarifying your claim and proposing dates for your claims timetable and attend the preliminary hearing to represent your interests.
Schedule of loss – We prepare your schedule of loss setting out fully the compensation you are claiming, collect from you all supporting evidence and submit to the Employment Tribunal on your behalf.
Your disclosure – We collect from you all documentation relevant to your claim, produce copies, prepare a list and send to the employer.
Your employer’s disclosure – We receive the employer’s disclosure, review and discuss our findings with you.
Hearing bundle – We agree with the employer a bundle of documents that the Employment Tribunal will refer to at the final hearing and review upon receipt.
List of issues – We draft and negotiate with the employer a list of issues, chronology and cast list for the Employment Tribunal hearing (where ordered).
Witness statement(s) – We take a witness statement from you, draft the statement and agree with you its final content, ready for use at the Employment Tribunal Hearing (50% discount on any additional statements).
Exchange of witness statement – We undertake simultaneous exchange of witness statements with your employer and review each witness statement received and discuss the same with you.
Instruction of barrister – Where required, we instruct a barrister to represent you at the hearing and take all steps to ensure the Barrister is fully briefed on your claim.
Representation at Employment Tribunal (where no barrister instructed) – We attend the Employment Tribunal hearing and represent your interests (per day).
Attend Employment Tribunal – We attend the Employment Tribunal hearing with your barrister (per day).
Employment Tribunal Judgement – We receive the Employment Tribunal’s judgment and advise you on the findings.
Exchange of witness statement – We undertake simultaneous exchange of witness statements with your employer and review each witness statement received and discuss the same with you.
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