Five Reasons Employers Need Employment Legal Advice

Employment law is vast and subject to frequent changes. As an employer, you must be aware of what your obligations are under employment law. Seeking proper legal employment advice at an early stage greatly reduces the chance of your business having to defend itself at an employment tribunal. This article will explain five common reasons employers obtain legal advice for employment issues.

Employment Contracts

The rights and obligations you owe your employees and vice versa are mostly set out in an employment contract. Additionally, the law implies certain obligations even if the contract does not address a particular point. 

Most contracts determine matters such as:

• salary and wages; 
• working hours; 
• holiday entitlement; and
• termination. 

As the terms of the contract are legally binding, it is vitally important you understand what effect they will have on your business. Therefore, many businesses seek legal employment advice from a lawyer on drafting standard terms used for all employee contracts. Additionally, particularly skilled or senior roles may require bespoke employment contracts. Again, lawyers are well-placed to advise on drafting these terms. 

Workplace Policies and Procedures

As an employer, you need to have employment policies in place that explain to your staff how they should conduct themselves in the workplace. These policies should also outline certain procedures, including:

• disciplinary and grievance policy;
• diversity and equality policy;
• sickness absence policy; and 
• whistleblowing policy.  

It is not easy to draft effective workplace policies and procedures. Depending on how they are drafted, you may inadvertently create obligations that bind you in ways you did not intend. Likewise, policies can have unintended effects, such as inadvertently discriminating against employees based on certain protected characteristics. 

The Redundancy Process

Sometimes employers can only continue trading if they make some staff redundant. However, if you find yourself in this position, you must follow the correct process. If you do not, you may face an employment tribunal for a claim of discrimination or unfair dismissal. Therefore, before initiating a redundancy process, including a consultation scheme, you may wish to seek legal employment advice.

An employment law solicitor can advise you on:

• how to fairly select employees for redundancy;
• statutory redundancy pay, including which employees may be entitled to it;
• the redundancy consultation; and
• ensuring you give appropriate notice.

Discrimination Advice

As an employer, it is illegal for you to unlawfully discriminate against an employee. As well as ensuring you do not unlawfully discriminate, you are required to ensure that your workplace is free from unlawful discrimination. This means taking action if members of your staff are engaging in unlawfully discriminatory conduct. 

The law recognises nine protected characteristics. These are:

• race;
• disability;
• sex;
• religion;
• maternity or pregnancy;
• sexual orientation;
• age;
• gender reassignment; or
• marriage or civil partnership.

There are different ways illegal discrimination can occur, such as indirect discrimination or harassment. Ensuring that you understand the law on discrimination is why you may need to take legal employment advice as an employer. You may require assistance with:

• creating an effective equality and diversity policy;
• training for your staff on discrimination; or
• handling complaints about unlawful discrimination in the workplace.

Defending Wrongful Dismissal or Unfair Dismissal Claims

If you do not dismiss your staff fairly, you could face a claim for wrongful dismissal or unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal. It is, therefore, essential that you are aware of what unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal are. An employment solicitor can help you understand this and, more significantly, can help you defend a claim from one of your employees.

Wrongful dismissal is when you have breached the employment contract when dismissing your staff member, and you have, therefore, not abided by your employment contract correctly. Unfair dismissal is when you dismiss your employee unfairly by either not having a fair reason for the dismissal or not using a fair procedure.

A lawyer can help you by:

• establishing if your conduct is unlawful;
• reviewing any claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal and letting you know your rights;
• ensuring you include fair processes in your employment policies; and 
• helping you to ensure you abide by your employment contract conditions.

Key Takeaways

As an employer, you may need to obtain legal employment advice related to employment matters. The repercussions of breaching employment law can mean facing an employment tribunal, so seeking legal employment advice may help you avoid this and help you should you have to face one. For example, you may need to take legal employment advice when dismissing your staff, writing your workplace policies and regarding discrimination.

If you need help understanding your employer obligations in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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