Employment Law Solicitors in Northampton You Can Trust
Our team of employment law experts here at Astons Solicitors can help you find the best solution to HR-related issues.
Employees and business owners should have a symbiotic relationship whereby each party supports and helps the other to grow and succeed. However, despite efforts to maintain a harmonious relationship between employers and workers, employment disputes can and do arise. When this happens, you’ll certainly need the assistance and expertise of employment law specialists.
Obtaining help and advice from employment law experts can ensure a quick and peaceful resolution to any dispute between an employer and employee. It can help prevent issues from dragging on for too long and causing damage and disruptions in your personal and professional life.
At Astons Solicitors, we pride ourselves in providing legal assistance and advice that is designed to help both employees and employers find the best way to solve work-related problems. Considered one of the leading practitioners of employment law, our solicitors have the requisite skills and experience to help you resolve disputes as promptly and efficiently as possible.
What is Employment Law?
Employment law is a broad term that encompasses various aspects of employment. Often considered one of the more complicated areas of law, it serves as a guide on every matter related to employment, including the hiring of human resources, promotion and transfer of employees, as well as the benefits and perks offered to workers, employee rights, discrimination, and unfair dismissal. In the UK, there are three primary sources of employment law. They are:
- The common law (also known as the law of contract).
- Statutes, such as the Equal Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and the Employment Rights Act 1996.
- The European law, which comes in the form of both European directives and decisions of the European Court of Justice.
Having employment law in place is vital as it regulates the relationship between a workplace and its employees. More importantly, it promotes equality at work, prevents discrimination, and ensures a safe and fair workplace for all.
The Role of Employment Law Solicitors
As the name suggests, employment law solicitors are solicitors who specialise in legislation relating to work. What we do depends on the people we represent. For instance, our solicitors who represent an individual worker or a group of employees will perform data gathering and research and prepare documentation that would support our clients’ claims. We will also offer advice and conduct negotiations and settlements on behalf of the workers and support clients with taking their claims all the way to the Employment Tribunal.
On the other hand, when we represent employers, we will offer advice that will help companies and organisations defend themselves against employee claims, as well as negotiate with their workers. We will also assist employers when drafting HR policies that cover various aspects of employment, including remuneration, retirement, and employee benefits.
How Can We as Employment Law Solicitors Help You?
At Astons Solicitors, we provide efficient and reliable services dedicated to helping companies and individuals navigate the intricacies and complexities of employment law. With our expert assistance, you’ll be able to solve workplace challenges in the quickest and most convenient way possible.
Employees
Despite the best efforts of both parties, problems can and do arise in the workplace. If you think you have received poor treatment, unfairly dismissed, discriminated against, or asked to sign a settlement agreement, we can provide expert advice.
As our sole focus is on employment law, we have been able to develop specialised knowledge of the subject. Moreover, we have a wealth of experience in advising individual employees at all levels on a whole host of employment matters, such as maternity and paternity rights, flexible work arrangements, discrimination, and unfair dismissal. If the situation calls for it, our employment solicitor can also represent you at an Employment Tribunal.
Our employment lawyers are more than happy to help you if you need legal assistance with any of the following issues:
- Unfair and constructive dismissal
- Discrimination
- Grievances
- Statutory rights
- Pay, bonus, and other benefits
- Bullying, harassment, and victimisation
- TUPE
- Redundancy
- Restrictive covenants
- Whistle-blowing
- Settlement agreements (previously known as compromise agreements)
Employers
As a business owner, your employees can be your greatest assets. They can help you provide your clients with exceptional services, which in turn can pave the way for the growth and expansion of your business. However, your employees can also give rise to a significant risk. If you don’t address the grievances they bring to your attention, your business could end up in serious jeopardy.
At Astons Solicitors, our team of legal experts offers specialist advice to employers and business owners to help them understand and comply with all the provisions of UK employment law. Regardless of the employment issue that is affecting your business, our legal assistance can help ensure that there will be no need for you to appear at an employment tribunal.
We can provide you with clear and practical legal advice and solutions, and set out the options available to you so you can then make an informed decision. Our solicitors can assist you in the following matters:
- Employment tribunals
- Dispute resolution
- TUPE
- Redundancy
- Employee benefits
- Effect of mergers and acquisitions on employees
- Settlement discussion and agreements
Besides offering you sound legal advice, we also provide a wide range of proactive services so you can identify and prevent potential issues even before they occur. We can help you:
- Create, review, and update employment contracts and policies
- Train your staff in-house on any aspect of employment law
- Educate your managers and supervisors on how to properly conduct a disciplinary proceeding
- Carry out investigations
Our in-house training programmes are custom-made to meet the specific needs and requirements of our clients. If you want to improve your employees’ knowledge of the UK employment law, feel free to contact us anytime and we will create a bespoke training programme just for you.
As well as our in-house training programmes, we also provide regular employment law updates in our public seminars. Attendance in these public seminars is not limited to our clients. Anyone can come along. If you’re interested in participating in our next employment law update, please contact us for more information.
Settlement Agreements
A settlement agreement is a contract between an employee and their current or former employer. On signing this contract, you are expressing your willingness not to lodge a claim against your employer in exchange for receiving compensation or termination payment. If your employer asked you to sign a settlement agreement, make sure to think things over because this document is legally binding.
In most cases, employers use settlement agreements when they are concerned that the termination of an employee’s contract would lead to a legal dispute. Furthermore, these contracts usually contain confidentiality clauses that prevent employees from divulging the terms of the agreement to other people. In some cases, employers may also prohibit employees from “bad mouthing” them once they leave the company.
Why You Need Our Help
You should speak to our employment lawyers as soon as your employer asked you to sign a settlement agreement. One reason for this is that you are legally required to speak to a solicitor before accepting the terms of the deal. The agreement is only legally binding once have sought legal advice. If you fail to obtain legal assistance, the settlement agreement will not be valid.
Another reason for contacting us at Astons Solicitors is that settlement agreements usually contain legal jargons, as well as terms and conditions that can be difficult to understand. We will make sure that our employment law solicitor will explain everything to you in layman’s terms so you will fully understand the consequences of signing the agreement.
HR Plus
We have designed HR Plus specifically to help small to medium-sized businesses manage their HR needs with ease. From as little as £99 + VAT per month, our team will:
- Update your employment contracts, handbooks and procedures
- Offer you UNLIMITED support from a fully qualified employment lawyer
- Provide £100,000 of insurance to cover any tribunal claims brought against your business
With HR Plus, you can rest assured that your HR needs are covered and that you are adequately insured in the event an employee makes a claim against you.
HR Plus is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses with a small HR function or no HR function at all. It can also help those that require expert assistance with the latest employment legislation and HR processes and procedures.
If you do not want to get bogged down by daily HR issues and other employment-related problems, HR Plus is undoubtedly the solution you need.
Talk to Our Team Today
Although employment law is extremely complicated and difficult to understand, our specialist knowledge of the subject can help you achieve the results that you want. At Astons Solicitors, we have built a solid track record for providing top-quality employment law advice and services to our clients. With our expert assistance, you will find the best and most efficient way to solve any work-related issue and obtain the best possible outcomes.
Speak to our employment law solicitors today.