Advice to employers

Some examples of work undertaken by lawyers from our Employment team on behalf of employers:


Unfair dismissal
  • Successfully negotiated a commercial settlement of a prospective claim of automatic unfair dismissal against a FTSE listed client. Prompt settlement on a commercial basis with stringent confidentiality obligations removed the need to enter a defence, minimised the client’s legal costs and helped keep the matter below the radar preventing other employees (who had been dismissed as part of the same exercise) from being alerted to their potential claims.
  • Successfully defended the UK’s largest independent greengrocer in an unfair dismissal claim. The case was won largely due to the admission of video evidence covertly obtained of a shop manager who was caught fishing when he should have been working.
Unfair dismissal and TUPE
  • Successfully defended a large police constabulary against multiple unfair dismissal claims arising out of a TUPE transfer. The stakes were high in terms of potential compensation and adverse PR. The case was won by persuading the Employment Tribunal that the claimants did not have the requisite employee status. As a consequence, our client avoided liability for wrongful and unfair dismissal, protective awards and 6 years' worth of income tax and employers National Insurance for each of the claimants.
Discrimination
  • Successfully defended a plc against a high value disability discrimination claim. The claimant had a poor attendance record and had been dismissed for failure to meet a specific attendance target. Days before the defence was due to be lodged, the House of Lords radically changed the law relating to comparators in disability discrimination cases (London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm). A quick amendment of the defence enabled the client to take advantage of this and the case settled for a substantially reduced commercial amount.
  • Successfully defended a leading UK charity against allegations of race discrimination/victimisation against it and a government body.
Working Time
  • Negotiated a commercial settlement of multiple claims against a facilities management company under the Working Time Regulations for outstanding holiday pay. Advised on a strategy which achieved a commercial settlement avoiding the costs of litigating to a fullhearing and, through careful timing, prevented an avalanche of related claims from other employees.
Family friendly rights
  • Advising a leading UK manufacturer on flexible working requests.
Employee status
  • Advised a large police force on complex employee status issues.
Confidentiality
  • Advised an employer client who had uncovered evidence of misuse of confidential information by a senior employee.
Restrictive Covenants
  • Advised a large employer on enforcement of post-termination restrictive covenants against a senior executive leaving to join a competitor.
Absence management
  • Advised a large plc on sickness absence management and the introduction of an appropriate attendance trigger scheme.
Performance management
  • Advised several student unions across England and Wales on performance management issues involving junior staff and senior managers.
Changing terms & conditions
  • Strategic advice to a law firm on cost-saving and business protection measures (including tailor-made restrictive covenants) and their subsequent implementation.
Boardroom reshuffles
  • Successfully represented a FTSE listed company following the summary termination of one of its senior directors. Tactical use of job market intelligence helped in negotiating a significant reduction in his settlement package.
Business reorganisation
  • Advising on several business sales and large scale reorganizations of workforce involving collective consultation under TUPE.
  • Advising on several outsourcing projects both within the UK and offshore.
Corporate transactional support
  • Providing transactional support on numerous £multi-million corporate deals.