We provide expert, down-to-earth advice across the whole range of employment law and associated HR/legal matters. It is of a quality that you would expect from any City or national law firm, but at a much more reasonable cost and with a refreshingly different style.

We take the view that “HR support” should be precisely that: as supportive and accessible as possible. Our approach is to be an extremely helpful, collaborative extension of your HR team (rather than a distant and aloof law firm in the traditional style). We are always ready to assist with the practical implementation of our advice, such as drafting letters and scripts for meetings and planning strategies and project timetables with you.

We pride ourselves on being different from our competitors. We stay focussed on your priorities and aim to be as practical and pragmatic as possible when suggesting solutions. Based particularly on Luke Menzies' invaluable experiences of his clients' businesses when with EEF, a leading employers' association, we understand the pressures on you and we speak your language. We would like to think of ourselves as an extension of our client's HR team. It is a primary aim of our firm that this attitude will be apparent to you from the start.

Our standard approach is to visit you at your site, rather than asking you to come to us.  We believe it offers you a more convenient service.  It also assists our approach of getting to know, and focussing on, your organisation, your culture and your people. 

Our range of advice naturally covers the whole employment relationship, including:

• recruitment and appointment
• employee/consultant/contractor/agency status
• contracts and service agreements
• TUPE & business transfers
• employee handbooks, policies & procedures
• pay & bonus schemes
• maternity, paternity, parental and other family rights
• working time & minimum wage
• data protection
• equal opportunities, discrimination & bullying/harassment
• absence & sickness management
• disability and medical matters
• performance management
• handling discipline & grievances
• changing terms & conditions
• redundancy, lay-off and short-time working
• dismissals and terminations of all types
• compromise agreements & negotiated exits
• post-termination restrictions
• collective bargaining, trade unions & works councils

We have particular expertise in the appointment and termination of chief executives, directors and other senior executives. 

We offer that essential specialist advice that you require when removing a senior executive.   We bring to our advice many years of seasoned, pragmatic skill and experience of how best to bring about as much of a calm, dignified, low-risk departure as is possible.

It is also very worthwhile taking expert advice when agreeing terms and conditions of appointment for a senior executive: how robust and protective of the business are your current directors' service agreements?

We deal effectively and efficiently with a large number of compromise agreements all the time for every level and type of employee.  Our team can swiftly provide you with an agreement tailored to fit your needs and the circumstances of the departing employee.

You won’t be fobbed off with an off-the-shelf template, but will receive a robust, comprehensive document properly suited to the situation, which will protect your business to the maximum possible extent.  With many years of experience in designing and agreeing compromise agreements, we will skilfully guide you through the process in a pragmatic manner, offering you seasoned guidance on negotiation and tactics.

We provide highly practical, hands-on assistance in expertly steering employers of all sizes through redundancy and restructuring processes, large and small.  If you are facing the need to reduce and restructure your workforce we will guide you expertly through the process as swiftly and safely as possible, providing a helping hand every step of the way.  Our practical, common sense approach focuses on working with hand-in-hand with your HR team, such as helping you to:

• plan out the strategy and process at the outset
• once you have a plan, to create a timetable and a pack of relevant documents
• brief/train the relevant line managers on how they must operate
• ensure that selection pools and criteria are the most appropriate and lowest risk
• provide and review pro forma documents to be used during the redundancy meetings
• solve concerns and complaints that employees raise during the process
• ensure that all dismissals and appeals are conducted to the highest legal and HR ‘best practice’ standards

If yours is a collective redundancy process we have seasoned, pragmatic advice to offer on consulting with trade unions and elected staff committees.  We can provide guidance on how to approach unions, how to pitch your consultation proposals and precisely how to reach and agree the results of such consultations in ways most suited to protecting your organisation from consultation-related Tribunal claims. 

We aim to help you avoid litigation wherever possible. However, where it is necessary, we provide a highly skilled and responsive Employment Tribunal litigation & advocacy service. We have expertise in unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal, whistle-blowing, all types of discrimination, harassment, wages, working time and every other jurisdiction covered by the Employment Tribunals.
Based on Luke Menzies' seasoned experience over many years as a barrister and his involvement in many hundreds of cases, including several multi-millon pound claims, our litigation & advocacy service is of the very highest standard. We offer:

• solid, experienced advice on tactics to maximise your chance of success
• powerful trial advocacy
• skilful methods to obtain the best from your witnesses
• focussed, highly crafted witness statements and written submissions
• tough but pragmatic settlement negotiations
• to remain focussed on your organisation's priorities
• commercial, frank advice on your options
• a very high success rate

In post-outcome surveys, which ask a wide range of questions about our clients’ satisfaction with our litigation service as a whole, over 90% of all answers to all questions has been a rating of "excellent".

It’s vital to have the appropriate contracts and staff policies in place.  We can review your existing documentation and provide you with effective, modern, ‘plain English’ documents that give clarity and certainty to your, and your employees’, rights and obligations.

We will tailor these documents to your organisation’s own needs and culture and can make a wide range of suggestions as to what terms and policies you might benefit from putting in place. 

For more information on our services and fee rates please contact us.