Statutory regulation of the workplace has never been greater and the flow of new employment law is constant. Since 2006 we have introduced new laws relating to age discrimination, disability discrimination, fixed term employees, business transfers and EU collective information and consultation procedures to name but a few.
It is not just EU laws that must be managed sensibly but increasing domestic regulation of workplace disputes and the relatively complex procedures that this requires.
Experienced people managers are well aware of the cost of non-compliance and the effect that it has on their business in terms of morale and, of course, the bottom line.
Most of our clients are employers although we do act for some employees particularly directors and senior executives. Our practice in this field covers both contentious and non-contentious matters, including representation in the Employment Tribunal and County and High Courts. We also regularly provide our company commercial colleagues with merger and acquisition support.
We have nine specialist commercial employment lawyers on two sites (at our offices in Guildford and Woking) to advise you on all aspects of labour law including:
- Employment documentation including staff handbooks
- Recruitment
- Contracts of employment
- Independent contractor agreements
- Workplace policies
- Disciplinary and grievance procedures
- Collective consultation and bargaining
- Redundancies
- Business reorganisations
- Business transfers
- Protection of intellectual property and confidential information
- Termination of employment
- Equal opportunities and discrimination
- Bullying and harrassment
We often assist our clients with internal management training on employment law and by auditing their working practice documentation to ensure compliance with this fast changing area of the law.
The Employment Group provides one-stop representation for clients involved in Employment Tribunal proceedings and deals with related County Court and High Court employment litigation including applications for Injunctions.
For employers, making a mistake with the procedures required by law may cost them dearly. For that reason at Barlow Robbins we emphasise that prevention is better than cure! Not only do we try and make our employer clients aware of proposals for new legislation and changes in the law through our programme of seminars, our HR Events, Employment Law Update and Business Law Newsletter but we also urge them to take advice from us before they embark on a course of action relating to an employee. Our aim is to provide clear practical advice and we draw on years of experience of all sorts of situations and all types of clients to be able to do so. We will certainly have seen the client's problem before!
Our employer clients range from corporations employing hundreds of people in the UK and elsewhere to small businesses employing less than 5 staff. We act for employers across a wide range of industry sectors although we do have a particular niche in the provision of advice to the educational sector, particularly independent schools.
Recent examples of the work we have undertaken include defending the UK subsidiary of a Chicago based software house (unfair dismissal and race discrimination); a company providing equipment hire to the broadcasting industry (constructive dismissal); a London estate agency (race discrimination); and a company distributing aircraft parts to the defence sector (sex discrimination).
Outside the world of the Employment Tribunal we have advised:
- a Surrey based International Oil exploration company on the employment aspects of a world wide acquisition;
- an established London based banking services software house on the employment aspects of sale;
- a leading AIM listed website developer on the sale of part of its undertaking; and
- an established domiciliary care provider on the transfer of care services by Thurrock Borough Council.
