Employment Law for Employees
Our specialist employment solicitors can handle your unfair dismissal or discrimination claim.
Have you been dismissed from your job for a reason you think is unfair? Or are you still employed but feel you are being treated unreasonably at work? If so, you may have cause to issue a claim to an employment tribunal or to raise a formal grievance. At Wolferstans, we can allocate an experienced and specialist employment solicitor to act on your behalf.
As well as dealing with dismissal or discrimination cases, we can advise on workplace harassment, redundancy and more. This may lead to an employment tribunal claim or a settlement agreement. Whatever the agreed course of action, our friendly legal team will provide targeted, expert guidance throughout.
We offer:
- A free initial telephone consultation
- Fixed fees
- Specialist advice
A strict three month time limit (minus one day) exists for issuing unfair dismissal and workplace discrimination claims. So it is essential that you seek advice promptly if your employment has come to an end.
When you appoint Wolferstans to represent you, an experienced specialist employment litigator will take care of your claim. We are firm believers in personal relationships and take time to fully understand our clients’ situations. So we will allocate your own employment solicitor who will provide a consistent service during the litigation process. They will be available for telephone conferences or meetings in person throughout your case.
Our employment solicitors are heavyweight litigators with experience in pursuing claims against employers of all kinds. No organisation is too large or too small. We regularly act against sole traders, national institutions, and public sector organisations such as the NHS or city councils.
It may be possible for us to run your case on a no-win no-fee basis, or for you to rely on legal expense insurance. Alternatively, we are happy to run your case for an agreed fee. That way, you know the maximum cost of pursuing your claim. For further details, please see our Funding Your Employment Tribunal Claim page.
More Employment services:
Settlement Agreements
Until 29 July 2013, Settlement Agreements were known as Compromise Agreements, so you may hear your employer refer to either term. If you have a Settlement (or Compromise) Agreement for signature, we can help.
These are simply agreements to end your employment with a severance payment, and are designed to make sure that you have no further possible employment tribunal or other legal claim against your employer. They will almost always include a confidentiality clause, and a clause providing that neither side will make any derogatory comments about the other.
The agreement will almost always provide for your employer to pay your legal fees.
Unless you have the agreement signed by an independent legal adviser, like us, it is not valid. This is to protect you against signing away your employment rights without proper compensation, so in each case we will discuss with you the full circumstances to make sure the agreement is in your interests before it is signed up.
Sometimes some re-negotiation is required and this can add to the legal costs, but we will only embark on extra work at your request and where there are good reasons for pressing for an improved offer.
Useful Links
Free Guidance on Employment Law
The Citizen’s Advice on your basic rights at work
The Government’s guidance on discrimination and knowing your rights
Confidential Information and Restrictive Covenants
Restrictive covenants are often included within an employment contract by a business to protect their commercially valuable information (confidential information) from misuse after an employee leaves. Employees are usually required to agree them when joining a company and will form part of their employment contract. The pro-active employers should therefore be reviewing their contracts and restrictive covenants as well as their systems and controls to ensure they afford the right protection to those in business development, client facing and revenue generating roles.
However, with the continued competition amongst employers to attract and retain the most talented employees, the number of issues and claims arising from the breaches of restrictive covenants contained in employment contracts are on the increase. Many employers and, on the other side, employees will likely require legal assistance, especially given the complexity of this area of law and the next steps that may need to be taken, which for example may include an application to the High Court for an injunction and associated search orders as necessary.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help you by calling 01752 663295.