Employment

If your business is based in the UK or EU and employs one or more people then you will need to comply with employment laws designed to ensure staff are treated fairly and that pay and conditions meet minimum statutory requirements. You will also be obliged to provide a safe working environment and to ensure that those you engage have the legal right to work in the country in which they are or will be stationed.

Failure to comply with any relevant rules or regulations could result in you being pursued for employee compensation and may also lead to you being fined and imprisonment for senior personnel. For this reason, it is important that you stay up to date with legal requirements and implement policies and procedures geared towards ensuring your duties are discharged.

Employment law services

Our UK and EU employment lawyers can help with:

• employment law audits, to gauge your current level of compliance and identify the steps needed to plug any gaps;
• the creation of staff recruitment guidelines to assist with right to work checks, data protection and the rules around discrimination when making hiring decisions;
• the implementation of measures to protect employees’ health and safety;
• the drafting of employee contracts and contracts with workers and self-employed personnel;
• the drafting of directors’ service agreements;
• the creation of staff handbooks and HR policies and procedures;
• the undertaking of employee performance reviews;
• the management of grievance and disciplinary matters;
• the management of employee dismissals and agreed employee care;
• the negotiation of severance agreements and settlement packages;
• the investigation and resolution of staff complaints, including those arising our of bullying and harassment;
• the resolutions of staff disputes concerning pay, bonuses, pension entitlement, annual leave, long-term sickness, flexible working or any other contentious issue;
• the management of small or large-scale redundancy or corporate restructuring programmes, particularly where transfer of undertakings legislation (TUPE) is likely to be engaged;
• advice on the employment law implications of a corporate merger or acquisition;
• advice on the employment law implications of an outsourcing arrangement;
• advice on IR35 legislation where there is doubt over the status of a member or staff for tax purposes;
• the enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants and contractual restrain of trade agreements, including via a court ordered injunction if necessary;
• the recovery of confidential or commercially sensitive information from former employees; and
• the defence and settlement of claims made by employees in the UK Employment Tribunal or EU equivalent, including those for unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages and discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, disability or religion.

How we can help

At IMD Corporate, we understand the challenges businesses face in ensuring compliance with employment law obligations which are constantly evolving to reflect new ways of working and changing social attitudes. We also appreciate the importance of viewing these obligations in the context of your own unique organisation and coming up with strategies for meeting them in a practical, effective and cost efficient way.

This is why we have assembled a team of experienced employment lawyers operating across the UK and Europe to provide bespoke advice to businesses who are keen to keep on top of requirements or who need help limiting the fall out following a rule breach.

We can assist whether you are a new business start-up with just one employee or an established enterprise employing a staff hundreds or thousands of people.

Discover our success stories by clicking here.

In most cases we can provide our services for a fixed fee, which means that you know at the outset exactly how much you will have to pay. Click here to learn more about the costs.

Keeping a handle on costs

We also offer a pay-monthly retainer scheme, known as IMD Employer Protect, which provides you with an extensive range of benefits for a pre-agreed monthly cost, including:

• a business health check to review your existing policies and procedures and highlight where changes or additions are needed to ensure they accord with current legislation;
• unlimited access to employment law advice, however frequently you require it and whether it relates to a day to day HR matter, a one off employment law query or an actual or anticipated employer-employee dispute — all for no extra cost;
• optional insurance to cover the legal cost of dealing with an employment dispute, including the settlement of any compensation you may be ordered to pay; and 
• access to an easy to use online software system to enable you to deal with HR issues at the touch of a button and therefore cut down the time spent on HR administration.

By joining the scheme, you will be free to seek legal advice from a qualified and experienced UK or EU employment lawyer whenever you need to and without the worry of how much it is going to cost. If you take advantage of our insurance offering, you can also minimise your exposure to unexpected financial losses stemming from an employment law breach or employee conflict.

Want to know more?

Read some of our articles below or call us at 0330 107 0106 in order to arrange a free no no-obligation call or request a free quote.

• Can your employee work in the UK?
• Quick guide for Employers: How to avoid legal disputes and claims
• The Validity of E-Signatures in the UK
• Human Rights Day 2023

Further information about the employer-protect scheme can be found here or by calling 0345 307 3856.