Practice Areas
Employment

The expertise to deliver results

The firm's Employment team consists of dedicated employment law specialists who advise clients throughout the UK. The team has a reputation for impressive expertise across all areas of employment law. It recognises that employment law issues overlap with business goals and objectives as well as with other areas of law and it works closely with the firm's pensions, employee share schemes, corporate finance and commercial groups to achieve client goals.

The main areas of focus of the Employment team's practice are as follows:

Outsourcing, service provision changes and PFI/PPP projects: advising on and negotiating the impact of the TUPE regulations and other aspects of employment law in a wide variety of industry sectors and in the context of transfers from the public sector is a major part of the team's work.

Executive terminations: the team has extensive experience in handling the termination of senior employees and directors, including tactics and approach and related issues arising in respect of intellectual property, company law, corporate governance, pensions, share options and tax.

Day to day advice: on individual dismissals, disciplinary and grievance procedures, flexible working requests, family friendly rights, equal opportunities issues and other everyday employment matters.

Restructuring and collective redundancy exercises: the team has steered a number of large clients through extensive restructurings and consultation with trade unions.

Corporate transactions: the team works with the firm's corporate finance division on a wide range of transactions including acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, co-investments and listings.

Service agreements, executive remuneration packages, employment contracts and employee handbooks.

Restrictive covenants: the team advises on drafting and enforcing restrictive covenants as well as tackling covenants in the context of recruitment and team moves.

Employment litigation: the team handles disputes in employment tribunals and in the High Court in England and the Court of Session in Scotland. It includes a number of experienced advocates who regularly conduct cases in employment tribunals throughout the UK.

Mediation: the team includes qualified mediators as well as lawyers experienced in conducting mediation on behalf of clients.

Employment training and consultancy: managers can often be daunted by the prospect of having to broach difficult discussions with employees and by the legal framework which surrounds them. Our employment training services encompass both the understanding of employment law obligations and the communication and management skills that they need, all set in the context of the day to day situations such as performance reviews, disciplinary and grievance hearings and termination discussions.

Recent work includes:

acting for a FTSE 100 company on the outsourcing of its logistics and delivery functions throughout the UK
acting for significant employers in the food and drink manufacturing sector on the negotiation and renegotiation of key outsourcing contracts
successfully defending a multiple employee claim in the employment tribunal in relation to time limits and the statutory grievance procedure
advising a well-known internet retailer on the enforcement of restrictive covenants
acting for an international manufacturing company in defence of numerous employment tribunal claims
providing training to managers of Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Orange and Beam Global
advising on a mediation in a complex sex discrimination and victimisation case, resulting in a successful outcome
advising highly successful company engaged in digital consumer electronic market on the acquisition of an additional business, including advising on key issues of restrictive covenants and harmonisation
advising for City of Edinburgh, East Dunbartonshire Council and Borders Council in Schools PPP projects
advising a large employer on a complex national programme of retendering local contracts for the provision of a key service by numerous service providers, including advising on issues of TUPE liability and redundancy
advising public sector employers on equal pay issues, including working on devising mechanisms of reaching a settlement of threatened claims