Employment Law Clinic

About Us & FAQs

FAQs - selection of enquiring
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About this website - Answers

Does this site cover everything I need to know about employment law?

A. Employment law is extremely complex & can easily be confusing, so it would be impractical, if not impossible, to detail everything without suffocating our visitors in information – employment law books regularly run in excess of a 1,000 pages.

Our site has been designed to be succinct & easy to navigate, with summaries of the most common issues our clients face. For comprehensive advice specific to your needs, please contact us.

So I won’t find comprehensive employment law guidance or advice on your website?

A. As we mention above, employment law is complicated, and we understand the challenges on time for most businesses. Therefore the Employment Law Clinic does not wish to present pages of guidance for any small organisation that would rarely have to time to read, understand, and apply all the guidance – you have a business to run, and we can take care of the legal stuff for you.

If you are interested in managing your employment (and other) affairs in-house, there is a plethora of information online – see below for some useful links. But just as you could fix a leaking pipe in-house, or install a new lighting centre yourself, you would normally consider hiring a specialist to undertake this work.

We believe your attitude should be the same for employment issues: you should ensure that you know 100% what you are doing before even considering handling any employment matters yourself, and if in any doubt consult a professional.

Our services are designed to take care of the legal stuff for you, saving you time & the worry of getting things done properly... just like plumbers & electricians, who specialise in their work so you don’t have to.

Given that, our website is designed to highlight some of the most common issues you’ll need to be aware of, but not to provide comprehensive details on how to deal with these.

If you do want to manage all your work in-house, you will find useful information & guidance at:

Direct.gov.uk
BusinessLink.gov.uk
Acas.org.uk
UltimateHandyMan.co.uk

Common legal issues - Answers

My organisation is growing, and I’m thinking of employing staff, but all these employment regulations are putting me off. Can’t I just give a friend a job and make it easier?

A. The Employment Law Clinic would recommend that any potential employer gets professional advice, even before you recruit your first employee. Anyone interested in working for you may feel discriminated against if you don’t operate a fair recruitment process, so you need to make sure your processes are fair & legal before you even begin recruiting staff – give your organisation the support it needs to expand, but not in a fashion that may bring your activities to a halt.

Our organisation has a high turnover of staff, with few if any employees staying on for 12 months. Isn’t it correct that we don’t need to worry about anything?

A. Your legal obligations commence the moment you make arrangements to fill a vacancy. While some employee’s rights can’t be enforced without 12 months service, there are numerous pitfalls to avoid, so please don’t be fooled into thinking your organisation is safe if staff aren’t permanent or in employment for too long.

I’ve got employees on my books; they’re paid more than the minimum wage, given leave, and I discuss any concerns with them. They don’t have a contract though, so do I need to do anything more?

A. Although perhaps not in writing, your employees do have a contract – in law, a contract of employment is created the moment you make an offer of employment that is accepted, regardless of whether this is in writing or verbally agreed.

With a contract in place, both you and your employees have numerous obligations, and unless your organisation satisfies these could be serious consequences.

I’ve heard that employment law only applies to companies of a certain size. How many staff should I employ before I need to worry about this?

A. You should be addressing your employment policies even before you recruit anyone – you need to ensure even your application process is open & fair to all applicants.

And once you have a single employee in your workforce, you have numerous legal obligations to address.

It is true that some elements of employment law only apply to larger employers, but these are often only for a certain period while smaller employers are given time to prepare for new legal obligations.

I’ve seen government adverts about migrant workers. To ensure I don’t employ illegal workers, can I select staff on their nationality?

A. No! Any recruitment based on nationality would be discriminatory. Your organisation's recruitment policies do need to be aware of, and make provisions for, people not permitted to work in the UK, but staff selection among permitted workers, based on their nationality, would be illegal and you could easily face legal action.

I’m due at a Tribunal in a few days from now. I know I should have done something before now, so is it too late to seek help?

A. Don’t worry, you’re not alone - this isn’t unusual behaviour at all! Small businesses often don’t know how to deal with these matters, and more importantly, don’t understand how important they are. While our work may be more challenging now – particularly if your case is listed for tomorrow – all is not lost. Whether you need to reply to an appeal (you’ll have received a form known as an ET3) or are actually due to attend a hearing, please call us urgently on 020 3239 0569 (leave a message if necessary), and follow this up with urgent emails to tribunals@employmentlawclinic.com, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

Even if you haven’t got any documents to hand, the Employment Law Clinic can help – but don’t hesitate any longer: get in touch urgently.

This is getting complicated - even your FAQs are lengthy, but I can’t find an answer to my question. How am I expected to cope?

A. Being an employer can be complicated! But we want to make it as easy as possible for you to expand and grow your business, and that’s why we’re ready to take care of the legal stuff for you.

Services & Pricing - Answers

What are the range of services the Employment Law Clinic offer?

A. Succinctly, the Employment Law Clinic can simply offer advice or we can deal with employment matters on your behalf. The range of areas we cover includes (but is not limited to):

Statements of Particulars, Contracts of Employment, Staff Handbooks;

Disciplinary & Grievance Procedures

Training – for businesses with in-house arrangements;

Assistance or full handling of Employment tribunal claims;

Recruitment Policies;

Negotiation & conciliation – with employees, elected representatives, or trade unions;

Health & Safety;

and just about everything to do with Human Resources – if you have a need not mentioned, contact us.

Do you offer a telephone service for urgent issues?

A. We do only offer a limited telephone service, as experience has shown our customers normally require advise in writing to ensure they can fully follow what is often involved; this is due to the complicated nature of employment law. However, while a written record is useful, our clients can call us at anytime for urgent situations, to discuss any specific needs, or raise any questions. Email marked as urgent is normally dealt with within 24 hours, and this gives you the reassurance of a written record that you can refer back to – often more helpful than your recollection of a phone conversation.

As an employee, can I get support & assistance from you?

A. Sorry, but the Employment Law Clinic only offer our services to employers, not employees.

How extensive is your service: will you simply advise my organisation what to do, and leave us to get on with it?

A. Every organisation has different needs, and our services recognise that: our involvement can be kept as basic as providing guidance and advice, or we can handle an Employment Tribunal response – no matter how large or small your needs, the Employment Law Clinic can help.

I want to get on with running my business, and don’t want to worry about Human Resource (HR) issues, so would prefer if they were totally handled elsewhere. Can the Employment Law Clinic take on this HR work?

A. The Employment Law Clinic can deal with all your HR obligations for you. We can provide a fixed price for an annual service, or we can charge specifically for work done. Please contact us for further details.

I’ve read from other sources about tailor-made contracts for staff, rather than stencils. What is the difference?

A. Some competitors do offer what they describe as “tailor-made” contracts and statements, often claiming these are not based on templates.

To be honest, the Employment Law Clinic consider these marketing ploys: any contract of employment is assumed in law to consist of numerous elements, regardless of what is in writing, while any statement of particulars has to contain various features, which are prescribed in law; these elements naturally form the template to any contract! (You can see the Employment Rights Act 1996 for what needs to be included in a Statement of Particulars – a document you need to provide to employees within two months of them starting work.)

The only difference within the options is that features of the contract/statement are tailor-made, and while we don’t offer platitudes about a better or personal service, the Employment Law Clinic offers this service too – but only if you require and want to pay for it: if your business simply wants, or can currently only afford, to meet your basic needs, we can advise and assist on this, providing a legal minimum needed. On the other hand, if you want a full package of statements of particulars & staff handbooks (which can form part of the contract of employment – any employment contract is determined by law, not only what is in writing, so never expect everything in writing) we can meet this need now, or when it suits you best to introduce this.

How do you charge for your services, and how do I pay?

A. Dependant on your organisation’s needs, we may require a deposit to handle work on your behalf – although urgent work may be commenced while payments are arranged.

As an established client, we will normally issue an invoice to you every month, which will include details of all work undertaken on your behalf – and which will always be within any budget you agree with us. Payment will normally be expected within 14 days, during which time we will continue to work as normal; any delays with payment may affect future activities, but this will always be advised & discussed with you in advance.

We plan to be accepting all major credit & debit cards very soon, but alternative payment options can be arranged too.

I’ve read some of the guidance available elsewhere and still want to keep my affairs in-house, although with some external help. What can you do for me?

A. If you’re not 100% sure about what you’re doing, but intent on handling your own affairs, we can provide support & guidance to employers. The nature of this will be guided by your specific needs, so get in touch to discuss how we can assist you without taking the work out of your hands.

I’d like to continue to manage my HR in-house, but would find training for the management helpful. Can you assist with this?

A. The Employment Law Clinic can provide training for you & any staff you require to be trained. Please contact us to discuss your specific needs.

How much will this cost me?

A. A failure to ensure you’re complying with all elements of employment law could easily cost you your business. To get advice & support from the Employment Law Clinic, please contact us to discuss your specific needs.

We only work with highly skilled & proven people in their field, and we pride ourselves on being experts at our work. Charges for our case work – such as handling a response to an employment tribunal – are normally incurred at equivalent to an hourly rate; hours are broken down into units of fifteen minutes – i.e. ¼ of an hour – for billing purposes. Our time is charged for all work involved in your case; this includes phone calls, dealing with correspondence, preparing or considering legal arguments, as well as time spent in meetings or formal hearings.

An estimate for case work can be very difficult, as this depends on many things. We will always try to gauge the amount of work involved, and give you an estimate early on. We will also keep you up-to-date with progress and any implication on the estimate. And if you need to set a budget for this, we will ensure we work within this.

For fixed services, such as preparation of Contracts & Staff Handbooks, we can normally offer a quote based on your needs. Let us know your requirements, and we’ll let you know the cost.

There are suggestions of a recession looming, and our organisation is already finding finances difficult to manage. How could I pay for all of this HR expense too?

A. Whatever happens to the economy, if you want your organisation to survive any downturn you need to manage your way through the tough economic times. While this may not appear easy, and you feel under pressure to cut costs, you need to manage any cuts carefully.

Job cuts in other businesses may be something you heard about in the media, but these are all carefully managed & follow appropriate legal steps. You need to follow this practice too, if you’re not to face legal action which could cost your organisation.

You can get advice and assistance from the Employment Law Clinic – familiar with the law, we can provide guidance or handle your affairs for you, leaving you free to run your business.

Once you enquire about our services and fees, you’ll also find our services don’t cost a lot, but we can help you manage costs and staffing to keep you going both now and in any improving financial climate.

Do you offer any discounts or promotions?

A. Yes. Recognising that finances can be tight for small businesses, we do offer discounts and promotions. For full details of these, please contact the Employment Law Clinic.

How do you protect my company’s privacy?

A. Please see our privacy pages for more details about your privacy and how we handle and protect your confidential information.

I have a question not covered here, so I’m not sure if I need your services.

A. Contact us with any other questions, and we’ll give you a prompt reply – we will normally aim to acknowledge your email within 24 hours, and give you a full reply within 48 hours. Any complications, and we’ll advise you of this; delays will normally be preceded by a request for further information which is required to fully consider your issues. And we don’t charge you for making enquiries.

Introduction to the Employment Law Clinic - Answers

Can you tell me more about the Employment Law Clinic?

A. In brief, the Employment has been created based on a commitment, passion and dedication for fairness in the workplace; by fully supporting small & medium businesses and by taking on the challenging role of HR & employment law issues, we aim to help employers to achieve their fullest potential, without unnecessary distraction. We don’t just handle HR & employment law issues: we encourage our clients to develop their own natural sense of fairness and ensure businesses can grow without having to worry about challenges or complications with HR or employment law issues. We also teach the technical and practical skills necessary to translate those principals into reality.

So if you are interested in being a fair & decent employer who’s organisation can grow with confidence, or if you simply want to learn from the best, then we invite you to get in touch and help support your organisation & its employees.

As more of an introduction, the Employment Law Clinic is a consultancy & advocacy firm that was set-up to provide specialist support & assistance to small & medium businesses that cannot support an internal HR department or wants to provide support for managers in this role. Our objective is to take care of the complicated & specialised legal stuff, leaving businesses free to concentrate on other key areas of their work. We only use experienced specialist staff & consultants to undertake this work, rather than solicitors who understand the law but may lack practical experience of applying this in a workplace, so keeping our costs – and ultimately your costs – down, while ensuring you have advice only from people who understand & recognise the issues your organisation faces.

What experience or knowledge does the Employment Law Clinic have to advise me?

A. Our organisation was established by Karl Limpert, who has held numerous and varied positions and has worked in & with management and led & sat on many management boards & committees over the last 20 years. Karl has always maintained an interest in fairness in employment – fairness for the employer, the workforce in general, and any aggrieved employee. He therefore understands the challenges management faces, and recognises both how employers can fall foul of the law, and how you can avoid complications or difficulties with your workforce; these principals underline how the Employment Law Clinic approaches its work.

What about your own employment arrangements: do you practice these policies, as I can’t find any employment opportunities on your website?

A. The Employment Law Clinic is always interested to involve & employ new people to help us ensure our small & medium organisation clients are meeting their legal & practical needs. If you feel you can help us in this task, get in touch with us and tell us how you think you could help us serve our clients.

Taking Care of the Legal Stuff

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