Employment Law

The law says that every employer must provide a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment to every employee. For most employers this document represents their contract with their employee. When everything is going well, typically no one looks at or refers to their contract. However, when there is a problem then having the right contract in place with sufficient details is important. Better still, it could help to avoid the issue in the first place. Square Peg HR can prepare your contracts ensuring that they are sufficient detailed and legally compliant.

Contracts for Directors are specialist documents. Executive directors have significant powers and responsibility for numerous aspects of company’s business and it’s for this reason that it’s fundamental that a director’s rights and duties are correctly specified and agreed in a legally binding document. Square Peg HR can provide clear and practical advice regarding all aspects of Director’s contracts (sometimes known as Service Agreements) – we can draft an agreement bespoke to your requirements, ensuring your organisation is protected and provide all parties with peace of mind.

All employers must have in place Discipline and Grievance Procedures which should meet the current ACAS Code of Practice. All employees should be made aware of these policies and procedures and have access to them.

Square Peg HR will help you to draft policies and procedures that are both compliant, meet the needs of your business and also meet the required standards set out by ACAS.

No one likes dealing with disciplinary matters and likely it isn’t something you’ll be doing every day, so to have a legally qualified HR practitioner to discuss the matter with – and agree the best way forward – will help to smooth the path to a satisfactory outcome.

Square Peg HR will be with you throughout to advise and support and if necessary and, where the matter is particularly complex or sensitive, will support you in person at your premises. We will take you from the investigatory stage through to the final outcome. We will provide you with any papers or correspondence you need on the way.

When you are faced with carrying out an internal investigation you may want to consider appointing an independent investigator – for example, to avoid compromising your relationships with your existing employees or it may be that you simply don’t have the on-site resources. Square Peg HR has considerable experience in carrying out a wide variety of employment related investigations in relation to potential disciplinary and grievance matters. They possess the skills to carry out a comprehensive investigation sensitively and with a thorough understanding of the law.

Should a disciplinary matter result in a dismissal, Square Peg will be with you to ensure that your processes and procedures are compliant, as well as ensuring that the decision to dismiss is reasonable in all the circumstances. We will also ensure that you follow due process including any appeals, all in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice.

Put simply, discrimination is about the right to be treated fairly in all employment related decisions. Whilst most employers will do all they can to ensure that a culture exists within their organisation that promotes equality and fairness, discrimination continues to exist in various forms.

The laws around discrimination were combined in the Equality Act 2010. This is a complex and lengthy piece of legislation and covers all areas of discrimination from pre-employment (for example advertising, selection procedures and interviews) to post employment (for example the provision of references to former employees).

Square Peg HR will support you in dealing with any claims of discrimination within your organisation. Our lawyers will guide you through the correct processes and if necessary, represent you at the Employment Tribunal, if matters get that far.

Settlement Agreements (formerly known as Compromise Agreements) arise where the employment relationship has come to an end, and the employer wants to ensure that the employee will not bring any claim to the Employment Tribunal.

Square Peg HR will ensure that the terms of the Settlement Agreement are the best you can achieve and that the Agreement is fully compliant with current law. We will draft an Agreement with you appropriate to the circumstances.

Our team has considerable experience of representing clients at tribunal – not only will we considerably reduce the stress of being involved in an ET, we will support you at a vastly reduced cost in comparison to a legal firm.

Employees are no longer obliged to pay a fee to submit an employment tribunal claim but do still need to through the early conciliation process. Navigating the conciliation and ET process can be complex and you are advised to seek assistance as quickly as possible – get in touch and we can take the stress out of a difficult situation and help mitigate your losses.

TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. Despite the fact that is has been around for a very long time (since 1981) it is still much misunderstood and feared by most employers. Its purpose is to protect the rights of workers when their organisation is bought over or transfers to a new employer. The law requires both the old and new employer to follow specific procedures.

Square Peg HR will guide you through the processes required to meet your legal obligations, whether it is a full sale and purchase or the outsourcing of a service.

Square Peg HR can offer EPLI to help protect your organisation against the costs of defending actions brought by your employees. Both legal costs and awards and settlements are covered. Cover is provided by SKB Risk and underwritten by one of the world’s leading insurers, Royal & Sun Alliance. Your policy premium is scale rated, depending on the number of employees in the organisation – starting from as little as £336 per annum for £250,000 level of cover.