Employment

National service based on extensive experience in the full range of employment work, including litigation, advisory, transactional and training.

For most businesses and public organisations, employment is the most common legal concern. The responsibilities placed on employers are considerable, and the risk of legal consequences from a breach of law or good practice is ever-present.

In this situation, the support of experienced and knowledgeable solicitors with specialist skills is virtually indispensable. Weightmans' Employment team is expert in this field and provides a comprehensive, national employment service.

We act for a diverse range of private and public sector clients, ranging from large national companies such as Royal Mail and Whitbread to small and medium enterprises. Whatever the size of your undertaking, you will benefit from our in-depth expertise in every employment issue.

We adopt a proactive approach, driven by a commitment to the highest standards and a reputation for explaining matters in a practical, easy-to-understand manner. We take particular care to develop close working relationships with you and your staff, so that your needs and commitments can be understood, agreed and met. To help you deal with urgent issues, we provide access to a 24/7 telephone advice service.

In addition to helping you deal with issues as they arise, we offer a wide range of educational and preventative services to help you manage risks and avoid problems. These include training seminars, workshops and regular feedback sessions, covering points arising from your own experiences, together with practical lessons from our other clients around the country.

We also conduct audits of practices, policies and procedures and provide regular legal updates, comprising monthly bulletins and legislation pipeline documents, to ensure you are well prepared for new legislation.

Employment services:

All aspects of unfair dismissal claims
Changes to terms and conditions of employment
Discrimination (race, sex, disability, etc.)
Drafting employment contracts, policies and procedures
Grievance and disciplinary issues
Industrial relations
Managing sickness absence
Misconduct issues
Performance management
Redundancy (collective and business reorganisations)
Severance issues / Compromise agreements
TUPE

"We rely increasingly on support from professionals and in this regard I think Weightmans is second to none"
Dr Simon Letman, Independent Professional Development

David Jacks

Direct dial:
0151 242 7997
Email me
Meet the team

Employment - April 2008
This month’s edition includes articles on: part-time workers, sexual orientation discrimination, serial grievances, deducting wages for strike action and legislation pipeline.
Employment - March 2008
This month’s edition includes articles on immigration, forthcoming legislation, equal pay and age discrimination.
Employment - February 2008
This month’s edition includes articles on: alcohol-related dismissals; the employer’s implied duty to consider ill health retirement benefits; the level of protective awards for failure to consult on collective redundancies;the test for disability in relation to recurring conditions and retirement dismissals.
Employment - January 2008
This month’s edition includes articles on: TUPE; Illegal Working and Unfair dismissal; National Minimum Wage and Age discrimination; a Case Law round up (with cases on redundancy procedures; night shift work and equal pay; casual workers; derogatory statements and on the modified statutory dismissal procedure).
Employment - December 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on: Disability reasonable adjustments; redundancy collective consultation; forthcoming legislation and Weightmans' Disability Forum and Training
Employment - November 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on: race discrimination; compulsory retirement; the statutory dispute resolution procedures and Weightmans’ employment law training programme for 2008
Employment - October 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on: The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006; The statutory dispute resolution procedures; Recruitment issues; CV fibbing and Weightmans’ Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
Employment - September 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on: Age discrimination – recent cases; employment law issues arising from social networking; extending probationary periods and forthcoming legislation, including the Racial & Religious Hatred Act 2006 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.
Employment - August 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on: the extension of ACAS’s conciliation services to certain types of EAT case; an important decision of the EAT in an equal pay case dealing with an earlier finding of discrimination against a Union arising out of its behaviour towards a group of female members when representing them; clarification from the Court of Appeal about the ability of an employer to fairly dismiss an employee for long-term sick absence – even where the employer caused that absence; and finally, a summary of the forthcoming changes to statutory annual leave entitlement.
Employment - July 2007
This edition includes articles on a significant challenge under the October 2006 Age Discrimination Legislation, an update regarding the implementation of increased statutory annual leave, the latest consultation on the Government’s proposals for a single equality bill, and a review of the ongoing problem of violence against front-line staff.
Leisure - June 2007
In this first edition of the Leisure e-bulletin we discuss policing the smoking ban; popular attractions that produce high noise levels; regulations to control the trend for all year tans; guidance for firework use and the IRB changes the rules for contact sports.
Independent Schools - June 2007
Welcome to the first Weightmans Bulletin for Independent Schools. Each term we aim to bring you an update about recent and forthcoming changes to the law, recent case law and guidance about particular areas of the law of relevance to you.
Employment - June 2007
This edition includes articles on the use of CCTV in the workplace, the quasi-judicial status of decisions made by Police Disciplinary Boards, and a briefing on the DTI’s Consultation on statutory parental leave.
Retail - June 07
Articles covering law updates including: Smoking in the workplace; Work Equipment Regulations; and Disability Discrimination issues within the retail sector.
Local Government - May 2007
This edition includes articles on a new white paper on planning, the new Code of Conduct for Members, the case of Knowsley Housing Trust v White, freedom of information, gambling, employment law and case and legislation in April.
Employment - May 2007
This edition includes articles on the new smoking ban, the case of St Helens Borough Council v Derbyshire and the DTI consultation on resolving workplace disputes.
Employment - April 2007
Articles covering the basics of law regulating redundancies, pensions transfers and dispute resolution regulations.