Employment Law - A Guide for Employees

If you are a UK employee and feel like you have been treated unlawfully at work then it is advisable to seek legal advice as soon as possible. An employment law solicitor will be able to help you with your problem and advise you as to what claims you might be able to make. If you do have a claim against your employer, the solicitor will proceed to advise you on whether or not it is worth following up and what the next stage in the process will be.

Details you will need to provide to your employment solicitor include:

- Length of time you have worked for your employer

- How much you earn

- Your Job Description and Contract of Employment

- Details of your problems at work

- What events have led to your current situation

- Any relevant documents that you have or that are not in your possession

- What you have done so far to try to resolve the matter

RESOLVING PROBLEMS INTERNALLY.

If possible you should try to sort out your problem through internal company grievance procedures to allow matters to be sorted out quickly.

This also makes it more likely that an employment tribunal will hear your claim if you have tried to resolve the matter internally. You can either do this directly or we will write to your employer on your behalf.

If you can reach an agreement with your employer without going to a tribunal, this can be recorded in a "compromise agreement". This is a legal document which confirms the terms of the settlement you have agreed, in exchange for which you will give up your legal claim against your employer.

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS.

If you are unable to resolve matters internally, it may be necessary to take your case to an employment tribunal.

If you do take matters to an tribunal, there is normally a three month deadline from the date of the events you are complaining about. In special cases this is extended and if your claim is about redundancy payments, you have six months to take it to the tribunal.

An employment tribunal is chaired by a lawyer and made up of two independent 'wing' members with experience of employment relations.

The employment tribunal will look at the merits of your case along with any evidence to determine whether they think it is justifiable in law to bring the claim against your employer.

They will take into consideration what policies/procedures your employer has for dealing with problems at work, what steps you and your employer have already taken to try to resolve the problem and you and your employer's behaviour throughout the time you were employed.

Most case hearings will be finished in one day. Decisions are made by majority vote and most are announced immediately.

In cases of unfair dismissal, tribunals have the authority to enable you to either get you reinstated in your job or to order a compensatory award.

UK employers don't always understand employment law and often fail to stick to proper procedure or to properly compensate their employees from losing their job. A good compromise agreement solicitor will be able to negotiate with your employer with the mutual aim of resolving the dispute, meaning that neither party will have to attend an employment tribunal - in many cases such a compromise agreement will enable a higher compensation payout than from a tribunal, especially when considering the reduction in legal fees. Any employee who has been dismissed, should always seek the advice of experienced employment law solicitors before taking any action or signing any agreement.


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Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of experienced compromise agreement solicitors specialising in employment law. He is responsible for all major strategic decisions, seeing himself as a businessman who owns a law firm. Tim has expanded the firm by 1000% in 12 years and has plans for its continued development.