Employment Law for Law Firms

As an Employer

Law firms fall into two distinct types

With Employment Law In-House

• Address the issues of employers obligations;

• Have contracts of employment;

• Have policies and procedures;

• Have staff/management handbooks

No Employment Practice (and no Employer Practices).

• No contracts;• Poor management

control;• High sickness/absence

rates;• Poor profilbility

Do they both need external advice?

In House Team• The purpose of external

advice is objective advice away from the partnership;

• Ad-Hoc advice;• Will probably use “someone

I respect”.• Lets leave them alone for

todays purposes.......

No practice• Three scenarios when they

seek advice:-1. Tribunal Claim threatened

or issued;2. Law Firm Management

Consultant engaged to develop the practice with the partners;

3. Merger or acquision is planned

Which are you?

• All risk professional and firm embarrassment;• All risk damaging the business;• All are addressing the issues to late• Hopefully by taking this course you are now in

the process of addressing the threats rather than reacting to a SRA visit...........

• Here the base issues to address with your newly appointed support staff, fee earners and solicitors............

What to do....

• The starting point with employment law is always have what you do documented:-

1. Offer of Employment Letters;2. Contracts or Statement of Terms;3. Have policies in a Staff Handbook – have a

Managers Operations Manual to support this and aid day to day staff management;

4. Document and take notes at any discussions with staff – what was said, why, agreements reached.

What to do....

5. Have redundancy and disciplinary criteria documented;

6. Get staff to sign, acknowledge and agree handbooks, policies and agreed actions;

How to do it.....

Lets assume for a moment you have a shipping case referred to your firm for advice.

Say I am a experienced solicitor, senior in your firm which does conveyancing, wills, probate and family work and I say I will deal with this shipping matter that has come in because I enjoyed that area whilst at University........

Would you as my partners let me?

How to do it.....

• The same position is encountered on a daily basis by employment practitioners – solicitors who think they are employment experts.

• Unfortunately we also face the curse of the HR Consultants these are of varying degrees of danger and competence. As a law firm you are risking your reputation;

Practically.....

• Get someone in to review and assess your current position and how best to improve it;

• Task them with leaving you in a manner that you can deal with things going forward after the initial implementation phase;

• That will mean training those with day to day people management duties, those who deal with grievances and discipline and having standard documents left with you to limit the management time necessary to maintain the new standards;

Offer Letters....the foundations of the employment house.

• Confirms the offer obviously;• More than that it manages expectations on

both sides;• It creates the focus to confirm and clarify things

i.e. job role, pay, payment date, bonus structure, line management;

• It helps also create a job description (which probably should have proceeded all of the above and the recruitment process but......);

Statement of Terms – Section 1 Employment Rights Act 1996

• Most lawyers think of law as contractual rights. In employment the statutory position is the important one first and foremost – contract just adds the extras on to the basic compliance position.

• A Section 1 Notice contains the minimum criteria. There is no excuse for not using them because they are freely available on line and formulaic. (See Business Link Website);

• Good advisors will add to this as a base point though. Senior staff will need more detailed contracts of employment;

The Notice

• Provided to new employees within 8 weeks of commencement of employment;

• Employers who fail to do so may have a Employment Tribunal award compensation against them as part of other claims(Currently - between 2 and 4 weeks pay);

Contents – Statutory Minimum & Recommended combined

• The Parties;• Date employment commenced;• Job Title & Duties;• Location;• Confidentiality• Hours of work;• Pay;

Contents Part 2

• Holidays (28 days minimum for full time workers);

• Public holidays (and effects on part time workers to comply with case law and regulations);

• Pensions;• Sickness and Injury;• Termination of Employment;

Contents Part 3

• Post Termination Restrictions (if new Employee. Existing Employees take specific advise);

• Data Protection Notice (and consent);• Collective and Workforce Agreements (if none

state none);• Company Handbook• Signature to acknowledge receipt.

In an ideal world......here or in induction document.

• Restrictions after termination of employment;• Grievance and Discipline (into company

handbook);• Acknowledgement of receipt of training on

discrimination, company processes and health and safety policy.

Policies

• These are best placed in a non-contractual Staff Handbook drafted to the legal minimum and/or the levels in force with your firm;

• Review is likely to be needed every April and October when the law changes in respect of most employment obligations;

• Most reputable suppliers will charge a flat fee for the handbook and a modest update price going forward;

Policies

• Health & Safety;• Data Protection;• General Standards of behaviour/dress;• IT;• Internet;• Telephone and Mobile Telephone;• Capability Procedure;

Policies - continued

• Discipline;• Dismissal• Redundancy;• Grievance Procedure;• Harassment;• Whistle blowing;• Personal Property;

Policies continued

• Personal Transactions – Friends and family advice;

• Retirement Procedures;• Training and Professional Development;• Appraisals;• Working Time Policy;• Equal Opportunities;• Parental Leave;

Policies Continued

• Maternity;• Paternity;• Adoption;• Compassionate Leave Policy;• Flexible Working• Home/Remote Working

The work involved

• If coming at this having not done anything for some time it can be intimidating;

• Expert help is available both from law firms with HR support functions and from Law Firm specific Management Consultants. It is so common place that a number of service providers can help;

Here’s Why.....

Personnel Management.• Staff need clear line

management;• To understand their role;• To be challenged and

motivated;• Getting rid of the weaker

elements of man management and supervision increases staff morale.

Business Reasons.• Your staff are how you

make profit;• Improve their

performance your client care will be raised;

• Your profits too;• In law firms we are selling

people, time and skill. Good management equals enhanced performance.

Types of claim

Wrongful Dismissal.• Contractual in nature;• Not statutory;• Dismiss within terms of

the contract or a claim exists to restore former employee to position prior to breach i.e. lost wages/benefits/notice.

Unfair Dismissal.• Employees only;• Automatically unfair are

maternity, flexible working, part time working, asserting a statutory right (health and safety etc), trade union membership.

Unfair Dismissal continued....

In other cases:-• 12 months service is required;• Forced resignation;• Termination by the employer without a good

reason and without following a fair procedure (such a discipline or redundancy);

• The test is “within the band of reasonable responses open to the employer”;

Redundancy

• Employees should be selected for a redundancy fairly;

• Objective reasons must exist for selecting that employee and/or the roles being made redundant;

• It is not “your role” but “a role” that needs to go and fairly reviewed one must be chosen and here’s why. Consultation and appeal avenues must be provided to prevent unfair dismissal.

Discrimination

• As employers we must prevent discrimination on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, religion, sexuality or because of parental status;

• That means treat fairly;• It also mean being proactive to ensuring equality

by training and raising awareness amongst staff and managers of the issues;

• Document the policies, the training and the preventative steps;

Discipline

The law changed on the 6th April 2009 (again) on this point. As a minimum:-

• Discipline must be fairly imposed;• A procedure must be followed;• Investigation then decision – assumptions are

not acceptable;• Employees have a right to know why they are

being disciplined, the evidence (and the chance to challenge it), the right to appeal.

Grievances

• Like discipline subject to recent changes;• The focus now is less procedural and more

about solving the issue but you need a process to gain the facts, the evidence the trust of the parties;

• Enhanced ACAS focus but as yet it is to soon to say if this is helping.....

Conclusion

• Document ever aspect of the employment process;

• Set up records and personnel files;• Review the approach at least annually;• Use expert help to set up the systems, policies

and documentation. Then manage it in-house after some training (or hire a Practice Manager/Consultant to do so).

About the speaker

• Founded boutique Law Firm Bennett’s Legal in 2009;

• Clients include other law firms, management consultants and to the sector (marketing, management and accountants).

• Bennett’s Legal operate nationally from a West Midlands base see www.bennettslegal.co.uk or call 01743 453 161