EMPLOYEES
New legislation in recent years has strengthened the position of workers considerably, both in terms of protection against dismissal and the introduction of family friendly policies which increase the flexibility of working arrangements.

ENGAGEMENT
You may be in demand and have a couple of offer letters on the table at the same time but do they really reflect what you thought you had agreed with the headhunter? Remuneration packages may be complex, involving combinations of salary, bonus, pension, stock awards or share option schemes. Ensuring you have on paper the deal which you thought you had agreed at the time will mean the employment relationship gets off to the best possible start, and asking us to do a review may be money invested wisely.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL
You may think that with a maximum compensation award of £63,000 available in the Tribunal, there is everything to play for. Worth a go at an employer with whom you feel aggrieved because of the way an employment relationship has been ended? Issue an application to put the pressure on for a bit more money? It can work, increase (from £500 to £10,000) in the costs which can now be awarded for unreasonable or vexatious behaviour when pursuing a tribunal claim means you must be surer of your case, we can help you to ensure that your application to the tribunal is relevant and effective to get to the issues and to encourage a good settlement or otherwise form the foundation for a successful claim.

CURRENT POLICIES
Current rights include enhanced maternity leave, parental leave and a right to time off work to deal with certain unexpected or sudden emergencies. These rights increase unfair dismissal and anti-detriment protection. Make sure that you are both aware of your statutory entitlement and any enhanced family policies which your employer might offer. Often however, the time limits which need to be complied with are strict and employees can miss the boat – we can ensure that you do not fall foul of them.

DISCRIMINATION
Unequally treated? Suffering detriment? It may be subtle, but persistent and causing you considerable stress, undermining your performance and resulting in sick leave. Are you going to do anything about it – do you even know whether you can do anything about it? Discrimination awards are invariably not about the figures with lots of noughts at the end which hit the press, but are about bringing employers to account for tolerance of unacceptable behaviour. We can give a view on the behaviour in question, and if appropriate assist in the drafting of an application.