Employment solicitors (also known as employment lawyers) specialise in all things related to employment law. An employment law solicitor’s job is to assist employees, employers, businesses, and professional bodies with legal advice related to the rules of employment law in the UK.
What is employment law?
The official definition of UK employment law is “a set of rules that are used to regulate the relationship between employers and employees.” However, the best way to understand the meaning of employment law is to see it as a framework that protects workers’ and employees’ rights, ensures fair treatment in the workplace, and helps businesses operate legally.
Here are some workplace examples where employment law would come into action:
- Unfair dismissal claims: An employee with over 2 years of service is fired without a valid reason.
- Workplace discrimination: A pregnant employee is overlooked for a promotion in favour of a colleague who is less qualified.
- Minimum wage violation: An employee is paid below the National Minimum Wage.
What is an employment lawyer?
An employment lawyer is someone who specialises in all aspects of employment law, granting them the ability to provide employees and employers with legal advice in a variety of workplace situations (which we’ll go into more detail on in just a moment).
How to become an employment lawyer
Employment solicitors in the UK must have a degree in law (or an equivalent graduate diploma in law) and two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). They also need to complete the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) assessment.
Once all the necessary qualifications have been achieved, they can then apply to the SRS to become a solicitor. After this, some employment lawyers choose to further their expertise and train to become an employment barrister.
Employment lawyer job specifications
To give you a better understanding of the roles and functions of an employment solicitor, let’s take a closer look at what they would do to mitigate the situations set out in the examples above.
How employment solicitors support employees
- Unfair dismissals: Advise and represent employees who have been unfairly dismissed, made redundant from their workplace, or forced to quit due to constructive dismissal.
- Restrictive covenants: Employers may enforce a restrictive covenant — a way to prohibit or restrict employees in what they can and can’t do following dismissal. These can only be enforced if they are reasonable.
- Redundancy and settlement agreements: Overlook the redundancy process, ensuring it is handled fairly and legally. Employment lawyers can also help negotiate financial settlement agreements in the event of a redundancy.
- Maternity and paternity leave rights: Advise employees on their entitlement to parental leave in the UK.
- Workplace discrimination and harassment cases: Represent and guide employees who have experienced workplace discrimination, citing the Equality Act 2010 as a supportive legal framework.
- Pay and contract disputes: Review employment contracts to spot employer contract breaches and evidence of unfair pay.
- Whistleblowing protection: A ‘whistleblower’ is anyone who has reported a type of wrongdoing seen or experienced while at work. Whistleblowers are protected by law and cannot be treated unfairly or fired for raising workplace concerns.
- Employment tribunal representation: Represent employees if a case goes to an employment tribunal.
How employment solicitors support employers and businesses
- Employment contracts and policies: Draft and review employment contracts, handbooks, and policies (including any settlement agreements and restrictive covenants) to ensure legal compliance.
- Dismissals and redundancies: Provide guidance, redundancy advice, and defence for fair dismissal procedures to help avoid wrongful dismissal claims.
- Tribunal representation: Represent employers and businesses in an employment tribunal if necessary.
- HR and workplace compliance: Advise employers on how to comply with UK employment law in their workplace practices, such as working hours, fair pay, and health and safety responsibilities.
- Disciplinary and grievances: Help employers manage disputes and misconduct in a fair and legal way.
Why use the services of an employment lawyer?
The goal of an employment lawyer is to mitigate any disputes, ensure that employers and employees are treated fairly, and guarantee that all workplace ongoings are above board so businesses can stay compliant with employment law rules.
Employment solicitors act as a saving grace for employees and employers when navigating complex workplace situations. They act as the middleman, providing professional, tailored, and specialised legal advice to ensure the situation doesn’t escalate further than it needs to.
Winrow Solicitors: Your trusted employment law specialists
At Winrow Solicitors, we offer a variety of fixed-fee employment law services in North Wales to support businesses, employers, and employees.
No matter what workplace situation you’re dealing with, we will use our 20 years of experience to provide mediation, conflict resolution, HR support, and tribunal representation if required.
If you feel our employment law services could benefit you, don’t hesitate to request a consultation for a no-obligation call to discuss your situation.
