Employers
Employers cannot afford to ignore the employment rights of their employees especially as workers become increasingly aware of their rights.
Small to medium size employers who often do not have large or indeed any in-house HR resources still need to keep abreast of this fast-changing area of law which is vital to the smooth running of their business.
At Atkins Law we offer a tailor-made, cost effective and personal service for our Employer clients. Where direct access to our Employment solicitors is key. We do not offer standardised solutions packages but meet the unique needs of any given individual business.
We provide our clients with rapid response, personal and high-quality preventative advice at reasonable cost when you need it; not a stream of “updating” by standardised email.
Our Services...
Audit
We understand the time constraints on small and medium sized businesses; we are one ourselves. We help employers by conducting an “audit” of all your existing contract documentation; we then suggest potential for amendment, draft any essential additional material such as up-to-date staff handbooks, template standard contracts, grievance, disciplinary procedures and appraisal procedures.
We advise on best practice introducing these to existing staff and inducting new staff.
The audit service therefore gives your business the overhaul it needs and will pay in time and cost savings. Dividends in cutting down on fire-fighting employment disputes which are set to become an everyday reality are quickly achieved.
We offer business clients our services on a highly competitive basis and when we can give a precise estimate of the work involved, such as an audit of contracts of employment and practices, we are happy to facilitate these on that basis.
Dispute Resolution
If a dispute has already arisen we strongly advise employers to seek urgent legal advice from a professional source. We anticipate that the ever-growing numbers of employees seeking legal advice following a dismissal is only set to increase as job opportunities decline and workers in all sectors are forced to look to their former employer for compensation.
We want you to be confident that your business complies with the law but is fully able to take any tough business decisions necessary in the prevailing market conditions.
We adopt a strong partnership approach with our clients and hope that you will consider us to be part of your team; we can provide step-by-step guidance that is easy to understand whilst keeping costs down and avoiding unnecessary risk. Our advice is honest and frank with a keen eye on the commercial reality of your circumstances.
Contacting us as soon as you recognise you need advice will reduce the risk to the company. Early intervention can be vital for reducing the risk of large awards being made against your company later.
Tribunal/Court Representation
If you are defending a Tribunal or Court claim from an employee, we provide full advice on how to best manage your defence. We always seek to resolve issues before litigation becomes necessary, but if you need assistance/advice at court or in the Tribunal we are ready to help. Please note we have a special representation agreement with St. John's Chambers Bristol. For more details please contact us.
The Points Based System
Part of the new immigration system introduced by UKBA requires businesses to more heavily monitor and document their procedures when engaging foreign nationals to work for them. The practical difficulties of carrying out audits to ensure complience with UKBA's requirements means there are extensive time and cost implications on businesses. Many businesses do not have the staff to carry out the audits either because their in-house HR department do not have the capacity or are too remote geographically from the workplace.
Historically HR departments are not equipped to deal with what is now required of them under the sponsorship licence agreement; this type of regulatory regime, familiar to those who work in say the financial services sector, breaks new ground for many employers with or without HR staff in place.
Employers are required to show that they have verified the professional qualifications of non-EEA staff and many employers simply do not know how to fulfil this obligation.
The criminal sanctions imposed by the new regime and the liability under company law (potential liability of a company's "Authorising Officer" for breaches extend to to years imprisonment) is a major concern for many small businesses and directors of companies need to know in detail the extent of their obligations under sponsor licensing. Employers are also concerned at the far reaching powers granted to the UKBA under the scheme for example the power to enter and search premises without a search warrant even in circumstances where there is no suspicion of breach by the employer.
Employers need to be seriously concerned about the consequences for the where, although every attempt has been made to comply with the spirit of the new system, there has been a series of small irregularities e.g. they have inadvertently employed students for more than 20 hours during term-time, or perhaps a business visitor has undertaken some consultancy work during their visit. A £10,000 on-the-spot penalty for the employer can be expected for each employee working at their premises without the correct UK work permission.
Additionally, although the Home Office fails to address the issue, many employers are fully aware that compliance with the scheme may well involve sacking or disciplining employees whilst still leaving the possibility that the same employee may pursue his/her remedies for unfair dismissal (possibly including a race relations claim) through to Tribunal. We give real help to small to medium sized businesses because of our dual specialisms in both employment and immigration.
Our employment is therefore unique as it incorporates specialist knowledge from our Immigration Department. We have an establised expertise in Immigration Law and especially in business related applications.
We are therefore ideally suited to advise employers on all of the new PBS requirements, including the staff-recording and the compliance systems that need to be put in place for successfully achieving the grant and management of a sponsor licence.
We are perfectly placed to risk-assess your workplace bearing in mind the PBS criteria so helping you reduce your exposure to fines/criminal liability for illegally employing workers. We don't use jargon and will give you a clear understanding of your position.
We always present you with your full range of options and look to advise you fully on tactics from both points of view i.e. the employment law implications AND the immigration perspective.
For more information, please contact us or e-mail our Employment Experts at employment@atkinslaw.co.uk
No relience should be placed upon this document which although it seeks to reflect law and practice as at September 2009 is general in nature, and does not purport in any way to be comprehensive or a substitute for specialist legal advice in individual circumstances.
