Recruitment, Employment Contracts and Policies Advice For Employers
If you are an employee looking for advice on a contract, please visit our employee contracts page as this service page is for employers.
Whether you are: recruiting a new employee, drafting employment contracts or policies; or you would like your business’ employment documents to be updated, we can assist you.
When can we help you?
We can advise you even before you employ somebody. If it is the first time you are hiring an employee you will need robust and precise job descriptions, contracts and policies. Your recruitment process needs to be fair and non-discriminatory to reduce the chance of claims being brought against you or your business before you even hire an employee.
Having one of our specialist employment contract solicitors involved pre-employment to really understand the priorities of your business and what it most needs to protect, particularly in terms of IP and confidential information can be a worthwhile investment. It will mean that bespoke clauses can be drafted to ensure that your business is best protected during and even after an employee’s employment with your business.
As an employer, you are required to have a written disciplinary and a written grievance procedure, but in addition to this, if you do not have a staff handbook or other policies in writing, such as an anti-harassment and anti-bullying policy, a diversity, equity and inclusion policy and IT policy, amongst others, it is highly advisable to instruct a specialist employment solicitor to draft these. Again, this will set clear guidelines for your employees and make clear where disciplinary action may be taken if standards are not met and policies are not followed.
If you have already had employment contracts and policy documents drafted, but this was some time ago, an employment contract solicitor can assist with reviewing and updating these for your business. There may be new priorities or changes to your business which require for additional clauses to be drafted or changed and we can ensure that we gather sufficient detail about your business so that the drafting is specific and relevant to your business, if you would like assistance with this.
What types of employment document can we help you with?
We can assist with a variety of employment documents, whether these be an employment contract, consultancy agreement, director’s service agreement, contract for services or zero-hour contract. If you are unsure which document you need and the employment status of the individual you are looking to take on, we can help with this too. We are also able to offer guidance on your employment policy and procedure documents and your implementation of these.
How can I change a contract of employment?
Ways of working have changed in recent years, and you may wish to introduce hybrid working or working from home. Whether you are looking to make changes to an employee’s working location, or other elements of their contract, seeking legal advice first is prudent.
The easiest method of changing an employee’s contract is by agreement, but if this is not forthcoming you should review what the employee’s contract currently allows. You may not have the contractual right to make the change you propose in the manner proposed. If you cannot gain agreement to the changes and do not have the contractual right to make the changes or are unsure whether you have this contractual right, seeking legal advice at this point, is wise. We would be happy to review the contracts and your proposed changes to advise you of your options.
Whether you are about to employ your first employee, consultant or worker and require a document to be drafted for the first time, or whether you are looking to update documents you already have or are looking for guidance on their implementation or how to change them, we can help to ensure that your employment documents are robust and legally compliant.
Go back to: Employment Advice for Employers
How to Get in Contact
Key Contact:
Samantha Jolliffe
Partner