EMPLOYMENT LAW

Let us guide you through ever-changing employment legislation

Employers

Dealing with employment disputes can be time consuming and costly. And it’s almost impossible for employers to keep up to date with ever-changing employment legislation. It seems that your legal obligations as employers are increasing daily.

Knowing all the latest dos and don’ts of employment is vital. That’s why having carefully thought out and drafted documentation and policies can save you lots of time, money and unnecessary headaches when it comes to future disputes. You’ll basically be preventing the problems before they happen.

Wright & Lord can offer a comprehensive service for employers. Our lawyers have many years of experience in employment law and we act on behalf of businesses both nationally and within the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

Specialist areas covered:

  • Employment contracts
  • Recruiting staff
  • Employment handbooks
  • Employee disputes
  • Disciplinary/grievance proceedings
  • Employment Tribunal claims
  • Redundancy

Many of our services are carried out for a fixed fee and we’re usually able to give you an upfront estimate of your likely costs, which makes it easy for you to budget.

Take away the worry of spiralling legal costs

If you are running a new business or are a business who has no employment documents in place we can provide you with the necessary documentation to ensure that you:

  • Meet your legal obligations;
  • Set out clear policies and procedures which helps avoid disputes and potential tribunal claims;
  • Let your employee know what the rules are and what is expected of them, which helps foster good workplace relations.

Wright & Lord have a wealth of experience in advising employers in the preparation of contracts of employment, staff handbooks and necessary policies and procedures which an employer must have in place.

Wright & Lord are also able to remove the uncertainty and take away the worry of spiralling legal costs by being able to offer fixed fee Employment Documentation packages starting at £750 plus VAT for the preparation of a staff handbook and contracts of employment.

Employees

As an employee you have specific rights. And they need to be protected. When a dispute or problem arises it’s important to get fast, accurate and affordable advice so you can understand and enforce your employment rights.

Wright & Lord’s employment lawyers have years of experience helping people with their employment disputes, claims and Employment Tribunal applications.

Specialist areas covered:

  • Unfair/wrongful dismissal
  • Constructive dismissal
  • Discrimination cases
  • Asserting statutory rights
  • Redundancy
  • Disciplinary/grievance proceedings
  • Stress related claims
  • Equal pay
  • Maternity/pregnancy

From the word ‘go’ we’ll give you an estimate of our costs so you can plan ahead. With claims before the Employment Tribunal we’ll even consider entering into a Contingency Fee Agreement which means we won’t take any initial fees from you but instead take a percentage of the damages you receive.

Employment Tribunal Costs

Our pricing for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal:

  • Simple case: £4,000.00 – £6,000.00 plus VAT (total: £4,800.00 – £7,200.00)
  • Medium complexity case: £6,000.00 – £12,000.00 plus VAT (total: £7,200.00 – £14,400.00)
  • High complexity case: over £12,000.00 plus VAT (total: £14,400.00)

Our charges are based on an hourly rate of £395 plus VAT

Factors that could make a case more complex:

  • If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim.
  • Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person.
  • Making or defending a costs application
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
  • The number of witnesses and documents
  • If it is an automatic dismissal claim, e.g. you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer.
  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fees are estimated between £2,500.00 – £3,500.00 plus VAT (total: £3,000.00 – £4,200.00) per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

The fees set out above cover all work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on the merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change).
  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory, to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
  • Preparing a claim or response.
  • Reviewing and advising on claim or response from another party.
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
  • Preparing or considering a schedule of loss.
  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing.
  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing the content with witnesses.
  • Preparing a bundle of documents.
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
  • Agreeing a list of issues, chronology or cast list.
  • Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including preparing Instructions to Counsel

The stages set out above are an indication, and if some stages are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of the matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case is likely to take 6-8 weeks. If your claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, your case is likely to take 9-12 months. This is just an estimate and we will be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

Our Team

Our Employment department consists of one qualified solicitor (with over twenty years’ experience), a trainee solicitor and a team of highly trained assistants. The Team is supervised by, Chris Gates, who qualified in 1998.

For further information on employment law or to arrange an initial meeting, please call us on 01524 402050 / 01539 565990 or email info@wrightandlord.com.

Click here for more information on our fees

Zoe was very friendly & knowledgeable and supported our Daughter, who is autistic through a difficult process with kindness & understanding.

More than legal advisors, a family orientated firm who always goes the extra mile.

They totally looked after us in a professional, friendly manner. Thank You.

Communication is vital with legal matters so it was encouraging to be able to speak directly with the solicitor acting with us. Very personal service.

Best Conveyancing & Legal Services Firm in the UK!!!

When selecting Wright & Lord to provide conveyancing c15 years ago, we were delighted to find that, despite being based 300 miles away from us, they provide a very efficient and personable service for very reasonable fees. Over the years they have handled many property transactions (residential & commercial), with the usual professionalism, to a point where we also used them for wills and other legal or financial services. We have never felt like a “numbered client” as the team are happy for us to know many of them by first names, without straying from their professional duty of care. We are now comfortably retired, having disposed of our property portfolio and would have no hesitation in recommending Wright & Lord as a legal services provider of exceptionally high standards.

I am so grateful for your help and the way you kept me informed about progress.

I always see a friendly face or hear a friendly voice. Nothing is too much trouble.

Thank you so much for everything you have done for us in sorting my Mum’s estate out in a timely manor and for the way that you kept us informed and up-dated at all stages. The service that you provided was very professional and also very caring. You also made things easy to understand and you made us feel very comfortable, which was a great help to us and I am so grateful that you were our solicitor.

I would also like to thank you so much for everything you did for my Mum.

We appreciate your help and guidance which we valued highly when you acted for us.