Personal Employment Law Solicitors Burnley

Personal Employment Law & Tribunal Solicitors in Burnley

Employment disputes can be difficult and stressful situations to manage, especially if you believe your livelihood or employment status is under threat. At Farleys, we want you to know you aren’t alone.

We understand how distressing employment law disputes can be for everyone involved, and to help you throughout this challenging time we offer a comprehensive range of employment law services.

We have a wealth of knowledge and experience handling employment law cases. Our team of friendly, straight-talking solicitors have an outstanding track record of winning employment disputes in favour of employees.

Our personal employment law services:

• Discrimination in the Workplace
• Harassment and Bullying at Work
• Employment Tribunal
• Disciplinary, Appeals and Dismissal
• Employee Grievance Procedure
• Breach of Employment Contract
• Redundancies and Redundancy Packages
• Settlement Agreements / Compromise Agreements

Disciplinary, appeals and dismissal

We handle a range of employment law cases, including disciplinary, appeals, and dismissal cases.

Generally, employers outline any policies relating to disciplinary, appeals, and dismissal procedures within the employment contract (or employee handbook). If you can’t find details of company policies or procedures that relates to these areas, it’s important to request the information from your employer directly, as soon as you can. It’s important to understand exactly how the policy affects you before you enter into any disciplinary, appeal, or dismissal proceedings.

Our experienced, knowledgeable team of solicitors can help you understand what these policies mean from a legal perspective. We’ll give you clear, actionable legal advice and guidance on what the next steps are, based on your situation and type of employment dispute.

Discrimination in the workplace

Discrimination in the workplace is a type of employment dispute that can take a number of forms. Here at Farleys, we understand how distressing, sensitive, and complex any form of discrimination can be in the workplace. We want you to know that you aren’t alone, and that there are laws in place to protect you.

You may have experienced bullying or discrimination in your workplace on the basis of your age, race, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, or disability. The law explicitly covers each of these types of discrimination, and if it’s something you’re currently experiencing, it’s always best to speak with a solicitor or legal advisor as soon as possible.

At Farleys, our experienced team of employment law solicitors are specialists in their field, so we can assist you at every step of the process. This means we’ll be able to clearly advise you on your rights, and provide advice on the best course of action according to your circumstances (including helping you make a claim against your employer).

Employment Tribunal

Employment Tribunals are a ‘last resort’ means to resolve an employment dispute between you and your employer. Employment Tribunal applications can only be submitted once all other means of resolution with your employer have been exhausted.

The purpose of an Employment Tribunal is to settle a range of employment disputes, including grievances, discrimination, disciplinary issues, or unfair dismissal claims. Before attending, it’s worth bearing in mind that that the decisions made by an Employment Tribunal are legally binding, similar to the Court.

An application for an Employment Tribunal claim must be submitted within three months from the date your employment ended, or within three months from the date of the incident.

If you need guidance, advice, or representation, our team of legal experts can help you with every stage of the dispute process – even before you decide to make an application to the Employment Tribunal. Get in touch today to find out how we can help!

Employee grievance procedure

You may decide to raise an official grievance if you’re not able to resolve a dispute with your employer during an informal meeting.

There is no legally binding process that oversees raising a grievance with your employer. You will both have to follow the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice. This code of practice sets out a clear series of principles that both parties must follow (including standards of behaviour) during all disciplinary and grievance procedures.

At Farleys Solicitors, our expert team will be able to apply a wealth of experience and knowledge to your case, in order to give you the best chance of success when you raise a grievance. Our experts will make sure you’re fully aware and informed of the various steps, actions, and all legal options available to you (before and after a grievance has been raised).

Harassment and bullying at work

According to UK law, everyone has the right to a comfortable and safe working environment. However, if you’ve witnessed or directly experienced workplace bullying or harassment, it can understandably lead to feelings of anxiety and distress, especially if it’s particularly severe or highly targeted in nature. This can have not just a devastating personal effect on the person on the receiving end of this behaviour, but can also start to impact performance and productivity for witnesses as well.

The severity of bullying and harassment can be further compounded for people who work in small businesses. This is because perpetrators of bullying and harassment may be in senior positions, or other positions within the business that have direct power or influence over employees.

In these situations, it is common for people to feel trapped and that (for whatever reason) they’re unable to report the problems. If you find yourself in such a situation, it can help to bear in mind that you aren’t alone, and to seek legal counsel as soon as possible.

You have rights as an employee, and the simple truth is that any instances of workplace bullying or harassment are unacceptable. Here at Farleys Solicitors, part of our mission is to make sure that everyone understands that. We handle a range of sensitive cases including those involving incidents of sexual harassment, racial harassment, and bullying in the workplace.

We provide clear, honest legal advice to help you understand your rights and the courses of action available to you, and we’re dedicated to securing the very best outcome for you.

Breach of employment contract legal advice

If you feel your employer has acted unfairly towards you, especially by making changes to your or job that you did not accept, it may constitute a breach of contract. Common examples of a breach of contract include an employer’s failure to pay wages, or short-notice changes to working hours, made to the employees detriment.

One of the most important things to bear in mind about a potential breach of contract is that if you continue to work after these changes, even if you do not explicitly accept them, it can be perceived as implicit acceptance of those terms by both your employer and the law. For this reason, if you think a breach of contract may have occurred, it’s always vital to ensure you speak with an employment law solicitor as soon as possible.

Our team of friendly, straight-talking solicitors can answer any questions you might have, and will provide you with expert legal advice tailored specifically to your circumstances.

Redundancies and redundancy package advice

Like other areas of employment law, employee redundancy is subject to strict legislation. If your employer has failed to follow the highly-structured procedures outlined by law, you may be able to bring a claim against them.

Our team of friendly experts know the sort of dramatic impact that a redundancy notice can have on your life. Our aim is to give you the legal guidance and support that you need during this difficult time, helping you to make clear and informed decisions based on your individual circumstances.

We can help you in a variety of redundancy situations, including those in which you feel you might be at risk of being made redundant in the near future. Our team of knowledgeable, experienced solicitors can provide you with a range of legal services, including reviewing redundancy packages, helping you negotiate a new redundancy package, or even directly representing your case.

Feel free to give us a call today on 0845 287 0688!

Settlement agreements / compromise agreements

A settlement agreement (formerly a compromise agreement) is a legally binding document that outlines the specific terms for the termination of your employment, and any compensation to be paid.

Legally, you are required to seek advice and to get a signature from a qualified solicitor before you sign any settlement agreement proposed to you. Without the signature of your solicitor, the document will not be regarded as valid and legally binding, which means you’ll need to go through this process in order for you to get the compensation you are owed.

Generally, the cost of your legal advice is usually paid by your employer, either partly or in full.

We will give you clear legal advice and guidance (where required) to help you fully understand the exact terms of the settlement, down to the very last detail – including what you’re signing, what it means, and what you’ll need to do next.

If in doubt, we’d always recommend contacting one of our employment solicitors sooner rather than later, to ensure your interests are accurately represented and protected throughout the settlement negotiation process and in the final deal.

Why choose Farleys Solicitors

At Farleys we’ll be with you every step of the way, providing advice and services to help you through any area in employment law – from contracts to dismissals, redundancy to discrimination. We can also represent you at an Employment Tribunal, through an appeal process, or help you to negotiate a settlement.

We provide our clients with expert legal advice, as well as friendly and straight-talking legal services – all at a fair cost. You can rely on us to keep you informed of any changes throughout the process.

If you need to speak with one of our employment law solicitors in Burnley about any of our employment dispute services, you can reach us by phone on 0845 050 1958, chat with us, send us an email, or visit our offices. We have several conveniently located offices across the North West in Burnley, Manchester, Blackburn, Accrington, and Preston.