Our Approach
With so many other things to worry about, it is easy to see why businesses find
it difficult to keep up to date with changes in employment law, often not being
aware of issues until they become serious. By this stage, it usually takes a lot
of valuable management time and money to fix the problem.
At Backhouse Solicitors we prefer to take a proactive approach, developing long-term
relationships with our clients and putting in place the policies and management
training to minimise future problems.
Where problems still occur we will always be on hand to provide practical advice
and solutions, and as an owner managed business ourselves, we understand that our
help must offer value for money.
Whether you are looking for a long-term relationship or a one-off piece of advice,
call Backhouse Solicitors for some expert help.
Employment Law and Your Business
Can you honestly answer ‘yes’ to all the questions below?
- Have you issued all employees with a contract of employment or a statement of their
basic terms and conditions?
- Have you put in place a disciplinary and grievance policy?
- Have you put in place an equal opportunities statement dealing with discrimination
on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation and age?
If you have more than five employees:
- Do you have, or have you made an offer of a stakeholder pension?
- Do you have a written health and safety statement?
From 1st February 2011 the Employment Tribunal may award employees up
to £80,400 in unfair dismissal cases (compensatory award limited to £68,400).
There is no limit on the awards for discrimination cases and our largest win for
an employee in 2010 was £150,000 for age discrimination.
Our Services
Our services are designed to help your organisation in two different ways.
1. Problem Solving
Firstly, we can help resolve any employment issue or problem which has arisen in
your organisation. This could be anything from updating employment contracts for
staff to advising on the correct procedures to follow for dismissing staff or making
redundancies. Call us now for advice if you need help.
2. Fixed Fee Services
Secondly, we have a range of fixed fee services to help you manage your staff and
minimise the chances of any future problems occurring.
- Employment Law Audit (Backhouse HealthCheck) – we carry out
audit to make sure your business is complying with current employment law. We can
quickly assess your current documents and procedures and provide a short report
explaining any changes you may need to make
- Legal Advice Line (Backhouse Helpline) - a
telephone helpline to help you resolve issues and problems as they arise during
the working week. It covers advice on all routine staff issues
- Legal Expenses Insurance (Backhouse Sentinel) - legal expenses
insurance for Employment Tribunal claims to help protect your business and avoid
any unexpected costs. Unlike many of our competitors you deal directly with
us and we don’t tie you in for a 5 year contract
- Documents and Procedures (Backhouse QuickDocs) – an ongoing
service to make sure your documents, policies, and procedures are updated to
meet the latest changes in employment law, for example, updating your
disciplinary and dismissal and grievance procedures
- HR Service (Backhouse HRAssistant) - an outsourced HR service removing
the need to engage an HR consultant or employ your own HR manager. This cost effective
service includes keeping employee details, recording holidays and sickness and assisting
with ‘hiring and firing’
- Training People Managers (Backhouse TeachLegal) - we provide training
for people managers in your organisation so they fully understand the need for your
documents and procedures and help them implement them successfully
- Employment tribunals (Backhouse CourtRoom) – an affordable
service designed to help you deal with tribunal and court
claims from staff including representing you in court if necessary
For complete peace of mind we recommend combining Backhouse HealthCheck, HelpLine
and Sentinel into a comprehensive and affordable package.
How much will our services cost?
For advice on an employment issue or problem we always give a clear estimate in
advance of how much our service will cost so you avoid any nasty surprises. If the
work proves more involved than expected we will always tell you before charging
more fees. We always aim to give our clients value for money.
Our fixed fee services provide a cost effective alternative to obtaining advice
when an issue or problem arises. They are charged on a monthly basis so you know
exactly how much things will cost over the year.