Solicitors here can advise on all aspects of Employment Law including discrimination (sex, race, religion, disability and age etc), whistleblowing, unfair/constructive dismissal, TUPE, redundancy, breach of contract claims, working and disciplinary policies/ codes of practice, workforce/collective agreements, drafting employment contracts and consultancy appointments, drafting and advising on compromise/severance agreements, employee remuneration, benefits packages and employee fraud.
The Employment department has advised on a wide range of claims before the employment tribunal, including helping employees to successfully take on well recognised national and international organisations, large government bodies and private firms with significant reputations.
Philip Luff, employment solicitor at McMillan Williams, who specialises in sexual harassment claims says 'The employment department at McMillan Williams is known for its tenacious and direct approach when dealing with employers/respondents who are defending claims of unfair/ constructive dismissal and discrimination. This approached coupled with an empathetic approach towards our clients has enabled us to achieve many very favourable results for our clients, leaving them very happy with the outcome. McMillan Williams is known for going that extra mile for its clients and continuing until the correct result is achieved, be that through a favourable settlement or following a Tribunal hearing.'
Some of the success stories of the McMillan Williams Employment Department are detailed below.
Sexual Harassment Claims
Sexual harassment claims are emotive and unpleasant for all concerned. McMillan Williams specialises in this area and a number of example cases are set out below:
Sexual Harassment Claim - settled for over £100,000
Employment Solicitor Philip Luff acted on behalf of two clients who claimed they were sexually harassed whilst attending an overseas business conference. The clients' sought damages from their employer for injury to feelings, loss of earnings and personal injury before the Employment Tribunal. This matter was successfully settled for a combined sum of over £100,000 following a difficult one day judicial mediation, avoiding the need for what would have undoubtedly been a lengthy and stressful Employment Tribunal hearing.
Sexual Harassment/ Constructive Dismissal Claim - settled for over £13,000
Employment Solicitor Philip Luff acted on behalf of a client who claimed she had been sexually harassed at work. The employer would not compromise the claim forcing our client to endure a stressful Employment Tribunal hearing, which was successfully concluded. Whilst the tribunal hearing was unfortunately necessary this case proved that sometimes it is just neccessary to go to a hearing.
Unfair/ Constructive Dismissal Claims
Unfair Dismissal - £9,400 awarded
Philip Luff represented a client who was dismissed by his employer without warning and without any of the steps of the ACAS Code of Conduct being followed. The claim proceeded to a two day Employment Tribunal hearing and after hearing all the evidence the unanimous decision of the Tribunal was that the Claimant's account of events was to be believed over that of the Respondent and he was awarded £9,400.
Unfair Dismissal - settled for £10,000
Philip Luff represented a client who was dismissed for gross misconduct for failing to follow the reasonable instructions of his employer. The Claimant's case was the the dismissal was not sufficiently 'gross' to amount to an offence that warranted summary dismissal. After failing to reach a settlement that was suitable to both parties prior to the hearing, the case settled at the Tribunal after the Employment Judge gave early indications that the Respondent had a case to answer. A final sum of over 10 times the initial offer was achieved.
Unfair Dismissal - settled for over £12,000
Philip Luff represented a client who brought a claim against their former employer for unfair dismissal after their contract of employment was terminated on the grounds that their fixed term contract had expired. The Claimant argued that the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations applied and the Claimant should be considered a permanent employee. A settlement was reached a few days prior to the Tribunal hearing.
Unfair Dismissal - settled two claims for over £5,000 each
Philip Luff represented two clients who worked for a nationally recognised UK firm who had their contracts terminated following an incident at work. The Respondents argued that the Claimants were not employees and therefore not able to raise a claim. The Claimants argued that they were employees with sufficient continuous service in order to raise a claim for unfair dismissal.
Compromise Agreements
Has your employer presented you with a Compromise Agreement?
Not sure what you are supposed to do with it or who to seek advice from?
Look no further as we are Employment Law specialists who regularly advise employees regarding the terms contained within and the implications of signing.
Rest assured that the advice we give you is solely for your benefit and we are legally bound to be independent from your employer. As such we are always committed to acting in your best interests.
We appreciate that you are often given a short deadline in which to take advice regarding these agreements, so please contact us and someone will contact you urgently to arrange an appointment to advise you regarding your agreement.
We have advised on compromises for the full spectrum of employees from those at small local firms to directors of a senior level at national PLCs.
In the majority of cases our fees for advising you on a Compromise Agreement will be paid for directly by your employer and provision for these fees is usually included within the agreement or in a covering letter.
If you have been presented with an agreement and seek advice or are just unsure of the process to follow please call Philip Luff on 020 8685 5310 or click here for more details.
Advice to Employers
Do you wish to focus on managing your business rather than managing employment issues?
At McMillan Williams we understand that in today’s challenging economic climate it is more important than ever for businesses, whatever their size, to minimise the risks of having to defend expensive and time consuming Employment Tribunal cases brought by current and former employees.
We appreciate that having to quickly find unbudgeted funds to compensate an employee for breaches of employment legislation can put a severe financial strain on an employer.
Whilst nothing can prevent the most disgruntled employee in bringing a claim against you if they so choose, here at McMillan Williams we can help you to significantly reduce the risks of them doing so. By reviewing and updating your contracts,policies and staff handbook, bringing them into line with current legislation, you will be in a much stronger position to resist and defeat any claim that is raised.
Why use us? We are a local firm with 11 offices based within the counties of Surrey, Sussex and Kent. You will find that many employment law consultancies will be based some distance from their clients and therefore lack that personal touch and the local knowledge that we possess. We take pride in being easily accessible to our clients and our clients enjoy building a good working relationship with their solicitor, knowing that they can contact them easily and expect a quick response, be it face to face, over the telephone or via email.
McMillan Williams are also experts in a wide variety of legal topics, so if you need assistance with any other matter we are likely to be able to help.
Employment law advice given to employers is broadly split into two types, contentious and non contentious.
Non Contentious
Documentation – drafting all HR related documentation including contracts of employment, severance agreements, disciplinary and grievance procedures, enforceability of post termination restrictive covenants and any other policies that you may require.
Contentious
If you are in the unfortunate position of having a claim brought against you by an existing or former employee then we are able to advise you on the best strategy to deal with it, offering the most pragmatic advice to help you deal with the situation. We are experienced in negotiating settlements and conducting matters before the Employment Tribunal.
Funding
Please email employers@mwsolicitors.co.uk or call Philip Luff on 0208 648 4044 to obtain a free no-obligation quote. We are able to offer fixed fee quotes on most non contentious matters.
Advice to Employees
Have you been having problems at work?
At McMillan Williams we have experience of representing employee clients at all stages of their dispute including the negotiation of settlements and representation at Employment Tribunal hearings. McMillan Williams are known for their assertive approach to ensure the correct result is achieved for our client.
We are able to act for employees in all employment matters including discrimination, unfair/constructive dismissal, maternity rights, TUPE and all other discrimination claims.
We offer a free initial telephone consultation.