Workplace legal advice
Employment solicitors helping employees across Blackpool
When something changes at work, understanding your legal position can help you decide how to respond. Pre-Law advises employees in Blackpool on proposed settlements, redundancy exercises, problems leading to dismissal and disputes that may require Employment Tribunal proceedings.
Our advice is centred on the particular circumstances you are facing rather than a standard approach. We can examine what your employer has done, consider the relevant documents and explain the choices available, whether your priority is resolving matters at work, agreeing an exit or pursuing a formal claim.
- Settlement Agreements
- Redundancy & Voluntary Severance
- Unfair Dismissal & Constructive Dismissal
- Employment Tribunal & Disputes
Settlement Agreement Solicitors in Blackpool
Advice Before Signing a Settlement Agreement in Blackpool
Being offered a settlement agreement means making decisions about both the financial package and the rights you will give up in return. Pre-Law reviews agreements for employees and provides the independent legal advice required before relevant statutory claims can be validly settled.
These agreements are frequently used where the parties have decided to end employment on agreed terms, although they can also resolve disputes while employment continues. The document should clearly identify the particular complaints or proceedings being settled.
We consider each part of the proposed arrangement, including compensation, contractual payments and what happens when your employment terminates. We also explain the effect of provisions dealing with confidentiality, references and obligations continuing after your final working day.
The surrounding circumstances can affect how an offer should be approached. We can consider any potential claims, the reason your employer has proposed an agreement and whether there are grounds for seeking different financial or non-financial terms.
Why Pre-Law
Making sense of your settlement offer
An offer may look straightforward while the agreement itself contains detailed provisions with longer-term consequences. We work through those provisions with you and distinguish between the payments and rights you already have and the additional benefits being offered in return for settlement.
We also identify points that require clarification before completion. This can include inconsistencies between previous discussions and the written document, uncertainty over payment arrangements or obligations drafted more widely than expected.
Where negotiation is appropriate, it need not be confined to compensation. Depending on what matters to you, proposed amendments might concern the termination date, reference wording, confidentiality arrangements or restrictions affecting future employment.
Our aim is to ensure that your decision is based on the complete agreement and the circumstances behind it. If amendments are sought, we can deal with your employer or its representatives and explain the effect of any revised wording.
Redundancy Solicitors in Blackpool
Legal Support During Redundancy in Blackpool
If your job has been identified as potentially redundant, there may still be important decisions to be made before employment ends. We advise employees on the employer’s business proposal, the consultation process and how any decision to select particular individuals has been reached.
Redundancy has a specific legal meaning. It can include the closure of the employer’s business or a particular workplace, as well as a reduced requirement for employees to perform work of a particular kind. A genuine redundancy situation is only one aspect of whether a dismissal is fair.
Where more than one employee could potentially be affected, the selection arrangements require particular attention. The composition of the pool, the criteria chosen and the evidence supporting individual scores can all be relevant to the fairness of the process.
There may also be questions about vacancies elsewhere in the organisation and what you will receive if dismissal proceeds. We can advise on alternative employment and examine statutory redundancy pay, enhanced arrangements, notice and other contractual sums.
Why Pre-Law
Advice while your redundancy outcome is still being decided
The period before a redundancy decision becomes final can be important. We can help you understand the employer’s proposal and identify questions that should be raised while there remains an opportunity for consultation to influence the outcome.
If you have been scored against colleagues, we can consider whether the criteria have been applied consistently and whether the assessment is supported by the available information. Any concerns can then be raised on a focused basis rather than simply objecting to the result.
A proposed transfer into another job can also affect your rights. We can assess the terms of an alternative position and explain the significance of suitability, your reasons for accepting or refusing it and any applicable trial period.
Where the employer proposes voluntary severance or an enhanced exit package, we can compare the offer with your underlying entitlements. If employment has already ended, we can instead consider whether the procedure followed raises potential dismissal issues.
Dismissal Solicitors in Blackpool
Unfair and Constructive Dismissal Support in Blackpool
A dismissal should be assessed by looking at what happened before the employment ended as well as the explanation ultimately given by the employer. We advise employees who have been dismissed following disciplinary, performance, redundancy and other workplace processes.
For ordinary unfair dismissal, the employer needs a potentially fair reason. The recognised categories include capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory restriction and some other substantial reason. The Tribunal must then consider whether the employer acted reasonably in the circumstances.
Fairness can therefore turn on matters such as what enquiries were made, whether relevant evidence was considered and whether the employee was able to answer the case against them. The appropriate process varies according to the reason relied upon.
Constructive dismissal arises in a different way because the employee resigns following the employer’s conduct. A claim requires a fundamental contractual breach, resignation in response to that breach and sufficiently prompt action to avoid affirming the contract.
Why Pre-Law
A detailed review of how your employment ended
Dismissal cases can turn on details which are not apparent from the employer’s final decision letter. We can reconstruct the relevant sequence of events using correspondence, meeting records, workplace policies and other evidence before assessing the legal position.
This allows us to consider both substantive and procedural concerns. If there is a potential claim, we can explain the issues which support it as well as any matters which may reduce its value or affect the prospects of succeeding.
For employees who have not yet resigned, we can examine whether the conduct complained of is capable of meeting the legal threshold for constructive dismissal. This provides a more informed basis for considering a decision that may itself bring employment to an end.
Where employment has finished, we can consider the available routes for challenging what occurred. Depending on the circumstances, this may involve an appeal, Acas Early Conciliation, settlement discussions or preparation for an Employment Tribunal claim.
Employment Tribunal Solicitors in Blackpool
Resolving Employment Disputes in Blackpool
A disagreement with an employer does not always result in litigation, but it is important to know when a potential legal claim has arisen. Pre-Law advises employees on workplace disputes and the steps involved if the matter needs to be taken to an Employment Tribunal.
The Tribunal deals with numerous employment claims, including complaints relating to dismissal, discrimination and wages. Each cause of action has its own legal requirements, and the correct claims should be identified by reference to the events which have occurred.
Before most proceedings are issued, the prospective claimant must first notify Acas for Early Conciliation. Where the dispute remains unresolved, proceedings are commenced by submitting an ET1 containing the necessary information about the complaints being pursued.
A claim may then move through several procedural stages before determination. The Tribunal can make case management orders, require documents and witness statements, and list preliminary hearings where particular issues need to be addressed before the final hearing.
Why Pre-Law
Building a clear approach to your employment claim
Before deciding whether proceedings are appropriate, we can analyse the events in dispute and identify the legal complaints they may support. This includes considering whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction and identifying any limitation issues requiring immediate attention.
We can then consider the evidence available for the key factual issues. Establishing what documents exist and where there are disagreements about events can provide a more realistic picture of the case before substantial procedural steps are taken.
For claims already before the Tribunal, we can assist with preparation and compliance as the case develops. This may include dealing with case management orders, disclosure, witness statements and the issues to be determined at preliminary or final hearings.
Resolution can also remain an option after proceedings begin. We can consider settlement proposals against the claims, evidence and remedies in issue and advise on negotiations or Acas conciliation where an acceptable outcome may be achievable without a final hearing.
Top-Rated Solicitor in Lancaster
Frequently Asked Questions
A settlement agreement intended to waive specified statutory employment claims must satisfy particular legal conditions. One requirement is that the employee receives advice from a relevant independent adviser about the terms and effect of the agreement and its impact on their ability to pursue those claims.
The advice also gives you an opportunity to understand the wider document before signing, including the payments you will receive and any continuing obligations placed upon you.
The fact that recruitment takes place after a redundancy does not automatically establish that the dismissal was unlawful. The relevant question is whether a genuine redundancy situation existed and whether the employer’s requirement for employees to carry out work of the relevant kind had ceased or diminished in the statutory sense.
Recruitment into the same or a very similar role may, however, be relevant evidence when examining the employer’s explanation. The particular duties, timing and circumstances would need to be considered.
Not in every case. The procedure required depends on the reason and circumstances of the proposed dismissal. For conduct or performance issues, warnings can form an important part of a fair procedure, but sufficiently serious misconduct may potentially justify dismissal without previous warnings.
The Tribunal considers the overall reasonableness of the employer’s actions rather than applying a rule that every dismissal must be preceded by a fixed number of warnings.
Early Conciliation is the Acas process through which the parties may explore whether an employment dispute can be resolved without progressing to Tribunal litigation. A prospective claimant must normally notify Acas before bringing most Employment Tribunal claims.
Early Conciliation is also relevant to the calculation of limitation. Tribunal deadlines should therefore be considered carefully rather than assuming that an internal grievance, appeal or ongoing discussion with the employer protects the right to claim.
A Tribunal dispute can be settled without proceeding to a final hearing. Where settlement is achieved through Acas, the agreed terms can be recorded in a COT3. A qualifying settlement agreement may also be used in appropriate circumstances.
Once a claim has been validly settled, the terms can prevent the employee from continuing with the complaints covered by the agreement. The scope and consequences of the settlement should therefore be understood before it is concluded.