Business
Employers must comply with a wide range of employment law obligations, incorporating not only UK legislation but retained EU requirements. Managing employee issues correctly is essential to protect your business and reduce risk. If you are facing an employment-related issue, our experienced employment solicitors are ready to support you with clear, practical advice.
We advise employers on a broad range of employment law matters, including employment contracts, employment disputes, redundancy procedures and settlement agreements. Acting as trusted work lawyers for businesses, we help employers navigate complex situations with confidence and commercial awareness.
Hewitts’ employment law specialists have extensive experience in disciplinary matters, dismissals and representation in Employment Tribunal claims. We prepare robust cases and act on your behalf in negotiations and proceedings, providing strategic advice throughout.
Our team also advises on health and safety obligations, sickness absence management, maternity rights, and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), ensuring compliance while supporting business continuity.
A range of funding options may be available depending on the nature of your matter. Further details can be found below.
We offer a specialist HR support and advice service tailored to the specific needs of your business.
Our HR team is overseen by our CIPD-accredited Head of People, Rachel Evetts. Support can be provided on a one-off basis, such as assistance with an investigation or disciplinary issue, or through ongoing advice and representation via a pay-as-you-go arrangement or a tailored fixed-fee retainer.
Our HR team can review, advise on and draft employment-related documentation, including policies, contracts, job descriptions and job advertisements. We also provide day-to-day HR support as issues arise and can become directly involved in conducting grievances, investigations, disciplinary meetings and appeals where required.
Our Employment Law Partner, Ben Green, is a CEDR-accredited mediator with standalone accreditation in workplace mediation. Ben assists businesses and individuals in resolving workplace disputes efficiently and confidentially under a fixed-fee arrangement.
Further details about our mediation services are available on our dedicated Mediation page.
Free initial telephone consultation.
We will always endeavour to assist you at the outset by way of an initial telephone conversation. We use this as an opportunity to understand the issues that you are facing and so that we can advise you of the options that may be available to you going forward. We can advise you as to the likely costs involved and explore funding options that might be available to you and your circumstances.
We offer competitive hourly rates if you would prefer to pay for advice or representation as you go. The lowest hourly rate that we apply is £160 + VAT (£192.00 inclusive), and the highest is £295 + VAT (£354.00 inclusive). At the outset of your matter we will provide you with an estimate of costs and as your case progresses we will provide you with regular updates on costs so that you are always kept up to date.
You may wish to pay for advice and representation on an hourly rate basis but with a particular budget in mind. We often agree with clients that we will undertake work on their behalf with a “fee ceiling” and we agree that we will not exceed their budget.
Depending upon the nature of your matter, we may be able to offer you a fixed fee quote for our work. Tasks such as drafting documentation on your behalf, conducting an investigation, reviewing your contracts, policies and/or procedures, and any other task with a clear scope for our involvement can be undertaken based on a fixed fee arrangement.
Employers and employees may have insurance policies which carry with them legal expenses insurance. You should always check whether your insurance policies would cover the legal costs of your particular employment issue and we may be able to agree with your insurer that they pay us for the work that we carry out on your behalf.
We regularly advise employees in relation to settlement agreements. Settlement agreements are a valid way of terminating an individual’s employment and they can provide benefits for both parties. For employers we regularly draft and advise upon Settlement Agreements.
We offer advice and representation in relation to defending claims within the Employment Tribunals for unfair and wrongful dismissal. Funding options including private and insurance funding (where available).
The below information is based on defending typical claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal where the matter is privately funded. These estimates are intended to be used as guidance and are not intended to be fixed. Each potential case will be assessed on its own merits, and an overall estimate of costs and disbursements given at the outset of any claim
Simple case: £5,000-£10,000 + VAT (£6,000 – £12,000 inclusive)
Medium complexity case: £10,000 – £20,000 + VAT (£12,000 – £24,000 inclusive)
High complexity case: £20,000< + VAT (£24,000+ inclusive)
Factors that could make a case more complex:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Counsels’ fees estimated between £1,500 to £3,000 per day (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation)
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:
The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee may be reduced. Similarly, if additional stages are required, the fee may increase.
You can view our Employment Law team members here. All members of the team have experience across a wide range of employment law matters, including advising on settlement agreements and representing employers in bringing and defending Employment Tribunal claims. This includes claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal, as well as cases involving discrimination and victimisation.
The time it takes to resolve an employment law matter will depend on its complexity and the stage at which it is concluded. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, the matter is likely to be resolved within approximately four months. If the case proceeds to a final Employment Tribunal hearing, it may take between six and twelve months. These timescales are indicative only, and we will be able to provide more accurate guidance once we have full details and as the matter progresses.
