Relationships in the workplace between staff as well as staff and management can break down and allegations of bullying and harassment can arise. Employees may say the way they are being managed amounts to bullying. Staff and managers with an upfront style may be seen as bullying and aggressive. We can help advice on the best ways of tackling and resolving these difficult issues in the workplace and avoiding claims for discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Are you thinking of making changes to your business? Whenever there are changes to organisational structure, staffing changes or changes to work roles and responsibilities, these may give rise to a number of different legal scenarios including potential redundancy situations and obligations flowing from changes to terms and conditions of employment, including a requirement to consult with your staff individually or collectively. Whatever the situation, we have huge amount of experience in helping organisations of all sizes plan changes to make sure employers are aware of the legal requirements, avoid problems and to make the process as smooth as possible.

We have extensive experience of advising on situations where there is a legal obligation to collectively consult with staff representatives. This can arise where there is a business reorganisation giving rise to a redundancy situation, in TUPE scenarios where some or all of the business is being transferred to a new employer and where there are changes to terms and conditions. If this obligation is overlooked it can be expensive with awards of up to 90 days pay per employee

Are your contracts of employment and polices up to date? Are you confident that they are doing enough to protect your business against risk? If not we can help. We will ensure contracts minimise risk to your business, including protection from competition and poaching, as well as protecting your confidential information and intellectual property. We will provide you with template contracts which you can adapt to your needs or we can provide full individually tailored contracts - whatever suits you best.

This area is not straightforward with concepts such as indirect discrimination and discrimination by association and perception as well as harassment and victimisation. Dealing with these issues in the workplace can be challenging and time consuming. We help your business minimise the risk of these issues arising and with managing them if they do arise. We also help minimise the risk of being faced with a discrimination claim in the Employment Tribunal and help you defend any claim that does arise with as little disruption to your business as possible.

Dismissals can arise in a variety of situations – following disciplinary proceedings, ill health, performance/capability. We can advise if you are considering dismissing an employee or group of employees we can advise you as to how best to approach this and avoid being faced with a Tribunal claim. We also draft settlement agreements and advise you how to handle the situation to provide you with the best possible outcome and if things have already gone wrong, we can help sort them out.

We recognise that emotions run high in a variety of situations in the workplace - difficulties between managers and staff, bullying and discrimination allegations, problems within teams. In these situations Mediation can be extremely helpful in achieving a successful outcome that may not have been achievable through formal processes. Partner Maeve Vickery is qualified as an accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator and Workplace and Employment Mediator and can help you achieve a resolution to these difficult issues.