Up-to-date employment and consultancy agreements protect your business during the lifetime of working relationships with employees and after they end.

Employment law changes regularly and keeping your contracts and handbook up-to-date can be a time-consuming and onerous task. We stay up-to-date with the changes in the law and can review handbooks and contracts to keep them in line with current legislation and best practice, in turn helping to prevent you from falling foul of the law.

There are various categories of working relationship, including, employees, workers and self-employed. Each comes with differing rights and obligations and may be treated differently for taxation purposes. The label attached to an individual’s contract is not determinative. Mistakes about the true status of the working relationship can be costly and end with disputes in the Employment Tribunal and Courts. Getting advice will help to ensure that you are treating your staff lawfully and that your contracts reflect the position accurately.

Businesses can protect themselves from a variety of threats by the use of post-termination restrictive covenants, for example, non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses. Your information and connections with staff, customers, clients and suppliers are valuable assets which means they need to be safeguarded. The law surrounding restrictive covenants is detailed and getting advice about appropriate wording to use in your contracts can protect your business far into the future. Getting it wrong could mean that staff walk away with more than just their personal belongings, taking crucial information and relationships with them. It is wise to think now about how to maintain your assets for the future.

Employers are often surprised to know that not everything in their contracts is enforceable or lawful and that’s why getting specialist advice on the wording of contracts is essential. Changing your contracts after problems have arisen will involve a more onerous and time-consuming process, see Changing terms and conditions of employment. Obtaining advice on the wording of your contracts and policies before you take on new staff is an investment in the success of your business in the long term.

We understand the need to manage costs and resources associated with recruitment. Fox & Partners can work with you to produce tailored employment and consultancy contracts and handbooks specifically designed for your business and complying with current legislative requirements.

Well drafted and up-to-date contracts and handbooks will help you to protect your business now and in the future, to comply with the law and to deal with everyday employment and workforce issues as they arise.

How Fox & Partners can help…

  • we can provide template contracts for junior and senior staff which are specifically tailored to your business
  • we can review your employment contracts and policies to ensure they are in line with developments in the law and offer suggestions for improvements
  • we can review and advise on post-termination restrictions to improve their enforceability offering greater protection for your business
  • we can draft offer letters and service agreements for senior executives
  • we can advise on the process to change contractual terms and provide template letters to be issued to staff
  • we can advise on the employment issues involved in recruitment.

Please call us on 020 7618 2400