Employment Law and HR

A comprehensive service designed to maximise the potential of your employees and protect your business against costly claims.

Whatever business you are in, getting to grips with employment issues is vital to your business success.

Watson Esam has an experienced team of employment lawyers who can assist you with a wide range of employment issues.

With a reputation for practical and clear advice in a non-legalistic way this is what our clients say :

Acted very professionally, listened and understood our situation. Explained very clearly and concisely.
Very helpful advice given. We were on a tight time scale, which was met.
Mrs B has a wealth of first hand experience and a very good track record in such matters.
Extremely helpful and punctual. Always kept in the picture. Brilliant
As usual Jay presented her material clearly and in an easy to understand way
The presenter was excellent, all extremely useful

The services we offer

1. Personnel Plus

Employment claims protection scheme.

Consists of 3 core components which are purchased as a package for an annual fee. These are:

The Audit - (Health Check)

Watson Esam´s employment professionals will carry out a review of your current employment practices and then provide a checklist of recommendations to put correct procedures into place, in order to minimise risks.

The Helpline - (Ongoing support and dialogue)

A dedicated telephone number where unlimited telephone advice is provided by our legal and HR specialists. So if a disciplinary or grievance dispute situation develops, or you just need a second opinion on an HR related issue, you have immediate and direct access to someone who understands your business and its specific requirements, allowing you to take swift action which could help avoid an employment tribunal.

Insurance Policy

The insurers will pay the legal costs of an employment dispute, cover settlements and the cost of any award (of up to £100,000 per award). This radically minimises your exposure and caps all your employment and HR costs, providing peace of mind.

Additional Services

Scheme members also receive regular newsletters and bulletins and are also invited to our employer briefings, all free of charge.

2. Watson Esam HR

As well as the full range of employment law services you would expect from a legal practice, we also offer a full HR Consultancy to assist with as much or as little of your HR needs as you require. Whether you want us to put in place a redundancy process, help with the exit of an employee, conduct internal hearings - including disciplinary, grievance and investigations, or assist with sickness and absence issues, our HR Consultancy Service will be able to provide you with practical and affordable solutions, specific to your business.

We can help with:

Recruitment practices
Equality and discrimination
Drafting contracts of employment/directors service agreements/consultancy agreements
Drafting and implementing policies and procedures and staff handbooks
Varying terms and conditions
Performance reviews
Grievance and disciplinary procedures and hearings
Sickness absence management
Employment Tribunal representation
Preparing managers and witnesses for Tribunal hearings
Transfer of employees under TUPE
Redundancy
In-house training for staff on all aspects of HR and employment law specifically tailored to your business.

Our charges

We can be flexible in the service we offer and the charges made. Our fees are charged either on a fixed fee or an hourly rate. We always provide an estimate at the outset. The Personnel Plus insurance backed scheme is charged on an annual fixed fee basis.

For clients who take up ther Personnel Plus package we offer discounted fees on HR consultancy and other employment law services.

Our Employment team

Watson Esam is a firm of solicitors based in Sheffield which has been established for over 150 years. Led by award winning senior partner, Jay Bhayani, our employment department has grown significantly over the last few years both in size and reputation. We are listed as a recommended firm in The Legal 500 - an independent guide to law firms, renowned as the definitive guide to the legal market.

Watson Esam's experienced employment team has wide ranging experience and represents employers of all sizes throughout a broad range of industries from sole traders to large companies and charities.

Benefit to your Business

Affordable cost - all the benefits of an experienced HR department without all the cost
Annual fixed cost payable by monthly instalments for Personnel Plus
£100,000 cover for claims under Personnel Plus package
Reduced risk to the business as HR issues are properly managed and legally compliant
We take time to get to know your business so that we can offer tailored advice and not off the shelf services provided by some call centres
Frees up internal resources enabling your managers to focus on the core business
Helps to optimise staff engagement and motivation as HR issues are dealt with quickly and efficiently
Helps to drive change where necessary, as HR issues are up to date so managers can take a clear view of any necessary changes and implement them effectively
Not a 'virtual' service. Your managers can benefit from face to face meetings with local specialists, either at your own premises or at ours
Not a paper based set of instructions. We show you how to implement contracts and policies that are appropriate to your business within your workforce
No call centres - all enquiries and claims are handled by our own experienced lawyers