Employment Litigation – in the Employment Tribunals and the Courts

Such knowledge is invaluable in trying to avoid problems escalating to a claim but will also prepare you in the event that litigation does arise.

Most contentious employment matters are dealt with in the Employment Tribunals (such as unfair dismissal, whistleblowing, TUPE and discrimination claims). However, parties can also take action through the Courts for high value breach of contract claims and obtaining or defending injunction applications.

Our employment team has a wide range of experience in advising both employers and employees on the whole spectrum of employment litigation in both the Employment Tribunals and the Courts.

All members of our team have advocacy experience and deal with matters varying from simple, unfair dismissal claims to more complex, high value cases including whistleblowing, TUPE, discrimination and group action claims.

We can provide experienced assistance in handling all contentious matters, whether for employers or employees, from start to finish. This includes providing a case assessment at the outset detailing the legal merits of the case, the potential compensation, costs and our suggested approach to the claim.

Our service also includes dealing with all case management steps, including disclosure of documents, drafting witness statements, attending preliminary hearings, as necessary, as well as dealing with any potential mediation and/or settlement issues.

We are aware that clarity on costs is vitally important to our clients. As standard practice, we give our clients an estimate of the costs involved in undertaking any piece of work at the outset. We then provide cost updates on a your case on a regular basis.

We also work closely with our clients to ensure that we meet their expectations both in terms of their objectives for a particular piece of work and in relation to costs. In addition, we are happy to discuss fixed fees and retainer arrangements and agreements if that is helpful to you.

Finally, your work is carried out by a solicitor in the team, who knows your business best. It is also carried out at the appropriate level, depending on the complexity, sensitivity and importance of the matter.

Recent examples of our Employment Litigation work include:

• Acting for an airline in respect of various Employment Tribunal claims brought by ex-pilots and cabin crew involving unfair dismissal and TUPE issues

• Acting for an airport operator in defending an Employment Tribunal claim by an air traffic controller, securing a withdrawal of the claim

• Acting for a major national law firm in defending a complex discrimination claim brought by a solicitor, including compliance issues involving the Solicitors Regulatory Authority

• Acting for an international manufacturing company in respect of claims brought by ex-employees following a collective redundancy exercise

• Advising a group of 45 former employees in relation to their multi-million pound group action TUPE claim against Thomas Cook Group

• Acting on a complex whistleblowing claim brought by an individual seeking in excess of £1m compensation. Robustly defending all allegations and securing settlement for a nominal sum.
• Representing a number of commercial organisations affected by a claim by a group of employees that their employment should have transferred under TUPE. Securing settlement for a nominal sum.

For information on the training we provide on avoiding and managing claims, please refer to our Training page.