Our Employment Contract Service
Executives, directors, and other senior employees should expect to have comprehensive agreements regarding their employment.
Our expert Employment contract lawyers regularly review and advise on the terms of service agreements and employment contracts, particularly regarding key issues such as notice entitlements, intellectual property issues, confidentiality, and restrictive covenants.
Our employment lawyers also have a wealth of experience in advising on complex remuneration and reward arrangements such as bonus and commission schemes, and golden handshake and golden handcuff terms so as to ensure the position of the executive is fairly and clearly represented.
We are determined and robust on your behalf, but we are also easy to deal with and clear in our advice. We will fight your corner but understand that a common-sense approach is often required to find solutions that work for you in the context of your professional and personal circumstances.
Why choose us to be your employment contract solicitors?
Choose us for our experience. Recent examples of our employment contract work in this area include:
- Reviewing all employment terms and benefits for the Finance Director of a FTSE 100 company, advising on terms to improve and areas where clarification was needed
- Reviewing and advising a senior executive joining a Plc on the terms and effect of their service agreement and amending the agreement to protect the executive
- Advising a director of a national company on the terms of a bonus arrangement and amending the bonus agreement to safeguard the director’s position
- Assisting a senior executive in understanding the scope of the restrictive covenants they were being asked to accept, particularly in the context of business connections and knowledge they were bringing to their new employer and advising on the executive on circumstances where they did not sign the contract of employment
- Advising a senior executive on changes being made to their job role and contractual terms without their consent
- Reviewing and advising on the enforceability of restrictive covenants in a director’s service agreement in the context of a potential breach of contract situation
Why work with our employment lawyers?
Our specialist team of employment solicitors is described in the independent Legal 500 directory as “excellent” and are highly recommended in the Legal 500. Therefore, you can be reassured that you will deal with some of the best employment solicitors in the country.
In particular, our employment lawyers offer:
- City centre standards of employment law advice and service levels due to our policy of recruiting only the best specialist employment solicitors.
- Clear and straightforward UK employment law advice that is user-friendly, pragmatic, and commercial.
- Extensive experience in advising various employees, including senior executives, directors and partners, with complex employment contracts and service agreements.
- A credible team of employment law solicitors that are used to dealing with and providing legal representation against large employers and law firms on behalf of our clients.
- A partner-led service and a genuinely accessible team of experienced employment law solicitors due to our size, structure, and unique culture.
- Cost-effective support tailored to your unique employment issues and certainty on costs where you need it.
Testimonials
Mr Tolmac
First and foremost, your team’s courteous, understanding, and professional approach stands out. The way they clearly and thoroughly explained everything I needed to know reflects a genuine passion for what they do. When people truly enjoy their work, delivering the best possible results becomes second nature; and that is something everyone deserves.
Mr. Deradour
Jack has been so good with me; very supportive and personal.
Mr. Hughes Gareth
Amy was professional, informative, working for me and advised me of her ideas and suggestions. It felt collaborative. She's an asset to you.
Mr. Mayers
Made it very easy. Great communication. I felt very confident every step of the way.
Mr. Heald
The service was excellent. Vicki was not only very professional, but timely in her responses and understanding of key timelines. I would definitely use Myerson again.
Mr. A
Anjali Brown made was amazing to work with. She was very professional and knowledgeable. She explained everything. Made me feel comfortable and at ease with everything that was going on. I was very happy with the outcome and felt that Anjali had worked hard on my behalf and had respected my wishes.
Alannah
Vicki Fagan recently helped me with an employment matter and she was fantastic from start to finish, she gave clear, honest advice, and was always on hand to quickly answer any questions I had. She was friendly and professional at all times and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.
Mr. Holt
Fantastic service - friendly, fast, and they inform you exactly what your options are.
Natalie Chapman
Charlotte was extremely helpful, supportive, and proactive with my case. Communication was excellent, and I felt I was in professional and safe hands. Thank you
Mrs. Witts
Jack Latham was very informative, supportive and took his time to go through the settlement agreement process I had with my employer.
Mrs. Cottrell
Great service with quick turnaround and pragmatic approach to advising me. Thorough legal review. Joanne Henderson was very easy to work with.
Mr S
1st Class experience. Great advice, very responsive and understanding. Helpful and knowledgeable and helped to achieve a great outcome. I Would highly recommend.
Mr Pearse
Jack Latham was quick to assess the situation and handled my case professionally and efficiently.
Susan
Efficient service. I had the pleasure of working with Vicki, who was extremely efficient and helpful. She communicated well and was very clear in outlining her actions and following these through promptly. She raised points which proved really useful and I valued her insight. I found her very professional.
Martyn
Professional service provided for a personal legal matter. I would highly recommend this firm. The Solicitor assigned to me was personable and highly knowledgeable, ensuring that my matter was dealt with due care and attention.
Laura
Jack Latham was incredible. Amazing solicitor who was first class in delivering advice.
Ed
Myerson Solicitors were recommended to me. Even on my initial contact I was immediately at ease by the manner in which my cold call was answered and dealt with. A great company to deal with at all levels from reception right up to senior partners. Would definitely recommend to others.
Jeff Abbott
Myersons were recommended to me and they didn’t disappoint. The issue I engaged them for was time sensitive and they managed to get everything squared away very quickly but without compromising the quality of the work or my understanding of the process. Excellent service all round and I would happily recommend them to friends and family.
Legal 500, 2019
The 'commercially savvy' Joanne Evans leads Myerson Solicitor's employment department.
Legal 500, 2020
A very personal and professional team that we treat as an extension of our team. They always are responsive to our needs which can be at short notice given how our business is run which is brilliant for us and we value this service so much.
Legal 500, 2020
They are a really good alternative to the bigger city firms. They have the skills without some of the frills and formality.
Legal 500, 2020
Myerson Solicitors are at the very top of their field. They are extremely knowledgeable, personable, reliable and provide outstanding personal service. Each issue they have dealt with has been carried out extremely thoroughly – sometimes being given very short notice.
Miss N.Kay
Dealing with stress and leaving a company can be very emotive, but having Myerson and being represented by Charlotte was invaluable to me. She explained everything in detail, in a way I could understand, making my exit from work less stressful. Charlotte's legal acumen and knowledge of employment law was fantastic and she liaised directly with my company and removed the stress from dealing with any legalities. I have no hesitation in recommending Myerson- the service outstanding.
Mary
The solicitor appointed successfully negotiated an improved package in a timely manner. Without Myerson Solicitors' assistance, I would have left the organisation with minimal financial compensation and not on good terms. The solicitor's professional intervention not only facilitated a reasonable settlement but provided a 'calming' influence at a most stressful time.
Gary Haynes
Joanne Henderson represented me and over 40 of my former colleagues in a long, complex and highly charged TUPE group action. Joanne is extremely knowledgeable in her field, with a real ability to focus on the specific legal issues at hand, weed out all the irrelevance and make a strong and clear case. I would heartily and without hesitation recommend Joanne to anyone with an employment law issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should you be provided with a contract of employment?
All employees should be provided with a written statement of certain terms of their employment from the outset. This statement is also known as a "section 1 statement" as it relates to section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Usually, employers will provide this section 1 statement as a contract of employment.
What should be included in employment contracts?
A section 1 statement should include the following:
- Job title;
- Place of work;
- Whether the employment is permanent or for a fixed term;
- Any probationary period applicable;
- Scale of rate of pay;
- Intervals of pay (i.e. monthly, weekly or four weekly);
- Days and hours of work;
- Holiday entitlement (including public holidays);
- Notice periods;
- Details of any requirement to work abroad;
- Any training which the employee requires the employee to complete;
- Any other benefits and any rights to paid leave;
- Any disciplinary rules applicable to the employee;
What other documents may be relevant?
Whilst usually all employment details are contained within the employment contract itself, a section 1 statement may refer the employee to a reasonably accessible document containing:
- Information relating to incapacity and sick pay provisions;
- Pension information;
- Additional training provided by the employer;
- Any collective agreements that directly affect the employee’s terms;
What happens if you do not sign your employment contract?
Employment contracts can still be formed between two parties even if they are not in writing, so a contract is not required to be signed.
Additionally, all employment contracts are subject to both express terms (the terms included in any written contract) and implied terms (such as the duty to obey lawful and reasonable orders).
However, it is clearly in both parties' interests to obtain a signed agreement; otherwise, it may be difficult to establish the terms and there may be disputes.
Can your employer change your terms of employment?
A contract of employment is a legally binding agreement. Once it is made, a contract may only be amended in accordance with its terms (which may, in limited circumstances, include flexibility clauses) or with the agreement of all parties.
When should you contact us for employment contract advice?
Advice is often essential at the outset of the employment relationship to ensure that terms are understood and difficult issues anticipated. Once a contract of employment has been signed, it may be difficult to renegotiate terms unless there is a specific bargaining position, such as a change to your role or workload.
However, if you feel that during your employment, your employer may be breaching your contract and/or making unilateral changes, it is recommended that you take legal advice.
Additionally, if you are concerned about the interpretation of certain clauses in your contract, such as restrictive covenants and how they may impact you, or if you are looking to give notice to resign and are concerned about how best to do this in the context of certain onerous terms in your contract, it is advisable to seek legal advice before signing any new contract and before taking any steps that could breach your contract.
Our Approach to Costs
We know 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 and then provide regular cost updates.
Meet Our Employment Solicitors
Home-grown or recruited from national, regional or City firms. Our employment lawyers are experts in their fields and respected by their peers.
Charlotte Gilbert
Charlotte is the Head of Myerson HR and a Partner in our Employment Team
Contact Our Experts
You can contact our lawyers below if you have any more questions or want more information:
0161 941 4000
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