Quick, relevant and clear advice
From the everyday to the strategic, the seven-partner Employment team is experienced in all aspects of employment law, advising a broad client base including FTSE companies, private sector organisations, government departments and local authorities. The team's shared approach is to establish a client's desired outcome and plan the best course of action to achieve that outcome. Wragge & Co is ranked 2nd in the Chambers FTSE Survey list of employment advisers to the FTSE 250.
Chambers UK describes the team as a 'slick' employment group, with clients appreciating the team's 'quick, relevant and clear advice' and its lawyers' 'willingess to stick their necks out'. Many of the team bring experience from senior in-house positions including Mark Greenburgh, former barrister Trevor Gibson and Elaine Cook, who was once the only lawyer in the Army's legal services division responsible for 170,000 employees!
The team enjoys an extensive international reach using a network of selected contacts in most jurisdictions. Examples of international work include the design and implementation of a standardised European employment contract, the development and rolling out of a uniform pan-European staff representation system and advising the division of a global outsourcing business on a programme for up-skilling line managers across Europe.
Clients include BP, Department of Health, Dyson, HSBC, Interserve, Isle of Wight Council, Local Government Assocation, Monsoon, Stoke-On-Trent City Council, Toyota, Unilever and Willis.
Additional services include the following:
Employment tribunal unit
The team's unique approach to employment tribunals offers a range of benefits including standardisation in tribunal handling and documentation, a RiskAssess methodology, which provides an upfront and forensic risk assessment of success, and likely costs, and a multi-track approach to categorise the claim and match the resource. It's an approach which has increased success rates to 99% and reduced costs by up to 50%. The Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Special Report in 2006 gave this service stand-out status in its value for money category.
Employee share schemes and incentives
Tax expert Neil Pearson advises on employee share schemes and incentives. Typically this includes structure and design, drafting documentation, implementation of the scheme including communication to employees.
Human resources consultancy
A human resources consulting unit can be called in to help manage major change in the business and work with clients on site. The service solves practical problems and improves employee relations. Client demand in this area includes due diligence and integration around corporate activity, organisational change, outsourcing, redundancies and re-structuring.
Combined Human Resources Solutions team
The only one of its kind in the UK, the Combined Human Resource Solutions team deals with the interaction between pensions and employment law. Typical work includes high-profile and high-value age discrimination claims and multi-billion pound pension re-structuring projects.
Bespoke training
Wragge & Co's Employment team provides bespoke staff training on the full range of employment issues including redundancy and reorganisations.
Seminars and workshops
In the latest of its annual seminars on topical employment issues held in Waterhouse Square and Colmore Row, the team's experts explored religion and belief, post-employment restraints, and statutory termination procedures. Workshops are also held throughout the year.
Communication
The team issues regular alerts on legal developments.
Employment partners are Martin Chitty, Jonathan Chamberlain, Jane Fielding, Trevor Gibson, Andrew Hodge, Patrick Brodie and Mark Greenburgh.
For more information on employment, contact martin_chitty@wragge.com.
