Employment Law in Practice
We strongly advise that it can be never too early to contact an employment solicitor, if you anticipate that an employment dispute is looming. It is possible that advice given at an early stage can allow you to be put in a better negotiating position when the matter becomes contentious and increases the chances of early resolution at less legal cost. For example, your employment solicitor may be able to advise you on the evidence gathering exercise, so that at the later stage the other side has difficulty arguing liability.
At the first meeting work out the background of the law firm, their ethos, and how experienced is the solicitor who has the daily running of the file. In large City Firms, you often meet the employment partner at the first meeting and he will state that he will be supervising the claim and then the matter is managed by a junior lawyer. Although, undoubtedly any client will be impressed by the seniority of the employment partner, he will only on occasion view the file and the actual running and most of the negotiations will be done by the junior lawyer.
Request at the first meeting the likely outcome of the matter and the merits of your case.
Although, you should rely on your employment solicitor to advise you on your employment rights, we believe that it is useful for you have a general understanding of employment law to enable you to make well informed decisions.
Throughout, the running of the case, your employment solicitor should, at major points, give you an assessment of what is the next step, your options and the decisions that you should be making. Your employment solicitor should not make any major decisions without you. Also, the reverse scenario is important. As you are usually paying a solicitor on a time basis, be wary of a solicitor who needlessly updates you, as telephone conversations are chargeable. This is a fine balance for you to judge.
Employment solicitors often charge on a time basis, and, as "time is money", a good policy is to assist the employment solicitor. We strongly recommend that as a client, if you wish to allow the solicitor to work efficiently, then it is often an excellent policy to do some of the preparation yourself. By way of example, provide a chronology of the events, for instance leading up to your unfair dismissal or discrimination claim. If you have numerous e-mails then put them in date order in a lever arch file (and even list them and send that by e mail). Summarise the case by e-mail to the employment solicitor with contact details. The relationship between client and employment solicitor should be collaborative, you are a team working together for an objective. Always try to bring at least your employment contract and employment handbook to the first meeting.
Ultimately, the relationship between client and employment solicitor is about trust and open communication to achieve the best results.