Employment Law for Employers

Hiring and contracts

Every employee is entitled to a written statement of particulars on day one. A good contract goes further: confidentiality, IP, restrictive covenants that are no wider than necessary (so that they are enforceable), flexibility on place of work and duties, and clear probation and notice provisions. For sponsored workers the contract must match the Certificate of Sponsorship in job title, duties, hours and salary, and any clawback of visa costs must be drafted with care to avoid breaching sponsor duties or the National Minimum Wage rules.

Right to work checks

Before employment starts you must check every worker's right to work using the Home Office online service, an Identity Service Provider for British and Irish passports, or manual checks on original documents, and keep the evidence. A compliant check gives you a statutory excuse against a civil penalty, which is now up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Follow-up checks are needed for time-limited permission. We set up the process, train your HR team and audit existing files.

Managing and parting with staff

• Policies and handbooks: disciplinary, grievance, sickness, flexible working, family leave, data protection, whistleblowing, equality and anti-harassment, including the duty to prevent sexual harassment.
• Performance and conduct: advice on fair procedures under the Acas Code, investigations, hearings and appeals.
• Redundancy and restructuring: selection, consultation (individual and collective), and the immigration consequences of dismissing sponsored workers, which must be reported within 10 working days.
• Settlement agreements: drafting and negotiating exits, and providing the independent advice employees need for the agreement to be binding.
• Employment tribunal claims: early conciliation, responses, preparation and representation, or a commercial settlement where that is the better outcome.

Employment and immigration together

For licensed sponsors the two areas overlap constantly. A change of role or salary is an HR decision and a sponsor reporting duty. An unpaid leave request has employment and immigration consequences. A dismissal ends a worker's visa. Our team advises on both sides in one conversation, and we run combined audits covering HR files, right-to-work checks and sponsor compliance.

Expired BRP? Read this before you act

Watch

Expired BRP? Read this before you act

Why an expired card does not mean your employee's permission has ended, and what to check instead.

More on this topic:

• Sponsoring overseas workers? Watch out for the tax bill

All videos and guides

Frequently asked questions