It’s easy to feel like you’re in a maze when it comes to employment problems. With all the new and changing legislation, simply employing people can take up too much of your time.
To help solve the problem, we’ve developed Equation. It’s not a one-size-fits-all deal, but a personal, bespoke solution to your employment needs. We discuss with you the issues you and your business face, both now and going forward, and we then tailor an Equation package specific to you. This means that you get a personal employment solution which suits your requirements and means that you only pay for the services you need. What’s more, Equation provides you with support and advice from a legal team who know you and your organisation. Instead of call centres and unqualified advisers, Equation gives you practical and professional advice from qualified, specialist lawyers. We work with you to achieve realistic and effective solutions and we’re there whenever you need us.
For more information, click on the links below or download our written summary. Also call our head of employment, Nigel Crebbin, on 0845 6347 999.
The key features of Equation include:
(Please note that these webpages are a brief guidance summary to our Equation services. Further details of the terms and conditions of those services are available on request).
Unlike many apparently similar services, Gorvins’ Equation Helpline is not a call centre. As an Equation Helpline client you will be assigned to one of our qualified employment lawyers who will be your dedicated account manager. He or she will provide you with the Helpline service and also manage the delivery of any other Equation services required by you. The account manager will know your business and understand your needs, ensuring that you receive a consistent, comprehensive and seamless service.
The Helpline is available from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and there’s no limit on how many times you call or on how long each call lasts. We also will provide you with out of hours contact details for use in case of emergency.
We will maintain a log for you detailing the time and date of each Helpline call, the identity of the caller, the name of the employee discussed and the issue in question, a brief summary of the advice given, the time spent on the call, whether any follow up action by us was required, what follow up action was carried out, and by whom and when. A copy of the log will be sent to you each month.
The Helpline is provided for a fixed monthly fee and there’s no long-term lock in. You can end the arrangement at any time simply by giving us a month’s notice, but we’re confident you won’t want to.
The Helpline can also be linked to HR Management and to Tribunal Claims Handling so as to provide a more extensive HR support service, again for a fixed monthly fee.
For a one-off fixed fee, we will give your employment documentation, policies and procedures a comprehensive review to make sure they meet all current and proposed legislation. Whether your employment contracts and procedures simply require a quick “health check” or a detailed overhaul, we will identify any issues and risks for you and your business and provide you with a written report advising you of any necessary or recommended changes.
We then can also provide you with any employment documentation your business requires, from contracts of employment and specific policies and procedures to a complete staff handbook. All of these will be available for you to purchase at special rates.
We’ll make sure that you’re aware of any new and changing employment legislation. The Equation Update service highlights areas of your business that need attention and recommends changes to keep you fully compliant.
Despite the best systems and procedures, HR issues will occasionally arise. When they do, Equation HR Management offers the advice and assistance you need, from preparing for and attending disciplinary hearings to drawing up written warnings and dismissal letters.
We will draft the documents you need in connection with employment problemsor, if you prefer, check and advise on the documents which you have drawn up. We know that speed of response is important and you can be assured that that is what we will provide.
Rather than call centres and template documentation that doesn’t fit in with your business, the Gorvins employment lawyers will provide you with prompt, specialist advice and documentation specifically tailored to you and your business. You will be dealing with specialist lawyers who you know and can trust.
Equation HR Management can be linked to Helpline and to Tribunal Claims Handling to provide an extensive HR support service for a fixed monthly fee.
Even when procedures have been followed correctly, employment tribunal claims remain a risk. If you receive a claim, we’ll deal with it efficiently, sensitively and commercially, achieving the best possible outcome whilst leaving you free to concentrate on running your business.
We don’t charge a fixed fee for dealing with employment tribunal claims. Most tribunal cases settle and so a fixed fee arrangement rarely works out best for our clients. We can deal with tribunal claims based on time spent and hourly rates, but we also offer the alternative of Tribunal Claims Handling, under which we break the cost into four stages (each with a specific price) meaning that you never pay more than you have to where a claim is settled.
The stages are as follows:
Stage 1 - taking instructions on the tribunal claim form and drafting and finalising the response to the tribunal;
Stage 2 – conduct of the case after Stage 1 (including any preliminary and case management hearings) up to and including the exchange of lists of documents;
Stage 3 - conduct of the case after Stage 2 (including any further preliminary hearings) up to and including the drafting and exchange of witness statements;
Stage 4 - conduct of the case after Stage 3 up to and including the final employment tribunal hearing and any remedies hearing.
Tribunal Claims Handling can also be linked to Helpline and to HR Management to provide an extensive HR support service for a fixed monthly fee.
It’s essential that employers understand their legal obligations and keep abreast of developments in employment law. Equation Training offers regular employment law updates and invaluable seminars for you, your managers and senior employees. And as some issues are more relevant to your business than others, we can also deliver tailored internal training on subjects you’d like to know more about.
Recent topics on which our lawyers have presented include unfair dismissal; dealing with disciplinary procedures; bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace; age discrimination; e-mail and internet usage at work; data protection; directors’ responsibilities; and the new legislation on smoking at work.
Through Equation Insurance, we offer a range of options to reduce your business’ risk, from comprehensive cover that would meet the costs of defending any employment claim (including the costs of any award) to more limited cover protecting you only from major claims. We can offer a flexible and tailored approach that is right for you and because we’re not tied to any particular insurance company, we can offer the best rates in the market.
(Please note that the above is only a brief guidance summary and does not constitute advice on the insurance option. If you are interested in taking out such an insurance policy, please let us know and we will arrange for our broker to visit you and provide you with a detailed quotation.)
