If you need further legal advice as part of a contractual dispute with your employer, our team of experts can help.
Your contract of employment includes the terms and conditions that form the basis of your role, fusing the relationship between you and the company you work for. Unfortunately contracts can be complex, meaning disputes can arise. If your employer has breached the terms of your contract, or you feel they could have but you’re unsure, you might want to seek legal advice.
Your contract of employment includes the terms and conditions that form the basis of your role, fusing the relationship between you and the company you work for. Unfortunately contracts can be complex, meaning disputes can arise.
Below are some typical employment contract disputes:
Employees suffering unfair treatment at work could be eligible to bring a claim. Sadly there are many different ways people can be discriminated against, which is why the law includes protected characteristics.
Find out more about the different types of employment discrimination and what to do next >>
Disputes among senior personnel may occur. These can relate to salary and bonuses, director and shareholder agreements, executive terminations, severance, unlawful competition and confidentiality provisions. The nature of such disputes can be complex, especially if external investors are involved.
Many businesses hold information that they might consider to be their ‘trade secrets’. This is usually information regarding internal processes, procedures, and other data or terms that contribute to BAU and success rates. When an employee leaves a business, they may be an attractive talent to a competitor due to being privy to such information.
In this instance, the employer may have added a restrictive covenant (which is essentially a clause) to all employee contracts forbidding them from passing this information on.
Employees are entitled to request flexible working arrangements. These may differ from person to person, and should include details of how each individual plans to carry out their role with flexibility in place.
Employers may refuse the application. For example, your employer may worry that standards could suffer, or that the organisation might fail to meet customer demand with flexible working in place. There would be options available if you wanted to take this further.
Find out more about bringing a flexible working claim >>
When taking holiday, it’s mandatory that you receive the same pay as you would if you were at work. This includes regular overtime and other additional payments, such as commission. Bank Holidays and emergency holiday requests can also be the subject of holiday pay disputes.
But holiday pay disputes can also relate to payments post-termination of employment. If an employee leaves an organisation without using their accrued holiday, their employer should include this in their final pay packet.
Learn more about holiday pay disputes and if you could be eligible to bring a claim >>
Having a contract of employment in the UK while living abroad can sometimes pose difficulties, which can amount to international employment disputes. There’s also the issue of laws differing by country.
An employee may find they are trying to negotiate a bonus, or go through the procedures of achieving a severance package, under two different jurisdictions that could contradict each other. As with all employment claims, it’s important to act quickly and seek professional advice.
The technicalities involved with each of the above can differ greatly, and depend on every individual’s unique situation. The best action to take at first is to speak with your employer about your issue. You may be able to resolve it, meaning no further legal action is required. However, not all conversations can go this way, so you might have to seek further advice if you can’t reach a solution.
Or request a call back if you’d like one of our no-win, no-fee experts to call you
A dispute with your employer can be stressful, and the last thing you want to be worried about is how to pay for the legal help and advice you need. We will help you get the best possible outcome in the most cost-effective way. Click below to find out more about the funding options available to you.
To learn more about funding your employment claim click here >
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In general you have three months less one day from the most recent act of discrimination or breach to take action, meaning you should act fast.
We recommend you speak to one of our lawyers in the first instance. As part of the process, you’ll need to get in touch with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), who will aim to achieve early conciliation with your employer. However, our lawyers can assist in this process where appropriate and we have formally been instructed.
Please be aware that the ACAS process can take up to around a month to complete, which will be taken from the three months you have to begin with. It’s important to act quickly in order to bring a tribunal claim. If the conciliation procedure is unsuccessful, we may be able to support you with the tribunal. If you feel you have a potential employment claim please act quickly and contact us today.
