Employment

Funding Options

At Bolt Burdon we aim to exceed all of our clients' expectations 100% of the time. We pride ourselves in providing a top quality level of personal service to all clients regardless of fee structure. We are happy to assist you on specific matters as and when you require assistance and charge you only for the time we actually spend advising you. We will give you an estimate in advance of the time we think it may take us to carry out the work you have asked us to do or, if you prefer and the job is appropriate, we will agree a fixed fee with you in advance to carry our a particular piece of work.

Alternatively we are happy to work on a retainer basis. If you would like to take up our retainer service we will agree a fixed fee in advance with you for an agreed level of service over an agreed period of time. The level of service we offer is dependent upon your needs - our service is entirely flexible so you will only pay for what you actually need and we will adapt our service to suit the particular needs of your business.

The length of the retainer is also flexible. For example, this could be for twelve months, or ongoing, reviewable on a monthly basis.

How to get started

We will come and meet with you, without charge, to discuss your existing employment documentation and practices. We will advise you about the different types of retainer service we can offer and which type is likely to best suit your needs and budget. In addition, we will need to review your existing employment related documentation, such as any employment contracts, directors' service agreements, staff handbook etc. Don't worry if you don't have any of those already in place, as part of our retainer service we can draft them for you!

Which type of retainer service will best suit my company's needs?

Bolt Burdon offer an individual service. We recognise that every business is different and will have different needs and requirements. The service we provide to you can be as little or as comprehensive as you feel you need. Below are examples of the types of service we can offer, but this is not an exhaustive list. We are happy to provide other types of assistance in addition, or perhaps agree that your retainer will only cover some of the areas listed below:

• Contracts, handbook and procedures: At the beginning of the retainer we will fully review and update those you have and/or provide you with new precedents for your use if none are currently in place. We will update these during the period of the retainer in order to ensure you remain fully compliant with any changes in the law.
• Legal updates: We will send you regular email updates on changes to the law, topical cases and practical tips and advice at least once every month.
• Telephone assistance: At Bolt Burdon we pride ourselves in providing a personal service. You will therefore have one primary point of contact in the department who you will generally deal with. However, we will also provide you with the telephone numbers and email addresses of all members of the employment department who will be able to assist in the event that your primary contact is unavailable to ensure that all your telephone enquiries are dealt with as promptly as possible. Telephone assistance can cover all general enquiries and/or ongoing advice on a specific matter.
• Drafting assistance: We will prepare all other documentation and correspondence you require during the period of the retainer. For example, this could include correspondence with an employee on a disciplinary or grievance matter or preparation of a compromise agreement.
• Potential Litigation assistance: this covers potential claims made by ex-employees up to the issuing of formal tribunal proceedings. We will assist you in resolving and, if necessary, compromising any potential claims that arise during the period of cover. We will assist you 'behind the scenes', or we will act formally on your behalf, dependeant upon your own preference.
• Tribunal assistance: We will formally act for you in respect of any Tribunal claims that are issued against your business during the period of your retainer. The level of cover we offer will be agreed in advance with you, dependent upon your expected needs and requirements. For example, your retainer with us could cover all Tribunal claims that may arise during the period. This cover could include or exclude representation at final hearing(s) and include or exclude assistance during any appeals against initial Tribunal judgments.
• In-house training and seminars: We can provide in-house training and seminars dependent upon your needs, for example, training for managers on disciplinary and grievance procedural matters and/or in-house legal update seminars.
• Legal assistance for your employees: You may wish to consider offering legal assistance (on all matters other than employment law advice) as part of your employee benefits package. This service could include us attending your offices one day a month to provide confidential advice on a one-to-one basis to employees; free telephone advice for all employees; or an agreed reduced rate on our fees across all departments for your employees.

Fees

Every business that is interested in using our retained service will be provided with an individually tailored quote based upon its particular needs. Fees can either be paid upon commencement of the retainer service or in instalments over the length of the retainer so that the cost is spread out.

Once the level of retainer has been agreed with you, we promise that the price will be fixed for the length of the retainer agreed. Unlike some firms, we will not try to put the price up if the work we are required to carry out is more than initially expected! Please do not hesitate to contact our employment team if you would like to arrange a meeting or have an informal chat over the telephone to discuss your particular requirements further. To email employment@boltburdon.co.uk click here or telephone her on 020 7288 4700.