What We Do
Our employment solicitors provide cutting edge service and pragmatic advice on HR best practice and employment law.
We have one of the UK’s leading teams of employment law specialists, with a strong presence in the City and regionally.
The Employment Group has 50 qualified employment lawyers in five cities: Birmingham, Leeds, London, Manchester and Sheffield. We work with clients across the country, and have particular expertise in the following sectors:
- Financial services
- Recruitment
- Outsourcing solutions
- Construction
- Retail
- Education
- Manufacturing
Why Choose Irwin Mitchell?
In addition to specialist employment law advice, we provide a complimentary suite of employment-related services including pensions, employee benefits, tax and business immigration.
As one of the first major law firms to become an “Alternative Business Structure” compatible with the Legal Services Act, we have the freedom to develop new ways of offering services and supporting clients.
The Employment team is at the forefront of these developments. We provide both efficient and cost-effective Employment Tribunal and commoditised services to clients, alongside high quality, strategic advice. This is delivered through our unique product offering, including retainer based advice and training packages at a fixed cost.
Recent Work
Recent work highlights include the following:
- A leading financial services business - advising on TUPE, collective labour law and redundancy implications after it acquired one of the UK’s largest Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) businesses.
- National outsourcing business - we successfully defended them on a substantial multi-party tribunal claim for age discrimination.
- Large food manufacturing PLC – we advised them on TUPE after they disposed part of its business, requiring an emergency restructure. We defended multi-party tribunal proceedings in the face of opposition from trade unions.
- Drafting and negotiating the TUPE provisions in property management agreements for a large City-based property management company.
- National furniture retailer – we made sure that their sponsorship license was reinstated without fee after initially being revoked by UK Visas and Immigration (part of the Home Office).
- A large facilities management company – we advised them on the acquisition of a business out of administration. This transaction involved the TUPE transfer of more than 500 staff and was completed in two weeks despite requiring employment due diligence for over 500 employees.
Products and Other Services
- Employment and HR training – bespoke employment law training available for your business, including HR certification and programmes delivered by accredited, professional trainers
- IMhrplus – Irwin Mitchell’s annual retainer service: for a fixed price, we provide a complete employment law service and claims insurance, coupled with an employee benefits platform
- IM Educate – training and bespoke legal services for the education sector, including employment law
- IM Protect – a range of fixed-fee services which are designed to protect businesses from data theft and unfair competition arising from departing employees
- Transactions and TUPE – working closely with our Corporate team, we can provide expert employment support for acquisitions, disposals, mergers and joint ventures
- Restructuring and TUPE – specialist advice on the delivery of change management programmes and strategic projects
- Partnering – collaboration with trusted partners to provide access to HR consultancy and occupational health services, together with employee assistance programmes, employee benefits, health and safety support and the provision of payroll software
- International work – support with cross-border, multi-jurisdictional employment issues via legal partners around the world
- Modern Slavery Act – advice on ensuring compliance with the Modern Slavery Act, including support with preparing annual slavery and trafficking statements
- Business immigration – supporting your need for specialist hires from overseas and expert advice on this increasingly complex area of law, including dealing with illegal working risks
Testimonials
"Impressive, practical and pragmatic." One client said "I was impressed by their strategic, tactical and commercial advice which really took our industry into account." – Chambers & Partners, 2018
"Very client-focused, available, forthright and achieve resolutions we're happy with." – Chambers & Partners, 2016 (quote from client)
"The team acts commercially and pragmatically with a good balance between the legal aspects and helping us achieve our goals from a business point of view." - Chambers & Partners, 2015 (quote from client)
“When it comes to defending Employment Tribunal Claims, choosing the right legal adviser is crucial. What sets Irwin Mitchell apart is the fact that they genuinely care about ensuring we achieve the right outcome. They are approachable, tenacious and very hands on.” - HR Director of a leading business process outsourcing service provider (quote from client)