Employers have a range of rights and obligations when it comes to employment.
Expertise covers a range of areas in the employment sphere including breach of restrictive covenants; breach of confidence; data protection; remuneration, bonuses and pensions; director’s duties; restraint of trade; team moves; notice and termination issues; and partnerships.
Employers have a range of rights and obligations when it comes to employment. At Schwartz & Watkins LLP, we understand how to help you to minimise the difficulties that can arise at work; providing expert law advice to employees. If you are experiencing difficulties at work, or would like advice on your legal position, contact us for expert employment law advice for employees.
If you are an employee under a written contract, a consultant, or have no contract in writing, we can help. Our legal services for employees includes
Our employee law advice is both personal and attentive. We aim to get a response within a reasonable time to both prospective and existing clients and pride ourselves on a professional and expert service.
We will provide you will a full rundown and transparency of costs before starting work – analysing your legal position fully and reporting on the options available. There will of course be a range of benefits, risks, and liabilities associated with exercising the option you choose but we can ensure you are fully informed guided by our expert team.
Should your case become contentious, our ability to negotiate and mediate in highly emotive situations enables us to achieve the best results by agreeing terms of settlement with your employer.
Our team also has experience of tribunals and courts at all levels, so should you wish to take your employer to the Employment Tribunal court, you will be well looked after and guided by us. Our strategic awareness, tough approach and commitment enable us to protect your interests and obtain the compensation or remedy you deserve.
We work toward to assist you manage your staff so you can concentrate on managing your business. Our experienced team of employers at Schwartz & Watkins LLP concentrate on employment law and related areas to provide prompt and accurate advice, in this fast paced changing area of law. We provide practical and commercial solutions to ensure legal compliance and to resolve disputes as they arise.
We offer a full set of employment services to assist our clients avoiding disputes from arising, and to assist with compliance of statutory procedures, which can lead to a substantial reduction to financial risk for your business.
Our work includes:
Recent cases have included Societe Generale, London Branch v Geys before the Supreme Court,in proceedings arising out of the termination of the employment of Mr Geys, the former MD, European Fixed Income Sales of the Respondent Bank and his entitlement to a substantial bonus and contractual replacement bonus.
Counsel from Schwartz & Watkins LLP also appeared for the successful claimant in Tullet Prebon plc & Ors. v BGC Brokers L.C. & Ors., a case relating to inter dealer brokers, which concerns an unlawful conspiracy by a competitor and its executives to induce employees of the claimant to leave the claimant's employment in breach of their contracts of employment based on an "early exit strategy" that involved the assertion of sham constructive dismissal claims, the enforcement of garden leave provisions against those employees and the grant of a "no poach" injunction against the competitor.
The judgment also addresses issues such as the enforceability of contractual provisions requiring the giving of notice to an employer in the event of an approach by a competitor in the light of doctrine of restraint of trade and the repayment of bonuses and other contractual remuneration in the event of an employer leaving employment in breach of contract in the light of the doctrines of restraint of trade and penalty.
Several teams of barristers at Schwartz & Watkins LLP are also presently engaged in relation to claims by groups of construction workers that they were allegedly ‘blacklisted’ by construction companies, following the discovery of a list by the Information Commissioner in 2009.
Barristers here are also engaged for Marathon Asset Management which is suing a group of former employees over allegations they conspired to cause loss to its business during the time of their resignations.
