At Alexander McBurney Solicitors we pride ourselves on being able to deal with all forms of employment and discrimination law problems.
find out more...Alexander McBurney Solicitors can help you with all of your employment law needs. Our solicitors have years of experience in advising employees and businesses on a whole range of employment law matters.
If you need employent law advice, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at lawatwork7@hotmail.com
Without question, the most common employment law situation we see relates to Unfair Dismissal. If you have been dismissed, or suspect you may be, call us now.
find out more
It is a legal requirement that all employees receive independent legal advice prior to signing a settlement agreement. Contact us today.
find out moreThe law protects us from being the victims of certain types of discrimination at work. We are able to advise on all forms of discrimination at work.
Whether it is employees making a claim or employers defending a claim, we are able to provide step-by-step legal advice and representation from start to finish.
find out more
A settlement agreement (which used to be known as a compromise agreement) is an agreement made between an employer and an employee. The agreement is basically that in return for a sum of money the employee will leave the employment and give up all their rights to bring a claim at an employment tribunal.
It is a legal requirement that the employee receives independent legal advice prior to signing the settlement agreement. Most settlement agreements include a clause where the employer will make a contribution towards the employee’s legal expenses in obtaining this independent advice. This normally means you, the employee, will not need to make any payment from your own pocket.
A settlement agreement is a legally binding agreement between you and your employer which means that you waive the right to take any dispute to an employment tribunal.
Normally, the employer agrees to pay you a sum of money in return for agreeing to waive this right, although there may be (and often are) other conditions attached such as clauses preventing you from talking to the media or any other third party. As such, you should have your compromise agreement scrutinised by an independent solicitor. The cost of having a solicitor scrutinise the agreement is often met by your employer.
If your relationship with your employer has broken down, or even if both parties want to end the employment contract on an amicable basis and the possibility of going to an employment tribunal exists, your employer may instead offer to ‘compromise’ and pay you a sum of money upfront instead of going through the tribunal process.
Finally, settlement agreements must be ‘bespoke’ – they must apply to your situation and yours alone. Your employer cannot use a ‘one-size-fits-all’ agreement for every dispute. Again, this is why it is important to have a solicitor overlook the agreement before you sign it.
We advise employees on their settlement agreement and whether they are receiving a fair deal in return for leaving employment.
We also advise employers on how to approach employees to whom they wish to offer a settlement agreement.
If you require help with a settlement agreement, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If your employer has breached your contract, you may be entitled to compensation. Regardless of whether or not your contract is in writing or was agreed verbally, it will be governed by the terms agreed between you and your employer, or those which are included in the contract or by law.
If your employer has breached a term of your contract, you may be entitled to compensation. While most employment law contract disputes are settled informally, sometimes the need arises to have an employment tribunal adjudicate on your dispute.
As stated above, you have a contract with your employer whether one exists in writing or not. If your employer does not keep to the terms of the contract or attempts to alter it without your consent, the contract is said to be breached.
Examples of breach of contract include:
If a contract is not in writing, then the terms will be governed by what was verbally agreed between you and your employer and what is contained in any literature (such as an employee handbook or offer of employment) which relates to the job in question.
Some terms are said to be ‘implied by law’. This means that they are automatically included by law. These include things like working time regulations, your right to a safe and secure working environment, a right to be paid the national minimum wage and a certain minimum amount of holiday.
In addition, certain things may become ‘implied’ into the contract of employment if they have arisen as a result of long-standing practice on the part of the parties.
As such, even if there is nothing in writing, you may be able to make a claim for breach of your employment contract.
If you need representation at an employment tribunal in respect of a breach of your employment contract, we can help. Read more about our employment tribunal representation services.
If you think you are involved in an employment contract dispute, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We are often approached by clients who have not been paid the correct wages – either because their employer has not paid them at all, or because they have not received the right amount. We can advise clients on how they can go about recovering this pay.
Before an employer can lawfully deduct any amount from your wages, one of these conditions must be met. The deductions must be:
There are other occasions on which an employer can make a deduction from your wages. For example if you are accidentally overpaid.
If you think your employer has made an unlawful deduction from your wages, you can make a claim for unlawful deduction of wages in an employment tribunal.
At Alexander McBurney Solicitors, we are experts on advising our clients on how best to approach breach of contract claims and unlawful deduction from wages claims.
If you have been paid less than you feel you were entitled to, or you have had your wages ‘docked’ for whatever reason, contact us today.
If you think your wages have been unfairly deducted from, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Whether it is employees making a claim or employers defending a claim, we are able to provide step-by-step legal advice and representation from start to finish.
What Happens at an Employment Tribunal?If you are being represented by a solicitor, your solicitor will prepare the case and present your side of the argument. You don’t have to be represented, although we would recommend instructing a specialist employment lawyer to ensure the best chance of success.
It’s fairly common for employers to offer a last minute settlement before a tribunal begins. If this is the case, it’s best to have a solicitor to hand to negotiate an appropriate settlement.
Not only do we represent employees who are raising an action against their employers, we advise and represent employers defending claims made by their employees.
We can represent either party in the employment tribunal in connection with:
In Glasgow, the employment tribunal is based in the Eagle Building, 215 Bothwell Street. We are based nearby on Dumbarton Road in Partick. We offer employment law advice and representation to clients throughout Scotland.
If you need to go to an employment tribunal, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Looking for no-win, no-fee or legal aid employment law advice in Glasgow? We offer both. Should you have specific questions about our fees, we are willing to discuss these, and can be flexible in our approach to fees if necessary.
Legal AidWe are one the few firms committed to providing employment law advice and employment tribunal representation under Legal Aid. If you have an employment law problem and think you might qualify for legal aid then call now.
Clients who wish to privately fund their representation typically pay £100 for an initial interview. After this diagnostic process is concluded there are a range of options available to clients:
Legal fees are based on an hourly rate. Currently this is £180
We can represent you on a No Win No Fee basis in some circumstances. Normally we will be looking for more than a 60% chance of success and an opportunity to achieve a reasonable settlement or award in your favour.
Our No Win No Fee agreements do include some payments which we always make you aware of. We typically charge clients £100 per day for each day of an employment tribunal hearing to cover our administrative costs.
We can provide a sample of a No Win No Fee Agreement on request
Clients often have home insurance that comes with some kind of legal protection cover for meeting solicitors’ fees in these circumstances. We have experience of dealing with all the major insurers. Check to see if your home insurance covers legal fees or contact us for more advice.
We are experienced in representing small businesses in defending their employment tribunal claim. We offer a package for representing small businesses and our fees are tiered so that the amount payable depends on how far the claim actually progresses.
For more information on our fee structure or to discuss your employment law issue in more detail, call us on 0141 576 4808 or email us: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Business, unions and individuals have been called upon to help identify and close potential loopholes in plans to ban the...
A recent report has found that low paid women, who make up around 25% of all female employees in the...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has recently published new guidance to advise companies, search firms and recruitment agencies about...
Alexander McBurney Solicitors
