Individual
Employment Law Services
Clare Waller heads up the Dean Wilson Employment Team. She has over 20 years’ experience advising on all aspects of employment law. Under her leadership the team takes pride in offering pragmatic and commercially realistic advice to employers of all sizes. Throughout the employment life cycle from recruitment to termination, we work in partnership with our clients to understand their objectives and advise on how best to achieve them.
We also advise senior executives and other employees either on terms of employment offered to them on recruitment, issues which may arise during the employment relationship and on termination, including providing advice on the terms and effects of Settlement Agreements.
Employment Law Services
Our employment solicitors in Brighton can help employees with:
It is now a legal requirement to provide a written statement of terms and conditions of employment to an employee or worker on the day that their employment or engagement starts.
In addition to those terms which must be confirmed by law, most employers will also be well advised to consider including terms within their contracts of employment to protect their confidential information and trade secrets. In some situations clauses which seek to prevent employees soliciting their clients and/or colleagues on behalf of a competing business following termination (known as ‘post termination restrictive covenants’) may also be appropriate.
The Employment team work with employers to put appropriately drafted contracts in place designed to protect the business’s legitimate business interests. We prioritise clear drafting, so that all parties know and understand the obligations which they are agreeing to, thereby reducing the risk of conflict arising.
We also act for senior executives advising on and negotiating new contracts of employment.
Once the framework of an employment relationship has been put in place in a contract of employment, how that framework is enforced should be fleshed out by robust policies and procedures, which are relevant to the specific workplace and management structure which the employer has in place. We assist employers of all sizes to introduce appropriate policies and procedures.
We then provide comprehensive support to employers when it becomes necessary to follow a particular procedure, such as in disciplinary, grievance and long term sickness absence situations. This can include drafting letters, providing guidance on how to conduct formal meetings and generally ensure that a compliant process is followed or, where appropriate, providing risk assessments where compliance has not been ensured.
We provide pragmatic and practical advice to employers faced with the prospect of terminating employment relationships. This can be as a result of redundancy, unacceptable performance, ill health or any number of other scenarios. We guide our clients through the various requirements of a fair process in order to put them in the best position to robustly defend any allegations of unfairness which may arise, whilst considering any post termination restrictions which may be necessary.
We also advise employees on their rights if their employment has terminated, including any rights of action in the Employment Tribunal or civil court.
A settlement agreement is a means by which an employee can validly waive their rights to pursue claims in an Employment Tribunal or civil court in relation to anything which has happened during their employment or which has resulted in its termination. In order to be legally binding an employee must have received independent legal advice on the terms and effects of the settlement agreement before entering into it.
We have significant experience in acting for employers to draft and negotiate the terms of a settlement agreement and in providing the necessary advice to employees who are asked to enter into such an agreement.
For more details please see our Settlement Agreements Factsheet.
Your Employment Law Experts
Get to know those who are here to help you
Clare Waller
Partner, Employment Law
Experience
Clare works with employers of all sizes and across all industries as well as senior executives and other individuals, advising on both contentious and non contentious aspects of employment law. This ranges from the provision of ongoing advice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, performance management processes and statutory rights to drafting contracts of employment, service agreements and staff handbooks to representing clients before the Employment Tribunal or civil courts in cases of unfair dismissal, breach of contract, claims to enforce post termination restrictive covenants and breaches of confidentiality. Clare has experience of representing clients in complex discrimination claims at first instance and in the appeal courts.
Clare designs and delivers client training on any aspect of employment law as well as undertaking regular public speaking engagements.
Recent Notable Cases
Clare recently acted for an employer and two individual Respondents in a multi million pound discrimination claim. She also successfully defended a client against a claim of race discrimination arising of out allegedly discriminatory Photoshopped images being circulated within the workplace.
She is currently advising on the design and implementation of redundancy consultation processes, including where collective consultation obligations have been engaged.
Clare also works closely with the Dean Wilson Company and Commercial team providing employment law support to its successful mergers and acquisitions function.
Background
Clare read Law at the University of Reading and achieved distinction in the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, Guildford. She trained at HRJ Law in Hitchin and qualified in 1999. She obtained a Masters degree in Employment Law from the University of East Anglia in 2006. She became a Partner at HRJ in 2002, joined Hewitsons in Cambridge and Northampton in 2010 and then joined Dean Wilson to head up its employment law team in October 2019.
Areas of Specialism
Unfair dismissal, discrimination, breach of contract, post termination restrictions, contracts of employment, company handbooks, disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Hermione Porter
Solicitor, Employment Team
Areas of Specialism
After undertaking a varied training contract with the firm, Hermione qualified into the Employment department in September 2023. Before qualification Hermione spent her final seat in the Employment team where she gained experience advising both employers and employees on a variety of matters.
Hermione provides continuing support to employers on a range of areas of employment law. She has previously worked with clients advising on matters such as maternity leave arrangements, Working Time Regulations and redundancy procedures. Hermione is also involved with litigious matters recently assisting an employer defending a race discrimination claim brought in the Employment Tribunal.
Hermione has experience with undertaking a range of drafting tasks. She can assist with preparing, reviewing and updating contracts of employment, staff handbooks, consultancy agreements and disciplinary procedures.
Hermione also provides advice to individuals and has previously advised employees on matters such as unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. Hermione also has experience with advising on settlement agreements.
Background
Hermione started with Dean Wilson as a paralegal in 2021. She read Law at the University of Sussex and completed her LPC at the University of Law, Guildford. During her time studying she also participated in schemes providing pro-bono legal advice.
As well as employment matters, Hermione also has a keen interest in GDPR related queries and provides advice on employers obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
Read our Latest News
On Employment Law Services
Amendments to the Right to Request Flexible Working Arrangements on the way
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or Furlough – A Summary
What is Constructive Dismissal?
Employments Services in Focus
A constructive dismissal occurs where an employer doesn’t actually dismiss the employee but instead the employee resigns and claims that they did so in response to their employer’s conduct towards them which was so unreasonable as to amount to a fundamental breach of their contract of employment which entitled them to resign. In order to succeed in their argument that their resignation should be viewed as a dismissal by the employer, the employee must show that the employer had behaved in such a way as to demonstrate that it did not intend to be bound by the contract of employment.
Factsheets
Browse and download
Statutory Payments
Social Media in the Workplace
Settlement Agreements
Monitoring Employees in the Workplace
Employed or Self-Employed What's The Difference?
Statutory Payments
Flexible Working and Employee Rights
Changing Terms and Conditions of Employment
