Few places show the reach of employment law like Birmingham, where equal pay claims brought by thousands of the city council's own staff have run for well over a decade and reshaped the council's finances. The same tribunal that hears those claims, the Birmingham employment tribunal in the city centre, also deals with the everyday cases: a sacking at a Digbeth bar, a redundancy at a Tyseley engineering works, harassment at a Colmore Row firm, a warehouse worker on the M6 corridor denied holiday pay.
The first thing a Birmingham employment solicitor will check is the date. Acas early conciliation must be started within three months less one day of the dismissal or the act complained of, and a claim lodged after the limit is almost always out of time. The second is funding. A settlement agreement, which employers across the city offer when they want a quiet exit, only takes effect once an independent adviser has signed it off, and the employer normally pays a contribution towards that advice. For discrimination, whistleblowing and unfair dismissal claims, some firms act on a no-win, no-fee basis, and a legal expenses policy attached to home insurance may cover the cost.
The employers of Birmingham need the same solicitors for the opposite reason. University Hospitals Birmingham, the universities, HSBC UK, the HS2 contractors around Curzon Street and hundreds of family-run manufacturers, restaurants and taxi firms all need contracts, handbooks, disciplinary procedures that survive scrutiny, TUPE advice when contracts change hands and representation when a claim arrives. Many firms offer small businesses an annual fixed-fee retainer for this.
Firms listed below handle employment matters for employees and employers in Birmingham and the surrounding West Midlands; those we have verified appear first, with the rest in order of distance from the city centre. Read what employment law covers, our guide to employment law solicitors and employment contract costs, or compare with employment solicitors in Wolverhampton.
