A research fellow at Durham University whose third fixed-term contract is about to end has a question that an employment solicitor in Durham answers most weeks: after four years of successive fixed-term contracts, has the job become permanent in law, and does its ending count as a dismissal that must be fair? It usually does, and the same rules apply at the hospital, the schools and the council. The university is one of the county's biggest employers, and alongside it stand Durham County Council, the University Hospital of North Durham and the train factory at Newton Aycliffe.
Each produces its own disputes. The council and the NHS generate sickness-absence dismissals, disability discrimination and whistleblowing; the university adds academic redundancies, visa-dependent contracts and long grievance procedures; manufacturing at Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee and Consett brings collective redundancy consultations and health and safety dismissals; the care homes and call centres across the former coalfield bring unpaid wages, holiday pay and zero-hours disputes; and the hotels and restaurants that serve the cathedral's visitors bring tips and seasonal contracts.
Claims are heard by the Newcastle employment tribunal, or on Teesside for the south of the county, with preliminary hearings mostly by video. The limit for notifying Acas is three months less one day, counted from the dismissal or the act complained of, and it does not wait for an internal appeal. Settlement agreements, which the university and the council use freely, need an independent adviser's signature, paid for in part by the employer.
Expect a free or fixed-fee first assessment, fixed fees for settlement agreements and contract reviews, and hourly, staged or no win, no fee terms for tribunal claims; union members should ask their union first.
Below are the employment firms serving Durham, verified first and then by distance. Read what employment law covers, how much an employment contract costs and the general employment law solicitors guide; the tribunal's own city has its page at employment law solicitors in Newcastle.
