A freelance producer who has worked for the same company at White City for six years, on rolling contracts, with a desk, a manager and no holiday pay, is a typical client of an employment solicitor in Hammersmith and Fulham. Television has always run on freelancers, and whether someone is self-employed, a worker or an employee decides whether they can claim unfair dismissal, holiday pay or anything at all; the off-payroll tax rules have made producers and the companies that hire them more careful, but the arguments continue. The BBC's remaining operations, the independent producers that grew up around Television Centre and the businesses now at White City Place give the borough a workforce whose disputes are about status and fixed-term contracts as much as dismissal.
Hammersmith and Fulham's other employers are more typical of west London. Charing Cross, Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's hospitals generate NHS grievances and dismissals with long procedures behind them; the head offices beside the Hammersmith flyover bring redundancy programmes, restructuring and settlement agreements; Westfield's shops and restaurants bring zero-hours and holiday pay disputes; and the three football clubs employ match-day staff and academy coaches on contracts that end with the season.
Claims from the borough go to the London Central employment tribunal in Holborn once Acas early conciliation has been started, and that must happen inside three months less a day from the dismissal or the act in question. A settlement agreement cannot bind without independent advice, which the employer normally funds; employers also use these firms for contracts, handbooks, TUPE and defending claims.
Fixed fees cover settlement agreements and contract reviews; contested claims are hourly or staged, often with a free first conversation.
Employment firms serving Hammersmith and Fulham are listed below, verified first. The general guide to employment law solicitors and the explainer on what employment law covers are the place to start; London employment law solicitors lists firms across the capital, and employers may want business law solicitors in Hammersmith and Fulham.
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