Every June several thousand people sign a short contract to steward, serve, drive or clean at the Championships, and in July it ends. Seasonal work on that scale gives employment solicitors in Merton a particular education: fixed-term contracts, agency arrangements, tips and service charges, uniform and travel deductions, and the occasional dismissal for something said on social media during the fortnight. Most of it never reaches a tribunal, but questions about what a casual worker is owed come round every summer.
The rest of the year belongs to ordinary employers. Merton Council at the Civic Centre in Morden, the schools and GP practices, the shops and restaurants of Wimbledon town centre and the Broadway, and the industrial estates along the Wandle at Mitcham employ a large local workforce, and most other residents commute into central London. So the cases are a mixture: public-sector grievances and whistleblowing, retail redundancies, discrimination and maternity claims, and the settlement agreements that City and professional employers hand to Wimbledon commuters when a role disappears.
Claims from Merton are heard by the London South employment tribunal in Croydon, a short tram or train ride from the borough. The clock is the first thing a solicitor checks: Acas early conciliation must be started within three months less one day of the dismissal or the act complained of, and negotiations do not stop the clock. Settlement agreements only bind once an independent adviser has signed them off, and the employer generally pays towards that advice.
Many Merton firms offer a free first discussion, fixed fees for settlement agreements and staged charges for a contested claim; employers can usually agree a retainer for ongoing HR support.
The employment firms serving Merton are listed below, verified firms first. The employment law solicitors page explains the service in general and what employment law covers the law itself; employers may also want business law solicitors in Merton, and firms close to the tribunal appear under employment law solicitors in Croydon.
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