The email lands somewhere between Clapham Junction and Waterloo: a meeting has appeared in the diary, HR will attend, and the subject line says "restructure". For the thousands of Wandsworth residents who commute to the City, Westminster or Canary Wharf, that is how an employment problem usually starts, and the first decision is whether to take advice before the meeting or after it. Before is better.
The borough's own employers bring different cases. St George's Hospital in Tooting is among the largest workplaces in south London, so NHS disciplinary procedures, whistleblowing and long-term sickness absence form a steady part of the local caseload. The shops, restaurants and offices that have opened at Battersea Power Station and across Nine Elms employ a young, often part-time workforce whose contracts do not always say what they should about hours, tips and holiday pay. New Covent Garden Market trades through the night, which raises its own questions about shifts and rest breaks, and the council, the university at Roehampton, the borough's schools and nurseries and the prison complete the picture.
The deadlines are unforgiving. Acas early conciliation has to start within three months less one day, counted from the dismissal or whatever act is complained of, and the claim then goes to the London South tribunal in Croydon, or occasionally London Central, depending on where the work was done. Settlement agreements need independent legal advice before they bind, and the employer normally contributes to the cost.
A first conversation is often free or inexpensive, settlement agreements and contract reviews are usually fixed-fee, and a contested claim is charged by stage; check any home insurance for legal expenses cover first.
Employment solicitors within reach of Wandsworth appear below, verified firms first. For the wider picture see employment law solicitors and what employment law is; employers can start with business law solicitors in Wandsworth, and since the tribunal sits in Croydon, employment law solicitors in Croydon lists firms close to the hearing centre.
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