Law specialisms : Employment

Jayne Flint is a solicitor in the employment department at Shoosmiths, based in the Milton Keynes office. She qualified in January 2010 and specialises in respondent work.

What does the work involve?

Non-contentious work includes drafting contracts of employment and policies and procedures. Currently, clients are particularly interested in ensuring they have clear and comprehensive policies in place in relation to employees' use of social media. You may also find yourself advising employers about the responsibilities and liabilities which arise from the transfer of employees in corporate transactions. In some small firms you may find that there is a combined employment and pensions team while in larger firms the norm is to have separate teams for each of these disciplines.

Contentious employment work includes assisting clients in bringing or defending a wide spectrum of claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. As well as representing clients through the formal steps in employment tribunal proceedings, you will also spend a lot of time negotiating the settlement of disputes. You may also be involved in advising about the enforceability of post-termination restrictions.

In addition to running their case load, employment lawyers deal with adhoc questions from clients which span the broad width of employment law issues. Due to the vast and ever-changing subject matter of employment law, you are also likely to take part in delivering training sessions, seminars and briefings.

What do trainees do?

At Shoosmiths, trainees who are interested in employment law can expect to undertake a six-month seat gaining experience in this area. Trainees at Shoosmiths undertake a variety of tasks, including legal research, drafting contracts and settlement agreements, assisting in employment tribunal proceedings and negotiations, and attending hearings.

Who is suited to this area of law?

This area of law is suited to those who are keen to engage in a high level of client contact, as employment lawyers tend to spend a large portion of their time in client meetings and giving telephone advice. Some firms, such as Shoosmiths, conduct their own advocacy, which is something to consider when choosing the type of firm that best suits you.

Employment law is constantly changing and evolving and it is important that anybody who wishes to practice in this area is able and willing to keep up to date with changes.

Clients appreciate wide availability and timely responses as some employment law issues (particularly those relating to employee misconduct) arise without warning and require measures to be taken quickly by the client. It is also particularly important in this area of law to have a sound understanding of the nature and needs of your clients’ business, including their approach to commercial risk.

Employment law is practised widely by large commercial firms, high street practices and specialist boutique firms. In larger, commercial firms you are likely to represent respondents for the most part and so are likely to deal frequently with senior human resources personnel, managers and in-house lawyers. Small firms tend to have a larger number of individual clients.

What does the future hold?

The economic challenges of recent years have meant that advising in relation to redundancies has been a central part of employment lawyers' workloads. Despite the gloom, we are pleased that many clients are reporting successes and expansion plans.

Recent changes in the employment field, such as the lengthening of the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims, have been designed with a view to giving employers greater flexibility in order to promote business growth.

Going forward, we hope to see a growth on an increasing scale and to be advising in relation to recruitment and expansion rather than redundancies.