An employer should speak to an employment law solicitor before taking a step that could affect an employee’s role, pay, employment status, reputation or legal rights.

Advice is especially important before dismissal, redundancy consultation, disciplinary action, grievance outcomes, settlement discussions, workplace investigations, contract changes, sickness absence decisions, discrimination responses or defending an employment tribunal claim.

You do not need a solicitor for every dismissal, but you should take advice where there is any risk around unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, sickness absence, performance, misconduct, grievance history or another protected right.

A fair reason alone is not enough. The process followed, evidence considered, and the way the decision is communicated can all affect whether a dismissal is defensible.

This is particularly important ahead of 1 January 2027, when the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection will reduce from two years to six months.

Magara Law can review the position before a decision is made and help you identify risks that may be difficult to undo afterwards.

Start with the facts rather than the outcome you think you want.

A grievance or disciplinary matter should normally involve a fair investigation, an opportunity for the employee to explain their position, careful consideration of the evidence, and a properly reasoned decision.

Employers should also be alert to issues such as discrimination, whistleblowing or victimisation that may sit behind the original complaint.

Rushing the process, relying on weak evidence or becoming defensive because a manager has been criticised can create additional risk.

Magara Law advises employers throughout grievance and disciplinary procedures, from the initial response and investigation through to hearings, outcomes, and appeals.

Redundancy should begin with a genuine business reason and a fair process.

That can involve identifying the roles affected, considering an appropriate selection pool, using reasonable selection criteria, consulting meaningfully with employees and considering suitable alternative employment before final decisions are made.

Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed within 90 days, collective consultation obligations may also apply. From April 2026, failures around collective consultation can expose employers to protective awards of up to 180 days’ pay per affected employee.

Magara Law can help you structure the redundancy process before consultation begins and reduce the risk of decisions being successfully challenged later.

A settlement agreement can be useful where an employer and employee want to resolve a dispute or bring the employment relationship to an end on agreed terms.

That might arise during redundancy, performance management, sickness absence, grievance proceedings, a senior exit or another workplace dispute.

However, a settlement agreement should not automatically replace good management or a fair workplace process. Before making an offer, employers should consider the legal position, potential claims, commercial cost and what happens if the employee rejects the proposal.

Magara Law drafts and negotiates settlement agreements for employers and can advise on both the agreement itself and the strategy surrounding the conversation.

Take advice quickly and check every deadline.

The early decisions made after receiving an Employment Tribunal claim can affect your defence, evidence, settlement position and eventual hearing.

Depending on the stage reached, you may need to respond to ACAS Early Conciliation, prepare an ET3 response, preserve relevant documents, identify witnesses and assess both the legal merits and potential financial exposure.

Do not assume that defending every allegation to a final hearing is automatically the best commercial outcome. Equally, a weak claim should not necessarily be settled simply because proceedings have started.

Magara Law advises employers from the earliest stage of a dispute through to Employment Tribunal representation.

Start by identifying whether the issue really is poor performance and what evidence supports that conclusion.

Employees should normally understand what is expected of them, where performance is falling short, what improvement is required and what reasonable opportunity they have to improve.

Employers should also consider whether health, disability, inadequate training, workload or another workplace issue is contributing to the problem.

A capability or performance process should not be designed simply to create paperwork that justifies a decision already made.

Magara Law can advise on performance improvement plans, capability procedures, reasonable adjustments, documentation and potential dismissal before the process becomes contentious.

Take the complaint seriously and avoid reaching conclusions before the facts have been investigated.

Consider what has been alleged, who should investigate it, what evidence needs to be preserved, and whether any immediate steps are needed to protect the people involved.

Employers should also be careful about what happens after the complaint. Treating somebody unfavourably because they raised or supported a discrimination concern can create additional legal risk.

These cases can affect workplace relationships, reputation and potential Employment Tribunal exposure, so early advice can be valuable.

Magara Law advises employers on discrimination complaints, workplace investigations, grievances, mediation and defending claims where proceedings follow.

First, establish exactly what the employee has raised and avoid treating it as an ordinary complaint without considering whether whistleblowing protection may apply.

The concern should be handled seriously, investigated appropriately and shared only with those who genuinely need to be involved.

Particular care is needed afterwards. Decisions about performance, promotion, duties, disciplinary action or dismissal can become legally significant if the employee argues they have been treated negatively because they spoke up.

Magara Law can advise employers on protected disclosures, investigations, subsequent management decisions and whistleblowing claims before an early mistake creates a much larger dispute.

There is no single review date that suits every organisation, but employment documents should not be left untouched for years.

Review them when employment law changes, your organisation grows, working practices change or you repeatedly encounter workplace issues that existing documents do not deal with properly.

A policy can also create problems if the wording says one thing while managers routinely do another.

Magara Law reviews and prepares employment contracts, staff handbooks and policies covering disciplinary procedures, grievances, sickness absence, flexible working, equality, harassment, social media, confidentiality and other workplace matters.

Good documentation gives managers a much stronger framework when difficult decisions have to be made.

For many employers, yes – particularly where there is no dedicated in-house employment lawyer.

Most employment law risk develops through everyday decisions: managing sickness absence, responding to grievances, changing contracts, dealing with performance, considering redundancy or having a difficult conversation with an employee.

Getting advice before those decisions are made can be far more valuable than bringing in a solicitor once the relationship has broken down or a Tribunal claim has already arrived.

Magara Law’s ongoing employment law support gives employers access to specialist advice throughout the year, helping managers and leaders deal with workplace issues properly while they are still manageable.