Jump to section
Employment status and IR35
Our employment lawyers are experienced in supporting businesses in relation to employment status issues and implementation of the off-payroll working rules (IR35).
If you use ‘non-employees’ then it is essential that your business is compliant. Following the well-publicised gig economy cases brought by workers of the likes of Uber and Pimlico Plumbers, potential claimants are very aware of the arguments they can make to challenge their contractor status and seek compensation.
The risks of getting their status wrong includes employment tribunal compensation and HMRC imposed penalties, as well as damage to reputation.
We assist businesses with carrying out contractor audits and status determination assessments, to assess the risk of a claim by a contractor and to demonstrate compliance to HMRC.
Where disputes arise, we provide commercial and pragmatic advice on prospects of success and tactics for responding to claims.
Due to my circumstances I found the process extremely stressful as it was an action taken against people who had been my friends for a long time. Nick acted as a shield and protected me from the day to day nastiness of it all. The overarching feeling I had during the whole process was that I knew that I could rely on Nick to do the right thing to get me the best possible outcome, which he did and in the end the outcome exceeded my original expectations, for which I am eternally grateful.
Our approach
Handling employment law issues can be a big distraction when you are trying to run a business. Get it wrong and it can tie up lots of management time as well as being very costly. But, when you get it right, it complements the business and keeps you running smoothly.
So that’s our job as employment lawyers – to keep your business running smoothly and if an occasional hiccup occurs – because life is like that – we’ll help you get through it with minimal disruption.
Our team of specialist employment lawyers, based in Kent, cover London and the South East and act for businesses of all shapes and sizes and in many different sectors. Our advice for businesses covers all aspects of the employment relationship, helping to settle disputes, defending employment tribunal claims and providing employment contracts and handbooks.
The fact is that employment law has become much more complicated in recent years. So you can rest assured that we have a team with terrific expertise and experience across the full spectrum of work. What makes us stand out is the depth of the relationship which we will forge with you based on our unwavering commitment to understand the way you and your business operates. That way we design and tailor our service around your needs – not an off-the-shelf formula. You will experience our unrivalled speed of response, which is consistently praised by those we work with.
So whether it’s dealing with employment tribunal claims or providing a telephone helpline service we’ve got all angles covered to provide commercially driven, strategic and practical advice, given with the energy and proactivity you expect from a trusted professional adviser.
To give a flavour of our work here are some recent examples:
- Advising a multi-academy trust on a claim from a former headteacher concerning whistleblowing, unfair dismissal, breach of contract and unpaid wages
- Advising a multi-national food distribution company in respect of a group of current and former employees who tried to move over £20 million worth of our client’s business to a competitor, we successfully took proceedings against them
- Advising a national insurance broker that had to close one of its sites, we took them through the process of consulting with its workforce
- Advising a care home sector charity on strategies for cost reduction which involved imposing changes to terms and pay, the legality of which was subsequently upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Accreditations & awards
As a successful SME, we were looking for a highly efficient and professional service when dealing with all HR and legal matters. We have been very impressed with Thomson Snell & Passmore's employment advice service. They have provided excellent, comprehensive compliance advice which has fitted well with our requirements. It has given us confidence and comfort. We highly recommend them and their employment advice service to any SME company.