Whether you are an employee or an employer, it is important to realise the benefits that come with hiring an employment practice law firm.
The firm can guide you through a number of work-related issues that arise and will take care of the legislation that comes with them.
The first port of call once things turn sour, you shouldn’t hesitate to call them. Starting or running a business may all be about taking risks, but when it comes to employment law, you should have an experienced and knowledgeable employment lawyer on hand.
But how do you find a reliable employment practice law firm? Firstly, you should check out their website and read any case studies that are posted on there. By reading reviews about the firm and seeing if they have been nominated for any awards (Ogletree Deakins is an example of an employment practice law firm who was awarded the ‘Leading Firm in Corporate Counsels Employment Practice Firm category), you can get a better understanding of the way they perform and how they can help with your workplace issues.
You will then have an initial meeting with them, in which they will discuss with you what they can do for you. In this meeting, you can also talk to them about what fees they charge – giving you a better indication as to whether they are within your price range. If they are and you are happy with what they offer, you should ask to see their practising certificate, so that you can ensure that they are legitimate. Once you’ve sourced a reliable and trustworthy employment law firm, you can use their assistance when issues arise.
So what can an employment practice law firm offer you? Firstly, if you are an employee you might notice that your employer isn’t treating you how they should and are committing unlawful actions. If this is the case, hire an employment lawyer and they can help you by/with:
- Taking legal action if you have been harassed or discriminated within your workplace
- If you were fired unjustly, without any concrete reason
- Your employer makes you perform tasks and take on responsibilities that weren’t listed on the contract that you signed with them
- If your employee hasn’t given you/allowed you to have the benefits that were listed on the contract you signed
- If you have any disputes with your wage – i.e you aren’t being paid what is stated on your contract
- They will complete all of the correct documents and will read through your contract and investigate
However, as mentioned above, an employment practice law firm can also help the employer themselves. Workplace conflicts aren’t always primarily the employer’s fault, therefore business needs to be covered if any issues between them and an employee arise throughout their time at the company. They will also help to educate an employer on both the state and national employment laws and make sure that the employee is aware of them. They can help employers by:
- If one or more of your employees have filed a discrimination or harassment complaint against you or the business
- If you want to change the wage/pension plan or you want to terminate an employees contract
- If you are facing wage conflicts with the employee
An employment lawyer should be one of the first things to consider when setting up a business, working within the human resources department of a company or when you start a new job. This may seem surprising, but you want to know that you are covered if any issues do arise. It’s very rare that you should face one of these issues within the workplace, but if you do, at least you have an employment practice law firm in mind. Playing a large role in dealing with legal conflicts within the workplace, they will give you the support you need to fight against the issue at hand.
It is essential that you do not try and take on the work-related issues that arise yourself. Without an employment lawyer, you might not correctly ‘take care’ of things and might end up making an illegal mistake. If you aren’t fully aware of the national or state laws and how to deal with the situation, you will lose the case and cause disastrous consequences. The worst thing you can do if you are served with legal papers or a formal complaint is to sweep it under the carpet. It is a serious matter that should be dealt with by a professional employment lawyer.
