Need help finding a great employment solicitor?

How much can you expect to pay?

Although prices can vary greatly, we’ve seen hundreds of enquiries for employment contracts come through Lexoo. The fixed-fee quotes we’ve typically seen range between £500 to £1,000 for more straightforward employment arrangements.

For more complex arrangements with equity incentives and other contingencies that require more detailed advice, quotes have typically ranged from £1,250 to £3,000.

Or, if you already have employment contracts in place, you can get a fixed fee Employment Contract Health Check for only £345 - you can check out the offer details here.

Submitting an enquiry through Lexoo is easy. Just give us the main details, for example:

We are an Italian startup and we are opening an office in London soon. We will be hiring two junior managers and will be expanding the team in the future. For now we need someone to draw up two employment contracts according to English law.

We would like a standard employment contract that will provide for protecting the company's IP as well as have a non-compete and any other provisions we may need.

Due to their junior positions, it will probably be a simple template that just needs a bit of work to customise it. We are looking to replicate the basis of this contract for future full time employees, as well as contractors that we may employ on a temporary basis.

(This is a fictional, but the typical type of enquiry we’ve been able to help with)

Cover your bases

A contract of employment is the agreement between your company and your employee, detailing each of your rights and responsibilities and how you manage the day-to-day relationship.

The agreement typically starts on day one of the job (make sure your contract makes this clear) and both parties remain bound until it terminates for any reason. For example, if the relationship ends or a new contract is agreed. You will almost certainly want to include certain clauses which will apply even after their employment has ended - more on this below.

Whether you need your existing employment contracts reviewed or new contracts drafted from scratch, you’ll want specialist employment solicitors on board. Not only is the legislation complex, but it’s one of the most frequently changing areas of law.

To cover your bases, here are some of the things your employment contracts should include:

• Employee duties and responsibilities – clearly establish that it is a relationship of employment (rather than say a contractor or freelancer relationship) and outline the tasks the employee will be personally expected to carry out for your company.
• Hours of work – generally, this section will specify the times of your normal working day, for example, 9am to 5pm. Save for specific types of jobs (e.g. in emergency services), your employees cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average. But depending on your needs, you might consider using a clause where the employee ‘opts out’ of this maximum (though any opt out must be voluntary).
• Outside business interests – most employment contracts will state that the employee is not permitted to hold any other employment (at all or without your company’s permission).
• Holiday – employees in the UK who work full time are entitled to the statutory minimum of 28 days (or 5.6 weeks) of holiday per year. The minimum for part-time workers is based on this same level of entitlement, but on a pro rata basis depending on their working patterns. Bank and public holidays can be included in this minimum amount (but do not have to be).
• Sick leave – contracts of employment should specify the requirements for notifying you of an employee’s sickness absence. It should also say what will happen to an employee’s salary and benefits during this period (normally 10 working days in any period of 12 months). The contract may include the right to request that the employee seek medical examination if absent from work for a certain period.
• Confidentiality - this attempts to ensure that any trade secrets or confidential information relating to your company (and potentially certain related parties) obtained during the course of employment is not disclosed to third parties. These restrictions normally continue to protect your company even after the termination of employment.
• Intellectual Property – this ensures that any intellectual property created by the employee during the course of their employment will belong to your company (and where it doesn’t, that the employee will transfer it to your company when requested).
• Duration of employment – generally, a contract will be ongoing and only ends when either party gives notice. Fixed-term contracts are different because they state the event that will end the employment (e.g. the completion of a certain project or a certain date).
• Notice - this is the amount of time to be given by each party when they wish to end the contract. As a general rule, the more senior position, the longer the notice period (such as 6 months). The contract may state that you are entitled to pay your employee ‘in lieu’ (instead) of notice where you pay the salary they would have earned if they had worked their notice period. In this scenario, there is scope for confusion so the contract should be clear when the employment terminates.
• Reasons and grounds for termination – you will definitely wish to state what sort of action(s) will allow you to terminate their employment, for example, theft or repeated absences.
• Restrictions after termination – as mentioned above, some duty of confidentiality will continue after their employment. You might also want to ensure that they do not work in a competing business or poach any clients or employees for a certain period of time.

For employment contracts lasting a month or more, keep in mind the law requires you to give employees a ‘written statement of employment particulars’. It can be a separate document, but most solicitors tend to include these particulars (some are mentioned above) in your employment contract.

Top tips when hiring an employment lawyer:

• Some employment lawyers specialise in representing employers, while others might prefer to work with employees. Most can do both sides without a problem, but it might be worth checking which way they lean, especially if you’re after a long term advisor.
• Employment lawyers can often give some HR support/advice as well which can be a real value-add for your business - check if they offer these services too and how much they would be.
• Ask for details about their background, which firms they have worked at, relevant experience and the types of clients they work with. Some employment solicitors have worked inside employment tribunals, giving them detailed knowledge of the inner workings of the system and how decisions are made.

Each team member plays an important role in the future growth of your business. Having a set of tailored, well-structured and up to date employment contracts in place will give you a solid foundation and protect your business when things don’t go to plan. To make sure you’re getting the best advice for the right price, Lexoo gives you multiple fixed fee proposals from panel of specialist employment solicitors within 48 hours, for free - give us a try!

Alternatively, if you're looking for answers to frequently asked questions on employment law, find out more here.

Looking for help with your Shareholders Agreement? Read more here.