What makes our employment lawyers different?


Employment law is elementary, it’s our chemistry with clients that defines us.

We listen to clients. We know that attracting, engaging and retaining a future-ready workforce is one of the biggest hurdles for employers to overcome in this century.

That's why we launched a collaborative investigation into the workforce of tomorrow.

How can progressive companies ensure they are truly diverse and able to attract and retain talent?

We asked clients across the UK, find out what they told us in our three-part report. The 'Future Chemistry' series explores how to develop a future-ready workplace, menopause in the workplace and how to remain an employer of choice.

Burness Paull's employment lawyers specialise in:

  • contracts and policy documentation (including international assignments and secondments)
  • trade union disputes and recognition
  • redundancy, restructure and changing terms and conditions of employment
  • disciplinary and grievance issues
  • absence, performance management and capability dismissals
  • employment status
  • working time, rest periods and holiday entitlement and pay
  • the application of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (known as TUPE)
  • business protection issues including confidentiality provisions, non-disclosure agreements and restrictive covenants
  • data protection and data subject access requests
  • pay and benefits, including gender and diversity pay gaps
  • flexible and hybrid working.

You can view us as an extension of your in-house team, speak to us on a daily basis and touch base on tricky or high stakes issues. The regularity of our interactions with clients means we know their culture, their objectives and their challenges and we bake all of this into our advice.

With diversity and inclusion at the top of organisations’ agendas, our dedicated Equality and Diversity team can keep you on the right side of this ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape and minimise the risks of any discrimination claims.

Success in the context of an employment dispute will mean different things to different employers, and may often change on a case by case basis.

You can trust us to present your cases effectively and persuasively at Tribunals across the UK.

We deal with the full spectrum of Employment Tribunal claims, including:

  • unfair dismissal (including constructive unfair dismissal)
  • breach of contract
  • whistleblowing
  • discrimination (including harassment)
  • holiday pay
  • breach of collective consultation obligations in redundancy or TUPE transfer scenarios
  • unlawful deduction from wages
  • equal pay

Given our team’s litigation expertise, we are often instructed at appellate level, with a number of our lawyers appearing on behalf of clients at the Employment Appeal Tribunal and beyond.

Not all cases should be played out in court, and so where appropriate we will guide you through negotiated resolutions of disputes, often making use of mediation (including judicial mediation) as a tool for unlocking particularly challenging complaints, success is in our DNA.

Our Employment lawyers also provide a complete service to senior employees and executives, including advice in relation to:

  • severance arrangements
  • employment contracts and service agreements
  • non-executive appointments
  • post-termination restrictions / restrictive convenants
  • contractual disputes
  • regulatory matters (including in the financial services sector)
  • remuneration packages (equity and benefits)

Avoiding workplace disputes will save your business time and money.

To help you do that we provide mediation and employment law training tailored to your needs - practical employment law training workshops bring legal issues to life in meaningful scenarios where delegates are encouraged to debate options, assess risks and make informed decisions.

This means you gain vital new employment law knowledge and techniques that can be easily applied to your day-to-day work.

Diversity and inclusion

  • Equality and diversity
  • Sexual harassment
  • Neuro-inclusion in the workplace
  • Mental health in the workplace
  • Menopause awareness
  • Managing conflicting beliefs
  • Trans legal awareness training for employers

Employee relations

  • Effective management of disciplinary and grievance hearings
  • Absence management
  • Handing poor performance
  • Trade Union Recognition, Rights and Responsibilities
  • Managing a redundancy exercise
  • Employment tribunal practice and procedure
  • Transfer of Undertaking (TUPE)
  • Workplace immigration and Right to Work checks
  • Settlements agreements
  • Investigations masterclass
  • Handling data subject access requests

Digital Awareness

  • Cyber security for HR
  • Data protection
  • AI in the workplace
"The guidance and knowledge is always first rate. Burness Paull is very much a trusted partner."
- Chambers, 2024

For pricing information, click here.