Kim Clarke, Senior Employment Law Adviser

What do you think has changed in recent years in terms of employee relations and the role of the employer?

I think the abolition of Employment Tribunal fees in 2017 was a big turning point. This means that an employee now faces no financial barrier in terms of bringing a claim, which, coupled with the rise of the ‘Google lawyer’, means that many claims are submitted that have little to no prospects at the outset. This is because the claimant has misunderstood what they’ve read online or misapplied the law to the facts (or the facts to the law).

I think that claimants have also become more entrenched in their positions as well, however unreasonable they may be. It’s the, ‘I’m out of a job, it can’t be my fault, someone else is to blame and I deserve compensation’ mindset.

On the employer side of things, the most common mistake I see is not taking contracts and handbooks seriously. If you have a thorough framework for the employee-employer relationship, put it in writing and make sure they’re aware of it and that they agree to it. This can make disciplinary action much more straightforward. It’s important not to make allowances or deviate from your stated policies either, because that just creates confusion and can lead to suggestions of inconsistency and maybe even discrimination.

Another common pitfall is not acting on Employment Tribunal paperwork straightaway. We only get a narrow window within which to submit a response, and extensions can be difficult to obtain. This means we have less time to consider our position and creates further stress that is unnecessary.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there’s no end to the types of things that can go wrong in the employment relationship. My advice to employers would be to keep good records – you never know when you’ll need evidence of something!

What have you done recently that has made you proud?

Ellis Whittam had a case that started back in 2013. I took it over in 2018, and despite the claimant being particularly difficult to deal with, I brought it to a final hearing. We successfully defended all claims and had £1,000 awarded in our favour because they had been unreasonable in their conduct of the proceedings.

I also recently negotiated a settlement where the claimant agreed to pay the respondent £2,000 (usually it’s the respondent who pays!).

As well as those ‘big win’ moments, we continually capture both good and bad feedback at Ellis Whittam via our Customer Thermometer, and one of the things that I and the rest of the team find most rewarding is seeing positive feedback come through. It’s always great to hear that our support has made a difference.

How would you describe Ellis Whittam’s support, and what makes it unique?

I think the standout feature is that we operate on a fixed-fee policy. This means your costs are controlled, so there are no catches and no nasty surprises!

We also ensure that we build a healthy rapport with our clients from the outset. This allows a relationship of mutual trust to be established, which always makes proceedings run more smoothly.

Finally, you can expect high-quality (The Legal 500 accredited) and commercial legal advice, provided by specialists you can trust to get it right.