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ContinueEmployment Law Advice
At Howarths, we deliver effective, efficient, commercially focused employment law advice to hundreds of SMEs across Yorkshire and the UK. But, we do it with a personal touch; we know every single one of our clients and we’re committed to helping their business grow.
From supporting schools with employment tribunals, to helping charities through mergers and employee transfers, we have the breadth of experience and knowledge required to help your business.
All the Howarths employment law team are qualified solicitors and balance down-to-earth, commercial advice, with expert and up-to-the-minute legal knowledge to get your business where it needs to go.
We’re proud of the one-to-one relationships we have with our clients. Work with us and you’ll speak directly to your dedicated employment law expert who’ll become your go-to contact over the phone, via email or on video call.
Just some of the key areas of employment law guidance we can help SMEs with are below.
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Disciplinary and investigation support
As your business grows, so does the number of staff you employ. You want to focus on your day job, but you’re spending more and more time dealing with people issues like lateness, sickness and disciplinaries. Sound familiar?
Our team can provide over-the-phone advice to help you manage sickness absence, disciplinary and investigation situations, or we can do it all for you, attending your place of work to carry out difficult conversations, conduct employee investigations and sit in on disciplinaries.
Handling these situations effectively and in accordance with the relevant employment law is crucial. If you don’t have the confidence, skillset or time to do it yourself, let us take away the strain.

Restructure and redundancy support
We can help guide your business through the sensitivities and complexities of a legally compliant redundancy process or restructure.
For time-strapped SMEs, redundancies and restructures can take up valuable resource that needs to be focussed elsewhere. Work with Howarths and we’ll walk you through exactly how to prepare, including the considerations and risks for your business, what information you need to share with staff, what meetings need to take place and what letters need to be sent.
We act as your in-house HR team going through the journey step by step to achieve a successful outcome looking at business case, pooling, scoring, consultation, redundancy calculations.
You can lean on us for emotional support, too. Making redundancies can often be extremely hard on the manager tasked with doing it, so we make sure they feel confident and prepared whilst upskilling them throughout.
Our team of specialists are ready to help your business today
Arrange a free consultation nowSupport with all areas of Employment Law
Employment law support for SMEs should blend the most current legal advice with a strong commercial awareness.
This creates the formula for successful business growth, where effective management of your employment law obligations serves to help, not hinder, business growth.
Areas of employment law we can support you with include:
– Staff performance management
– Staff behaviour issues
– Maternity and Paternity
– Sickness, lateness and absence management
– Employment contracts
– Flexible and remote working requests
– TUPE, restrictive covenants, restructures
– Discrimination and equal opportunities

Creation of Employment Law documents
Many businesses look to us to supply them with the relevant documents relating to the many areas of employment law. They do this because they’re guaranteed those documents are legally compliant and contain the information required to cover what’s needed.
Are you a fast-growing business? We can help you put in place the employment law documents you need as your team gets bigger. Are you a long-established company? We can review your documents and ensure you’re always working from up-to-date, legally compliant templates.
Just some of the letters, forms and documents we can provide include:
Staff induction documentation –
Manager’s guides on disciplinaries/investigations/redundancies –
Flexible working request documents –
Change of terms and conditions letter –
Redundancy scoring matrix –
TUPE documentation –
Confirmation of passing probationary period letter –
First written warning for underperformance letters –
Performance improvement plans / templates –
Subject Access Request response letter
A word from our clients...

“With over 40 retail stores across the UK and employing over 200 staff, it is extremely important that we are supported by a professional and competent team. Moda In Pelle have been working with Howarths for over 9 years now and their pragmatic, commercially focused legal support has been crucial in adding value to our business operations.”
Moda In Pelle

“The team at Howarths are always available to talk to and offer clear advice and have supported us through some tough periods of change. I would recommend Howarths for all of your employment law, HR and H&S needs.”
Goodlife Foods

“At Howarths we get exactly what we need - a personal service, tailored to our needs. All the team at Howarths are great and we know that when we do have a query that we will get the most appropriate advice, in a timely manner that is easy to understand. We would not hesitate in recommending Howarths.”
Sheards Accountants

``The knowledge base, commitment and attention to detail are second to none; it's refreshing to partner such a forward thinking, competent HR provider who delivers real value to our organisation.”
Vickers Laboratories

``Howarths' knowledge and skill can always be relied upon. Just as importantly, their friendly and personal touch instills confidence at all times.”
Kirklees Stadium Development Limited

``We have found the support and advice from Howarths invaluable. I would highly recommend the Howarths team to any company. You never know when you may need them.”
The Pink Link

“Howarths provide an invaluable service and provide a level of reassurance that professional advice is always on hand at a time when the business needs it.”
Oustmart Agency

“The team at Howarths offer you professional advice, support and comfort in your HR needs when you need it and you know that the advice will be accurate and above all within the current guidelines due to their excellent background in Employment Law. They are also a great source of training in all aspects of HR and it's all delivered in an easy to understand manner for myself and my team”.
Keystone Europe

“A competent, honest and highly professional company. The staff are passionate about their jobs, welcoming and supportive. The advice they give both verbally and in writing is always promptly delivered and instils me with confidence, even in the most difficult of situations”.
Wakefield Independent School

“We have used Howarths for several years now and to know that we have such a reliable, professional and knowledgeable organisation at the end of the telephone who can advise and guide us in all aspects of HR is worth its weight in gold”.
Robert Watts Estate Agents

“We know that should an issue arise, we can rely on them for step-by-step advice on how to deal with it. In our dealings with Howarths we have found that issues are dealt with promptly and with utmost professionalism”.
R&L Enterprises Ltd

“Howarths has become an invaluable asset to the essential smooth running of our business and in safeguarding our employee relationships; the friendly, professional service has become a cost-effective “can’t do without” business tool”.
Universal AV

“Howarths have been supporting Children’s Place’s employment practice for the past 7 years. We have always been impressed by how positive and professional all members of the team are. The support we receive is invaluable, as it is always effective and dealt with in an efficient timely manner. With a staff team of around 200, Howarths really do support our employment practice in all aspects of delivery”.
Children’s Place Ltd

“Aztek International has been a happy client of the Howarth Partnership for over ten years. On the rare occasion where you need their service, they react immediately, and it is good to have someone who is on your side. They will always guide you down the right track and make sure you do not make any impulsive mistakes. It is great to have someone you can have an open conversation with, and get great advice back”.
Aztek International

“Having been successfully supported by the team at Howarths for nearly five years now, we can confidently say that the highly tailored advice, guidance, documentation and most importantly, practical solutions offered to us by all its team members has always been of the highest standard and extremely responsive. A relationship with Howarths is therefore a must-have for all businesses in this day and age!”
DIP

“Howarths have been supporting us and our clients for many years. We have always received expert practical advice. No problem or quick question is too small or too much trouble”.
GL Barker Accountants

Although our current providers drastically reduced their rates I knew that from the moment Tracey arrived, and had then gone through what they could offer, Howarths seemed the right kind of people for us”
Triton Security

``As we have grown over the past couple of years, our relationship with Howarths has become a key part of the business. They are both pro-active and re-active to events happening in the world and our business, and have become a key member of the group”.
Approved Food

“We had been using the services of Howarths for several years on an ad-hoc basis until Gavin advised we would be better off using their yearly contract package. We now sign up every year safe in the knowledge that Gavin and his team will be there when we need them for all of our employment related questions. Excellent service and advice always given.”
Feather Diesel

“I would not hesitate in using / recommending Howarths – a dedicated, reliable and honest company across the board”.
John Alderson & Son
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