Employment law is modern, fast-moving and ­challenging. Employment lawyers have experienced an enormous influx of work in the last 10 years due to rapid changes in legislation and new case law, a large part of which was developed by the Blair ­government and focused on family-friendly rights in the ­workplace.

Employment law covers a range of areas: advising corporate clients on restructuring companies; ­employee relations; managing the individual ­employment relationship; advice arising from deals, such as property and corporate sales and ­acquisitions; litigation of contractual and statutory rights in the ­Employment Tribunal and High Court; and advice to individuals on their employment rights.

Employment lawyers advise on contracts of ­employment, statutory rights such as unfair dismissal and discrimination, transactional matters, employee competition issues and on a broad range of day-to-day employment issues. Employment lawyers advise public and private sector clients, charities and individuals.

Junior lawyers are involved in all aspects, including research, preparation of litigation documents and transactional work, as well as attending client meetings and training clients on recent developments.

The working culture

Junior employment lawyers take on many tasks, from advising on employment law matters in the context of transactional work to providing day-to-day advice and acting on employment tribunal claims. ­Solicitors tend to handle their own caseloads under partner ­supervision and play a key role in managing client ­relationships.

Skills required

Sound technical ability and strong research skills as well as a genuine interest in the rapidly changing law in this area are prerequisites. Employment law is evolving constantly, so practitioners must keep up to date with the case law and the new legislation that ­arrives in April and October each year.

Practising a broad range of disciplines, including contentious, advisory and non-contentious work, brings a number of challenges. Strong organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure are ­paramount. A hands-on and flexible approach to client work is ­required, as is the ability to ­understand and ­appreciate a client’s specific concerns in a given ­situation, ­including the commercial and cultural ­issues at play. Employment law is often emotive and stressful for the client. Issues such as damage to a company’s reputation and ­unwanted publicity must often be considered, ­particularly in the context of ­Employment Tribunal litigation. Employment lawyers need to understand these concerns to obtain the right result for clients. ­Negotiating skills are often used in the context of ­handling litigation as many Employment Tribunal claims settle through ­negotiation or mediation.

Strong drafting and good communication skills are vital. Employment lawyers are regularly required to draft letters, agreements and litigation documents ­tailored to meet individual circumstances. An ability to learn the facts of a situation rapidly and an interest in employment tribunal advocacy are also advantageous.

Recent developments

The breadth of areas that an employment lawyer might advise on is extensive. The Government recently published its white paper on the Equality Bill, which is controversial in many ­aspects. Despite equal pay legislation existing for more than 30 years, a significant pay gap between men and women continues, which the Equality Bill aims to combat. This could have far-reaching consequences for public sector employers, which would be required to disclose their gender pay gaps. Private companies ­contracting with the state will also be required to produce such audits. The bill will also affect ­recruitment policies. The Government wants to allow ­positive discrimination by enabling employers to take underrepresentation into account when selecting ­between two equally qualified candidates.

Recent amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 could also have a considerable effect on ­employers’ finances. As a result of the regulations, women on additional maternity leave will be ­entitled to the full range of benefits they are entitled to while on ordinary maternity leave. This includes private health and medical insurance, company cars, gym membership, childcare vouchers, annual leave and ­potentially also pension contributions.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate ­Homicide Act 2007 could also have huge ramifications for directors who fail to exercise the appropriate duty of skill and care. Courts can impose an unlimited fine and cause significant damage to reputation by forcing a company to publicise a conviction.

It is also important to keep up with immigration policies, most recently the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2006. If an employer is employing a person illegally – even without its knowledge – and has not complied with the relevant document checks, it is subject to a fine of up to £10,000 per worker.

Kim Roberts, associate, Nabarro