Richard works with employers and employees in England and Wales.
He has advised clients in various sectors, including education, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, finance and IT, often working alongside numerous stakeholders, such as local authorities and the police.
Having combined his employment law solicitor qualification with practical experience as an HR consultant, Richard is ideally placed to offer cost-effective and commercial solutions for his clients. He works very closely with HR professionals, respecting that the practical and the legal can actually go hand-in-hand to achieve a client’s aims.
Naturally, this has given Richard particular experience in navigating contentious and non-contentious procedures including:-
- Advising on settlement agreements and negotiating their terms.
- Providing Employment Tribunal representation.
- Advising on staff issues related to the sale or purchase of a business.
- Drafting and interpreting employment contracts and staff handbooks.
- Advising on complex disciplinary, grievance, capability, sickness absence and employee relations procedures.
- Advising on redundancies and restructures.
- Providing day-to-day advice to employers and employees alike on the full range of employment law topics.
Richard says: “If you are a small-to-medium-sized business with 1 – 50 employees and want to spend less time and less money addressing issues with them, without disrupting your staff relations and without reducing your productivity, then I can help you to gain greater control over your staff relations so that you have more time to grow your business. I combine human resources experience and employment law expertise, meaning you get practical and commercial solutions, which protect you from legal claims. If it isn’t possible to avoid an employee bringing a tribunal claim, I can help to protect your business in the least stressful and most cost-effective way for you.”
Recent examples of Richard’s work include:-
- Advising a Poole-based HR consultant on a complex disciplinary process, including grievance and whistleblowing concerns.
- Helping a Poole-based HR consultant to update their general contractual templates and introduce annualised hours contracts to encourage greater inclusivity in the workplace, whilst ensuring a flexible approach for employers.
- Advising a Bournemouth-based HR consultant on a complex grievance process, identifying constructive solutions for the employer in not only addressing the immediate concerns but also for future-proofing its business.
- Helping two director-shareholder employees to write off a £600,000 debt through settlement negotiations when their business was wound up.
- Advising a care provider on a disciplinary appeal process after the employer client became dissatisfied with the approach taken by its then-HR provider. Advising in a legal capacity, yet taking a commercial HR approach, Richard succeeded not only in using the appeal process to address and rectify the shortcomings of the original disciplinary procedure (which lessened the possibility of a successful unfair dismissal claim), but also to secure a no compensation settlement in favour of the employer, avoiding potentially costly tribunal action.
What Richard’s clients say about him:-
“I can’t thank Richard enough for his help. He delivered a great service efficiently and much more quickly than he originally stated. He understood what I was looking for very quickly and checked in to manage my expectations and keep me updated. I would highly recommend Richard’s services to anyone looking for employment law support.”
- Rachel Atkinson, The People Choreographer, November 2021
“I was recommended Richard at Setfords to support me with regards to Employment Law and contracts. He was extremely thorough, knowledgeable and understanding, but above all approachable and worked to an extremely high standard. I would not hesitate to contact Richard again should a situation ever arise and I would certainly recommend Setfords and Richard’s services to others.”
- Mrs Helen, November 2021
“I recently contacted Richard with a contentious employment matter for a Client and cannot recommend him highly enough. Richard took the time to really listen to understand my concerns as well as the risks for the Client. His advice was pragmatic, commercial and compassionate –never forgetting that people would be implicated by decisions and actions. Richard is approachable, understands the frustrations of his Clients and takes time to explain his advice.”
- Janell White, Trinity HR (Bournemouth) Ltd, September 2021
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