The Employment Department at Dawsons has grown in size and reputation over the last five years.  The team is led by Paul Mander, who is highly regarded within the industry.  Paul is supported by two partners, Sarah Rushton and Stephen Morrall and two assistants: Anne Petersen and Andrew Haywood, together with two trainee solicitors.  All members of the department belong to the Employment Lawyers' Association and have experience of all types of employment work, both contentious and non-contentious.

Employment law is increasingly complex and time-consuming for all businesses.  A wealth of legislation and case law (both domestic and European) means that employers must tread carefully throughout the employment relationship. 

The contract of employment lies at the heart of the relationship and governs the majority of the parties' rights and obligations.  Traditionally, most statutory rights, for example, the right to claim unfair dismissal, have applied only to those defined as employees.  Legislative changes have, however, extended employment rights beyond those who can strictly be defined as employees to those who are now known as workers, including the right to be paid the national minimum wage or to take paid holidays.

Members of the department have significant experience of litigation in both the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal as well as in the High Court.  The expertise we have elsewhere in the firm means that we can, where necessary, provide a comprehensive service encompassing corporate and taxation issues.

The team is retained by a large number of employers ranging from multinationals and plcs to SMEs across a diverse range of industries including real estate, hotels and leisure, publishing, professional services, telecommunications, education and recruitment.  We also act for a large number of senior executives and directors in the banking, finance, insurance and media sectors as well as in a number of FTSE 250 companies.

We pride ourselves on providing a proactive, comprehensive and personal employment law service and believe the numerous recommendations we receive from existing and previous clients are testament to that.