Employment law advice for employers across the UK

ACAS advice for employers: what it covers

ACAS is the government-funded conciliation service, and its employer advice is free at the point of use. The ACAS employer advice line and its published guidance will tell you what the law requires and what a fair process looks like: notice, written particulars, the statutory disciplinary and grievance steps, redundancy consultation timetables and holiday pay basics. ACAS free employment advice is impartial by design, which is exactly why employers should understand its limits before relying on it as their only source of employment advice.

What ACAS will not do for you

ACAS advice is general, not advice on your file. It will not read your contracts, draft a settlement agreement, tell you whether this particular dismissal is safe, weigh your evidence, or represent you at a tribunal. ACAS also conciliates between both sides, so it is not acting for you. Paid employment law advice for employers starts where those four things do: a named adviser who has seen your documents, drafting, a risk view on the decision you are about to take, and representation if a claim is issued.

ACAS early conciliation: the clock employers miss

Almost every tribunal claim must go through ACAS early conciliation first, and the employer normally hears about it by phone or letter from a conciliator. That notification starts a strict timetable and shapes what you can safely say. Take employment legal advice before you respond, keep one person as the point of contact, and do not make an offer through the conciliator that you have not costed. Settling at conciliation is usually far cheaper than a hearing, but only when the offer is informed.

Employment law advice for small business

Small employers rarely need a solicitor on standing instruction. The common pattern is fixed-fee cover of £150-£600 a month bundled with HR support, which gives an advice line, contracts and a handbook, plus insurance-backed tribunal defence. Buying employment law advice for a small business by the hour works too, but budget for the fact that the first hour usually goes on reading documents. Whichever route you choose, check whether representation is included and what voids the insurance.

What employment law support covers, and what it does not

What employment law support costs

How it is priced: Either hourly or fixed fee from a law firm, or a monthly retainer with tribunal insurance attached. Retained employer-side cover commonly sits alongside HR support at £150-£600 a month; standalone solicitor work is usually quoted hourly or as a fixed fee per matter.

What moves the price

• Whether tribunal representation is included, insured, or billed separately
• The insurance excess, and any requirement to follow the insurer's advice to stay covered
• Advice from a qualified solicitor versus a non-qualified adviser
• Whether settlement agreement drafting is inside the fee

Ranges are indicative of what UK employers commonly pay and are not quotes. City pages carry local bands where they differ.

Who employment law support suits

Questions to ask before you sign

1. 1Is my adviser a qualified solicitor, and who supervises the file?
2. 2Is tribunal representation included, and up to what limit?
3. 3If cover is insured, what is the excess and what voids it?
4. 4Are settlement agreements drafted at no extra cost?
5. 5Who attends the hearing, and is preparation time capped?

Key terms

ACAS early conciliation

The mandatory step before most tribunal claims. The notification date starts a strict clock, so act on it immediately.

Settlement agreement

A legally binding agreement ending employment and waiving claims. It is only valid with independent advice for the employee.

Legal expenses insurance

Cover for tribunal defence costs, normally conditional on following the insurer-appointed adviser's guidance throughout.

Cities with the most employment law advisers

• Birmingham8
• Manchester8
• Leeds8
• Edinburgh7
• Glasgow6
• Bristol6
• Newcastle upon Tyne6
• Liverpool5

Employment Law Support by city - England

• London4
• Birmingham8
• Manchester8
• Leeds8
• Liverpool5
• Bristol6
• Sheffield5
• Newcastle upon Tyne6

Employment Law Support by city - Scotland

• Glasgow6
• Edinburgh7

Employment Law Support questions employers ask

Does ACAS give free advice to employers?

Yes. ACAS free employment advice is available to employers as well as employees, through published guidance and the ACAS employer advice line. It explains what the law requires and what a fair process looks like. It does not review your documents, advise on your specific decision, draft settlement agreements or represent you at tribunal, so most employers use ACAS advice alongside paid employment law help rather than instead of it.

What is the ACAS employer advice line and when should I call it?

It is ACAS's telephone helpline for general workplace and employment law questions. Call it for process questions: how long redundancy consultation must run, what goes in written particulars, how to handle a grievance during a disciplinary. Call an employment law adviser instead once money or risk is on the table: a dismissal you may not be able to justify, a discrimination allegation, or an early conciliation notification.

Is ACAS impartial, or is it on the employee's side?

ACAS is impartial and conciliates between both parties. That is a strength when you want a neutral read on process, and a limitation when you need someone acting for you. If you need advocacy rather than information, that is employer-side employment law advice, which is what the providers on this page sell.

How much does employment law advice for employers cost?

Retained employer-side cover commonly sits at £150-£600 a month alongside HR support, with tribunal representation either included or insured. Standalone solicitor work is quoted hourly or as a fixed fee per matter, with London rates highest. A settlement agreement drafted as a one-off is usually a few hundred pounds; a defended tribunal claim runs into thousands, which is why advice before the decision is the cheaper purchase.

When do I need employment law help rather than HR support?

Use HR support for absence, performance, holiday and everyday casework. Escalate to employment law help for employers when you are dismissing someone with two or more years' service, exiting anyone who has raised a complaint, restructuring, drafting or varying contracts at scale, or facing an ACAS notification or tribunal claim. Providers in this directory that are regulated solicitors' firms can do both sides of that line.

What is employment law support?

Employer-side employment law advice covers the legal side of managing people: dismissals, settlement agreements, discrimination risk, contract drafting and defending tribunal claims. It is sold either by a solicitors' firm on an hourly or fixed-fee basis, or bundled into an HR support contract with insurance behind it.

How much does employment law support cost in the UK?

Either hourly or fixed fee from a law firm, or a monthly retainer with tribunal insurance attached. Retained employer-side cover commonly sits alongside HR support at £150-£600 a month; standalone solicitor work is usually quoted hourly or as a fixed fee per matter. The figures move most on: whether tribunal representation is included, insured, or billed separately; the insurance excess, and any requirement to follow the insurer's advice to stay covered; advice from a qualified solicitor versus a non-qualified adviser. Always compare quotes on what is inside the fee rather than the headline number.

What is included in employment law support, and what is not?

Normally included: advice on dismissal, redundancy and disciplinary processes before you act; contract, policy and handbook drafting with legal review; settlement agreements and protected conversations; discrimination and whistleblowing risk assessment. Normally excluded or charged separately: employee-side advice: an adviser acting for you cannot act for your staff; immigration and sponsor licence work, usually a separate specialism; commercial and corporate legal work.

Who should buy employment law support?

Any employer about to dismiss, restructure or settle, and any employer that has received an ACAS early conciliation notification. Advice taken before the decision is far cheaper than advice taken after it. It is a poor fit for the opposite case: routine administrative HR. Paying legal rates for absence tracking and template letters is poor value; that belongs in an HR support package.

What should I ask before signing?

Five questions worth asking every provider on your shortlist: Is my adviser a qualified solicitor, and who supervises the file? Is tribunal representation included, and up to what limit? If cover is insured, what is the excess and what voids it? Are settlement agreements drafted at no extra cost? Who attends the hearing, and is preparation time capped?

How many employment law advisers are in this directory?

29 of the 96 providers we researched offer employment law support: 7 operate UK-wide, 16 cover a region, and 6 work mainly around one city. National firms are easier to buy from anywhere; local firms are usually easier to get into the room for a hearing.

Do UK employers legally have to have HR?

No. There is no legal requirement to employ an HR person or buy HR support. The duties themselves are not optional: written particulars of employment, statutory pay, working time records, pension auto-enrolment and a fair process before dismissal all apply from the first employee. Advice is how most small employers cover those duties without hiring.