Healthcare Solicitors | Employment Law

Bespoke employment and HR advice for healthcare professionals

We are the largest law firm in the Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire regions with an unrivalled breadth and depth of expertise and experience.

Recognised in the leading legal directories, our employment law and HR advice team have experience in providing advice to a wide range of health and social care organisations, such as care homes, domiciliary care providers, and registered charities.

We currently act for many health and social care providers across the country, together with private and third-sector organisations operating in the health and social care sector, providing practical and focused legal advice on not just employment law and HR advice but compliance and regulatory, corporate and commercial law and commercial property.

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Health & Social Care

Working closely with Jane, Tracy and the wider employment team, we have been able to restructure our workforce to ensure the business is in the best possible health to facilitate growth whilst also maintaining quality.
Matt Todd
Amber Adult Social Care

Health & Social Care

My team and I have worked with Wilkin Chapman for a number of years. Having worked with ‘HR Professionals’ in the past I have always been frustrated by their inability to understand the importance of practical advice and supporting both the business and the staff to achieve positive and timely outcomes.
Working closely with Jane, Tracy and the wider employment team, we have been able to restructure our workforce to ensure the business is in the best possible health to facilitate growth whilst also maintaining quality.
In addition to practical, operationally viable advice, the team have a sound understanding of the complex regulatory requirements governing the health and social care sector and the unique impact this can have when managing and supporting employers and employees working within the sector.
Matt Todd
Amber Adult Social Care
Health & Social Care

The matters that are being dealt with are often sensitive and contentious and the advice provided is always given in a professional, friendly and supportive manner.
Maria Tomkinson
Care Plus

Health & Social Care

Having built up an excellent working relationship the needs of our business, aims, and ethics are thoroughly understood, and we work in a true partnership way to achieve the required outcome. The matters that are being dealt with are often sensitive and contentious and the advice provided is always given in a professional, friendly and supportive manner.
Maria Tomkinson
Care Plus
Health & Social Care

We always get a quick response and almost always have the same person seeing a case or query through from start to finish.
Tom Carter, Managing Director
Libertas

Health & Social Care

Wilkin Chapman has supported us for a number of years now, and while the advice is always excellent, by far the most important thing for us is accessibility and continuity. We always get a quick response and almost always have the same person seeing a case or query through from start to finish. This makes a huge difference for our managers and leaders, often just in terms of confidence, knowing that there is someone to bounce even the simplest question off.
Wilkin Chapman does of course offer a lot more than this, and this is where we go for contractual advice and disputes too.
Steering a course through an increasingly complex and, in my view, threatening legislative environment is difficult at the best of times. I can honestly say that Katie and her team are a real source of support - one of the few we actually rely on.
Tom Carter, Managing Director
Libertas
Health & Social Care

The team are extremely knowledgeable, proactive, friendly and professional, and we have been extremely happy with the invaluable support and advice we have received over the last three years.
Freshney Pelham Care Ltd

Health & Social Care

After growing frustrated with a ‘one size fits all’ approach from our provider, we decided to move our HR provision to that of a more personal approach from Wilkin Chapman.
Katie, Tracy and the wider Wilkin Chapman employment team have taken the time to understand our business and the challenges we face to ensure we receive the best advice for the situation. The team are extremely knowledgeable, proactive, friendly and professional, and we have been extremely happy with the invaluable support and advice we have received over the last three years.
They have given us confidence to improve our HR processes and ensure that what we do and how we do it is correct. I highly recommend the Wilkin Chapman employment team for their outstanding HR advice and guidance.
Freshney Pelham Care Ltd

Why choose Wilkin Chapman?

As part of our service, we will take the time to understand your culture, ethos and priorities and get under the skin of your organisation. In that way, we can offer you the most appropriate advice in line with your policies and most importantly ensure consistency of approach throughout your practice.

We have a hands-on, practical and proactive approach to employment issues and encourage our involvement at the earliest opportunity to identify potential problems before they become legal claims. Working in partnership with your senior management we offer readily accessible guidance and advice tailored to your practice to ensure a stable and effective workforce.

We believe our HR support and employment advice to be unique in offering a complete service: a seamless process from the earliest sign of an issue, through careful strategic management, assessment of options and risk through to agreed departures or fully defended tribunal claims.

Our knowledge and experience as advocates in the employment tribunal over many years gives us valuable insight as to how a claim is likely to present at tribunal, thereby informing the strategy throughout and minimising risk and cost. We are not there simply to deal with a legal claim when it arises but to spot issues, track potential problems, guide early interventions, and plan ahead.

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How we can help you

In addition to the traditional hourly rate service we offer Adapt HR, our cost-effective legal helpline, available 24/7 for a fixed annual fee. By working as an integral part of your senior team, we will identify risks and provide you with workable solutions.

With a combination of our core package and any number of bespoke services, Adapt HR is a valuable support to your practice.

Unlimited telephone and email advice 24/7
Face-to-face advice, if you prefer, at one of our offices
Monthly email employment updates
Free initial Adapt Check meeting to understand your business and the issues you are facing
Regular updates to ensure your employee handbook is current

Additional services

Training

Ten interactive training sessions to deliver to your management team to give them the tools they need to deal with any employment or HR situation.
Remote on-site HR support

Whether you are trying to manage a difficult employee or you just need additional help when handling a tricky situation, we can provide hands-on virtual and remote assistance with our flexible and cost-effective HR support service, from conducting investigations to chairing disciplinary or grievance hearings.
Strategic planning meeting

We can provide remote meetings with your senior team – either on a regular basis or for a particular issue or project - to identify risks, ensure effective progress, and assist with future strategic planning.
Policies and procedures

Having a set of clear and flexible policies and procedures is critical to good management. We can review and redraft your policies covering everything from ill health absences to flexible working to performance management.
We can cut through cumbersome procedures to achieve swift, sensible, and practical outcomes, enabling you to deal confidently with any employment situation.
Tribunal claims

Should the worst happen, we have extensive experience in handling all aspects of a tribunal process to ensure a swift and cost-effective outcome.
Insurance

The optional and competitively priced insurance protection covers the cost of legal fees incurred in defending disputes.

Ready to get started?

We’re always there for you. Why not call us today for an informal chat about your situation?

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Experienced specialists in healthcare HR

We recognise that in your world there are complexities beyond the legal issues – regulatory, reputational, and political considerations often come into play. Our experience means we can manage these sometimes competing interests and ensure sensible strategic outcomes.

When handling disciplinary issues involving professionally qualified staff, our employment and regulatory teams work very closely together, providing complete support through both the HR process and reporting procedures to regulatory and safeguarding bodies.

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Our recent work in the health and social care sector

Providing strategic advice to support a GP practice

We provided strategic advice to support a GP Practice in a complex conduct case raising issues of potential whistleblowing involving the senior management team.
This case included handling lengthy grievances and assisting with internal disciplinary processes.
We gave detailed advice to the client with recommendations, resulting in a settlement agreement.
Advice and assistance on a complex ill health capability process

This matter involved assisting with Occupational Health referrals and advice, preparing capability letters, and ensuring a swift and fair capability termination without any resulting litigation.
Advising a client throughout a protracted tender process

Advising a client throughout a protracted tender process including considering and advising on relevant TUPE implications, managing the TUPE transfer process, and dealing with post-transfer issues and harmonisation of contracts.
Providing all HR support to a registered health charity

One case involved providing all HR support to a registered charity operating in the health profession. This included dealing with serious conduct issues resulting in referrals to the NMC.
Advising regional health trust on whistle blowing

We advised a large regional health trust in relation to a major whistle blowing investigation and subsequent disciplinary action against two consultants.
Our employment solicitors worked closely with our regulatory team to deliver a comprehensive report, including recommendations and lessons learnt, managing the disciplinary process, and reports to regulatory bodies.