Employment law in health and social care

Our health employment lawyers work closely with in-house HR teams to develop and refine policies and procedures that foster a positive work environment and mitigate potential legal issues.

We assist health and life sciences clients in drafting, negotiating and reviewing employment contracts and policies that comply with NHS-specific regulations, meet the needs of private health organisations, as well as ensuring compliance with employment law standards.

We help private and public health clients navigate the complex regulatory requirements specific to the healthcare industry, ensuring that their employment practices adhere to all legal obligations.

An issue which is particularly relevant to the NHS is ensuring that any severance payments meet the regulatory requirements so that our clients are not subject to financial penalties or reviews into payments which can impact on well led status.

Our health employment lawyers work closely with our regulatory colleagues to ensure that you’re also aware of any Fit and Proper Persons issues which may arise because of the handling of employee-related issues.

We support our health and life sciences clients with the whole breadth of HR and employment law issues which impact on your workforce in major transactions, including TUPE, managing change, dismissal and re-engagement, worker status issues, subject access requests under GDPR, drafting key agreements and advising on contractual and policy issues.

We have worked on:

• Leading national major reconfigurations in the NHS.
• Mergers and acquisitions in the private and public healthcare system.
• Collaborative arrangements between provider organisations and the disestablishment of CCGs and the creation of integrated care systems.

Mergers and acquisitions

In the dynamic field of private healthcare, we provide crucial support during mergers and acquisitions, addressing all employment-related aspects to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of care.

Restructuring and redundancy advice

We guide NHS organisations through restructuring processes, ensuring that any redundancy procedures are handled sensitively and in accordance with the law.

In what is inevitably a difficult and stressful process for everyone involved, we provide private health and NHS organisations with robust defence at Employment Tribunal, whilst also being empathetic and supportive with witnesses.

Our healthcare employment lawyers expertly handle a variety of employment litigation disputes, providing strategic advice and representation in matters such as unfair dismissal, discrimination cases and breach of contract.

Our vast experience in handling cases involving doctors under the MHPS procedures in the NHS and also on the withdrawal of practising privileges in the private healthcare sector sets us apart. We offer a 30-minute free triage service to our clients at the outset of a case so that we can ensure that you set off on the right track for the issues.

We ensure that we keep fully informed of the current case law and guidance in this area and regularly advise on the duties of Responsible Officers and the issue of conflicts and grievances which can arise in the context of investigations.

We offer bespoke MHPS investigations training for:

• non-executive directors who may be involved in overseeing cases,
• boards who wish to fully understand the risks of injunction that may be triggered under MHPS, and
• for key stakeholders involved in these processes i.e., case managers, case investigators and supporting HR teams.

In some instances, private health and NHS organisations may require an investigation process to be conducted by an independent lawyer, especially in complex and sensitive investigations.

Our team of healthcare employment lawyers take a practical, common-sense approach, reaching conclusions and making recommendations without sitting on the fence and doing so in the most commercial and cost-effective way.

Expect our healthcare employment lawyers to take a keen interest in understanding you and your business. We prioritise grasping the context of your organisation and your business objectives, recognising that such understanding is crucial for conducting a fair and thorough investigation into any concerns raised.

Sensitive and high-profile workplace investigations

We’ve seen a continued focus on employee investigations in the healthcare sector covering issues such bullying and harassment arising from protected characteristics, complex employee-related investigations following the Ockenden Maternity Review through to whistleblowing (raising concerns) and sexual harassment.

In a sector which has been severely impacted by a global shortage of employee talent, looking after your people by investigating these issues has become a key part of reputation management and retaining workforce talent.

Our healthcare employment lawyers provide support to clients with the strategic case management of sensitive and high-profile investigations where the nature of the issues involved may have reputational or regulatory consequences for the organisation.

The sensitive and high-profile investigation service includes:

• Supporting commissioning or case managers.
• Drafting terms of reference.
• Responding to correspondence during the investigation.
• Advising and assisting with decision making following the investigation process to ensure that your response is in keeping with legal and regulatory requirements.

We offer bespoke training sessions and workshops for management, staff and NHS HR teams and management, focusing on key areas such as:

• Risk management.
• Handling grievances and disciplinary procedures.
• Understanding employment rights.
• Legal compliance.
• Ethical employment practices.