Payroll and HR solutions specialist launches employment law advice service for employers
07 June 2019
Moorepay, the payroll and HR solutions specialist, has launched a solicitor-led employment law advisory service that is SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) approved to give legally privileged advice for a lower-cost retainer fee.
The service is a first for the HR, benefits and payroll sector and will allow Moorepay’s 10,000 small to medium-sized business clients to access high-quality employment law support from specialist solicitors complemented by the HR expertise of Moorepay.
The new service will be considerably better value than accessing legal advice directly from specialist lawyers, with a retainer fee that replaces unpredictable and expensive hourly legal rates. The service allows customers to access advice directly from an allocated solicitor, 9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday and includes a specialist defence Employment Tribunal preparation and representation service.
Recent legislative changes have seen a 77% increase in the backlog of cases going to tribunal. This is due to the removal of fees for raising a case which has made going to an employment tribunal a ‘no-cost option’ for staff. As a result, more cases are going to tribunal, placing increased stress on employers as they devote time to preparing for hearings, a particular issue for small owner/managed businesses. As a result, many feel it is frequently cheaper to settle a weak claim than successfully resist it, which can encourage more speculative claims in the future.
The new Moorepay solicitor service aims to change this by opening access to legally privileged advice. To support this initiative, Moorepay has boosted its in-house team of experts, recruiting a team of employment law solicitors who can offer specialisms in pre-Tribunal advice along with Employment Tribunal preparation and representation.
The service is also FCA regulated to offer legal expenses insurance. In-house HR teams with this service need only call the Moorepay solicitor team when they are at a decision point. This differs from the traditional insurance backed approach which requires a lawyer or consultant to have been instructed from the beginning to the end of the process.
By launching the new service, Moorepay will make it more cost effective and easier for HR teams to get quality legal input into employment law related decisions from the Moorepay solicitor team. This aims to reduce the number of cases that go to Tribunal and ensures company HR departments get legal and practical HR advice from a single team who understand the issues they are trying to address.
The Moorepay service is currently being rolled out across the firm’s client base.