Employment Law and HR Support

Colleges, academies and multi‑academy trusts (MATs) operate in one of the most complex employment environments in the UK. With evolving legislation, safeguarding obligations, diverse staffing models and increasingly active unions, education employers face legal challenges that go far beyond those in the wider commercial sector.

We provide clear, practical and sector‑specific employment law support, helping education providers stay compliant, reduce risk and maintain strong, confident staff management practices.

What you need to Know

Academies and MATs face additional pressures that require strategic workforce planning, including:

• More frequent collective redundancy obligations, as proposed reforms could remove the ‘single establishment’ rule and trigger consultation across multiple schools
• Stronger trade union rights, increasing the likelihood of industrial action
• New predictable‑hours and agency‑staff obligations, affecting the heavy reliance on supply teachers and casual workers
• The need for trust‑wide consistency, ensuring policies and procedures are aligned across different academies to maintain compliance and fairness.

These factors mean MATs must take a proactive, forward‑looking approach to HR management and legal compliance.

How can we support you?

We provide clear, actionable advice that helps education employers meet their legal duties and manage staff issues confidently. Our support includes:

• Managing redundancies and changes to terms and conditions, including pay restructures
• Handling performance, sickness absence, disciplinary matters, grievances and dismissals with practical, risk‑aware guidance
• Advising on terminations of employment, including off‑the‑record conversations and drafting exit documentation
• Answering day‑to‑day HR queries, such as notice requirements, flexible‑working requests and holiday‑pay issues
• Assessing risks of claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination
• Representing schools and colleges in Employment Tribunal claims, from initial response through to final hearing.

Our education‑sector expertise means we understand the pressures you face, and we work alongside you to provide solutions that are pragmatic, defensible and commercially practical.