Strategic Legal Solutions for Your Business: Comprehensive Company, Commercial & Employment Law
Introduction
In today's dynamic business environment, sound legal advice is not just a safeguard – it's a strategic asset.
At Jamieson Alexander Legal, our dedicated Business Law team provides comprehensive, practical, and forward-thinking legal solutions to businesses of all sizes, from startups and SMEs to established corporations. We understand the commercial realities you face, from forming your company and securing key contracts to managing your most valuable asset – your people. Our "human to human" approach ensures we are always accessible, providing clear guidance that empowers your decision-making, mitigates risks, and helps you seize opportunities to achieve your business objectives.
Our Commitment to Your Business
We act as an extension of your team, dedicated to your commercial success and harmonious workplace relations by:
Providing proactive and pragmatic advice that aligns with your business goals and operational needs.
Ensuring clarity and transparency in all our communications and fee structures.
Delivering timely and efficient solutions that respect your operational demands and sensitive employment matters.
Building long-term relationships based on trust, understanding, and consistent value.
Offering exceptional legal services without the traditional overheads, thanks to our commitment to mobile working and modern technology, ensuring you pay only for genuine legal skill and expertise.
Providing direct access to your dedicated solicitor, ensuring responsive, personal, and confidential service that prioritizes your best interests.
Company & Commercial
Business Formation & Structuring
Guidance on choosing the right legal structure (sole trader, partnership, LLP, limited company) under the Companies Act 2006.
Company formations and registration with Companies House.
Drafting comprehensive shareholder agreements and partnership agreements that define clear relationships and protect your interests.
Example: We recently assisted a client in acquiring an HMO property through the strategic acquisition of the company that managed it, showcasing our integrated approach across corporate and property law.
Commercial Contracts
Expert drafting, review, and negotiation of a wide range of commercial agreements, including terms and conditions, supply agreements, distribution agreements, and joint ventures.
Ensuring your contracts are clear, legally sound, and strategically aligned with your business goals, mitigating risks under contract law principles.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Disposals (M&A)
Strategic advice and meticulous legal support for buying, selling, or merging businesses of all sizes, navigating the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and related regulations.
Due diligence, negotiation, and drafting of all necessary transaction documents.
Example: We recently advised shareholders on a complex £30 million company disposal, helping them convert existing options into new shares, preserving jobs, and securing substantial future share options in the acquiring entity.
Example: We routinely assist smaller businesses, such as the cross-departmental sale of a local hairdressing salon and a recruitment firm, both under £1 million, seamlessly managing property and employment issues.
Example: We recently helped a London-based fruit seller successfully sell their company for over £1 million, including its staff and premises, while securing the seller's continued employment within the new structure.
Example: We have successfully acted for both purchasers and sellers in Management Buy-Outs (MBOs) and similar transactions, including advising a director in acquiring full control of their business from existing shareholders and directors, and acting for selling parties when an existing director took over ownership.
Recent Trend: The M&A landscape continues to evolve with increasing focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) considerations and technological due diligence.
Corporate Governance & Compliance:
Advising on company law compliance, directors' duties (as codified by the Companies Act 2006), and corporate governance best practices.
Assistance with regulatory obligations, including those under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
Recent Trend: We stay abreast of evolving corporate transparency requirements, including those impacting the Register of Persons with Significant Control (PSC register), ensuring your compliance.
Intellectual Property (IP)
Guidance on protecting your valuable intellectual assets, including trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets under relevant UK IP statutes like the Trade Marks Act 1994 and Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Licensing and commercialisation of IP.
Example: We recently helped a gourmet-food outlet in Dorset successfully trademark its name and logo at the IPO, securing 10-year protection for its brand identity.
Example: We similarly assisted a virtual PA service with successfully trademarking their name and logo.
Insolvency & Restructuring
Advising businesses and individuals facing financial distress, drawing on provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Guidance on insolvency proceedings, restructuring options, and creditor rights.
Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
Proactive advice and effective resolution strategies for disputes between shareholders or partners, often involving provisions within the Companies Act 2006 regarding unfair prejudice or derivative claims.
Mediation services to facilitate amicable solutions and minimize disruption to your business.
Example: We have acted on numerous shareholder disputes, bringing our expertise to resolve complex disagreements efficiently and striving for resolution outside of court proceedings.
Significant Corporate Disputes
Bridging our corporate and dispute resolution expertise, we act in complex corporate disputes such as claims of director misfeasance; challenges from the Insolvency Service; or other third-party allegations of improper director conduct.
Example: We successfully resolved significant disputes through mediation, including cases involving directors allegedly diverting funds from debts and directors being misled about business health by co-directors, saving our clients the costs and uncertainty of court proceedings.
Employment Law
For Employers:
Employment Contracts & Handbooks: Drafting and reviewing robust contracts, policies, and employee handbooks to ensure compliance with the Employment Rights Act 1996 and other relevant regulations.
HR Support & Advice: Providing ongoing guidance on day-to-day HR issues, disciplinary procedures, grievances, and performance management. We partner closely with a network of trusted HR advisers in locations around our offices, ensuring you receive comprehensive support whether it's legal advice from us or operational HR guidance from our referral network.
Redundancy & Restructuring: Expert advice on navigating complex redundancy processes and business reorganizations, ensuring legal compliance with the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Example: We have experience managing sensitive, large-scale redundancy programmes, including advising a number of employees on-site for a major corporate client.
Discrimination & Harassment: Proactive advice on preventing and addressing issues of discrimination, harassment, and workplace bullying, upholding your obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Recent Trend: We are up-to-date with the new positive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Settlement Agreements: We have acted on literally hundreds of settlement agreements for both employers and employees, possessing a wealth of experience in structuring mutually agreeable and legally sound terms for terminating employment.
TUPE Transfers: Comprehensive advice on the legal implications of business transfers under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).
Employment Tribunal Representation: We provide robust representation and strategic guidance in the event of an Employment Tribunal claim, having successfully taken many employment cases to and through successful tribunal proceedings.
For Employees
Unfair & Constructive Dismissal: Advising on your rights and options if you have been unfairly dismissed or forced to resign due to your employer's conduct, in line with the Employment Rights Act 1996. We regularly advise employees on potential unfair dismissal matters from companies of all sizes.
Discrimination & Harassment: Expert advice and representation if you have experienced discrimination (e.g., based on protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) or harassment in the workplace. We regularly advise employees on potential discrimination matters from companies of all sizes.
Settlement Agreements: With a wealth of experience handling hundreds of settlement agreements for employees, we excel at reviewing and negotiating terms to ensure you receive a fair and optimal outcome. Ordinarily, as a departing employee, this is entirely funded by the Employer.
Example: This includes routinely advising employees referred to us by a leading global technology company on their departure terms.
Redundancy Advice: Understanding your rights and entitlements during a redundancy process, including advice on large-scale redundancy programmes, guided by the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Recent Trend: We stay informed on enhanced protections from redundancy for pregnant employees and those on family leave under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023.
Grievances & Disciplinary Hearings: Guidance and support through internal grievance procedures and disciplinary investigations, ensuring your rights are protected.
Contractual Disputes: Advising on issues such as bonus disputes, unpaid wages (including National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage compliance), or breaches of your employment contract.
Working Time & Leave: Advice on rights related to working hours, rest breaks, and holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998, and statutory leave entitlements including those under the recent Carer's Leave Act 2023.
Whistleblowing: Protecting your rights and providing advice if you have raised concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace.
Restrictive Covenants: Advising on the enforceability of post-termination restrictions and their impact on your future employment.
Legal & Regulatory Framework
UK business law, encompassing both company/commercial and employment aspects, operates within a robust and constantly evolving framework designed to promote transparency, fairness, economic stability, and protect the rights of both businesses and individuals. Key legislation and regulatory principles include:
Companies Act 2006: The cornerstone of UK company law, governing everything from company formation, capital, and management to directors' duties, shareholder rights, and statutory filings with Companies House. Recent amendments under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 have introduced identity verification for directors, new registered office requirements, and enhanced Companies House powers to improve data integrity and combat economic crime.
Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA): A foundational piece of legislation covering core employee rights, including unfair dismissal, redundancy payments, minimum notice periods, and statutory sick pay.
Equality Act 2010: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of nine "protected characteristics" (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation) in employment. It also imposes a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
Insolvency Act 1986: The primary legislation for corporate and individual insolvency, setting out the procedures for administration, liquidation, company voluntary arrangements, bankruptcy, and individual voluntary arrangements.
Contract Law (Common Law & Statutes): Fundamental principles of contract formation, interpretation, breach, and remedies are largely derived from common law (case precedent), supplemented by statutes like the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (for pre-2015 contracts) and, for consumer contracts, the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Data Protection Act 2018 & UK GDPR: These laws regulate how personal data is collected, processed, and stored by businesses, ensuring compliance with privacy rights.
Intellectual Property Legislation: Key statutes include the Trade Marks Act 1994, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the Patents Act 1977, which provide the legal basis for protecting various forms of intellectual property.
Competition Law: Governed primarily by the Competition Act 1998 and overseen by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), this area prevents anti-competitive practices such as cartels and abuses of dominant market positions.
Corporate Governance: While some aspects are codified in the Companies Act, principles of good corporate governance are also influenced by codes (e.g., the UK Corporate Governance Code for listed companies) and broader regulatory expectations from bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for regulated industries.
National Minimum Wage Act 1998 & National Living Wage: Sets the statutory minimum hourly pay rates for workers, which are updated annually.
Working Time Regulations 1998: Governs working hours, rest breaks, and annual leave entitlement.
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE): Protects employees' rights when a business or service provision is transferred from one employer to another.
Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999: Outlines statutory rights to various forms of family-friendly leave, including maternity, paternity, adoption, and parental leave.
Carer's Leave Act 2023: Introduced a new statutory right for employees to take unpaid leave to care for a dependent with long-term needs.
Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023: Strengthens redundancy protections for employees during and after pregnancy or family leave.
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992: Governs trade union rights, industrial action, and collective bargaining.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS): An independent public body that provides free and impartial advice to employers and employees on workplace relations and offers conciliation services before Employment Tribunal claims are formally lodged (mandatory Early Conciliation).
Employment Tribunal (ET) & Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT): Specialist tribunals that hear and determine claims relating to employment law.
Why Choose Jamieson Alexander for your Business Needs?
Comprehensive & Integrated Expertise: Our solicitors are highly experienced in all facets of both company/commercial and employment law, providing holistic solutions for your business. We represent both employers and employees with equal dedication, offering a deep understanding of all perspectives.
Extensive Experience, Flexible Scale: From multi-million pound disposals to local business sales, and from managing large-scale redundancies to hundreds of settlement agreements, we have the expertise to manage matters of any size and complexity.
Cross-Departmental Synergy: Our collaborative approach ensures seamless advice, particularly where transactions or disputes involve property or broader dispute resolution aspects.
Client-Centric & Empathetic: We understand the commercial and sensitive nature of business and employment matters, providing supportive, clear, and pragmatic advice, always grounded in the relevant statutory framework.
Direct & Responsive Communication: You'll have direct contact with your dedicated solicitor, ensuring your concerns are addressed promptly and effectively.
Cost-Effective & Transparent: Benefit from our streamlined operations, transparent pricing, and focus on delivering genuine value without hidden costs. Many of our services are offered on a fixed-fee basis.
Strategic Partnerships: Our collaborations with HR advisers mean you have access to a full spectrum of support, both legal and operational.
Proven Track Record: Our high client satisfaction ratings and history of successful outcomes, including many successful tribunal proceedings and resolved corporate disputes, speak to our commitment to achieving the best results for our clients.
Flexible Pricing: Our fees remain consistent regardless of the time or day, offering you predictability and control.
Ready to discuss your business's legal needs or facing an employment challenge?
Contact us today for a free, confidential initial consultation to see how our expert team can support your ambitions and protect your interests.