Free member benefit
Employment Law and HR Advisory Service
Introducing a new benefit of your CRA membership: the Employment Law and HR Advisory Service, giving you access to free, confidential advice from leading legal and HR specialists, WorkNest.
WorkNest enjoys a strong industry reputation for providing personalised, pragmatic employee relations advice, offering solutions that help employers to overcome their workforce challenges confidently and compliantly.
Recognised by The Legal 500 as a leading employment law firm, WorkNest’s legal team is made up of solicitors, barristers and chartered legal professionals whose combined experience of supporting organisations is unrivalled, so you can be sure you’re in safe hands.
Preferential rates on WorkNest services for CRA members.
Submit your details and one of our team will be in touch. Or call us on 0330 912 9946.
Employment Law and HR Advisory Service
Employment legislation is complex, new case law emerging all the time, and HR best practice is constantly evolving. It’s therefore all too easy to make mistakes when managing people, which can lead to time-consuming disputes and expensive Employment Tribunal claims.
Thankfully, the Employment Law and HR Advisory Service is here to offer guidance, interpretation and legal advice to help local councils manage a full range of employee-related issues, including:
- Conduct, capability and performance/appraisals
- Disciplinary and grievance procedures
- Redundancy
- TUPE
- Contracts and staff handbooks
- Sickness and absence
- Discrimination
- Flexible and hybrid working
- Ongoing COVID-related challenges
Whether you’re facing an immediate issue or would benefit from the reassurance of a second opinion, the ability to talk matters through with a professional will save valuable time and frustration and enable you to operate with the confidence that you are acting within the law.
Call 0330 912 9946
How it works
- The telephone service is available on 0330 912 9946 and is open between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
- To receive support over email, please contact [email protected]
Not sure whether to call?
WorkNest is here to support you through all employment matters, from day-to-day queries to more complex or sensitive cases.
We always recommend getting in touch early, even with more minor issues, as this will give the team the best possible chance of helping you achieve your preferred outcome. It will also prevent any disagreement from escalating into a legal dispute.
Helpful online resources
To complement the telephone and email support provided by the Employment Law and HR Advisory Service, CRA members can also take advantage of WorkNest’s Knowledge Hub, where you can find a large number of online resources designed to help you manage people matters effectively.
Get immediate access to a range of expert-created documents, including job descriptions, sample policies, precedent letters and Contracts of Employment, available to download free of charge.
Need extra support?
CRA members can benefit from great savings on WorkNest's One2One service
If you would benefit from more hands-on help with your people management responsibilities, WorkNest’s Employment Law and HR One2One service is the perfect solution, giving you access to unlimited personalised advice and assistance from named professionals at a highly preferential fixed fee.
By upgrading your support, you’ll benefit from:
- Your own small team of qualified Employment Law and HR experts who will get to know your organisation and provide consistent, relevant advice on all your employment challenges, from simple sickness absence to complex disciplinary procedures, contractual changes and redundancy.
- 24/7 support, with no limit on the number or length of calls you can make, giving you the reassurance that help is always available.
- An expert review of your Contracts of Employment and Employee Handbook to ensure they are up-to-date, legally-compliant, tailored to your specific needs, and offer maximum protection for your business. If you are without these documents, your team will create them for you.
- Bespoke drafting of your employment-related documents and letters – unlike some providers, we won’t simply provide you with templates and expect you to do the work yourself.
- Simple-to-use HR software, PeopleNest, which is designed to help organisations streamline and automate HR and people management processes such as sickness absences, new starter checklists, probation reviews, employment checks, and training course expiry dates.
- Optional Legal Expenses Insurance to cover the cost of an Employment Tribunal claim, including legal representation, awards and settlements, plus specialist litigation support throughout the process, from handling negotiations with Acas, the Tribunal, the claimant(s) and their advisers to representing you should a case proceed to a hearing.
Employment Law and HR One2One aims to help local councils minimise time spent dealing with workforce issues and protect against the growing threat of employee claims through personalised, professional support.
To find out more about Employment Law and HR One2One and the preferential rates available to your organisation, call 0330 912 9946 or email [email protected] and quote CRA.