Employment services for financial services and insurance
At Browne Jacobson, we’re embedded in the Financial Services and Insurance sector. Our employment team plays a huge role in this. We work with a wide range of clients across the sector, from intermediaries to banks, insurance companies to brokers.
Clients welcome our direct and down-to-earth approach to providing employment law advice. Our commitment to pragmatic commercial guidance that focuses as much on what the client can do as what they can’t, sets us apart as true experts in this field.
We work collaboratively to provide commercial, pragmatic advice across this heavily regulated sector, as well as training and know-how on the quick-changing regulatory employment law landscape.
Our work can be anything from a “run of the mill” grievance right through to the termination of a senior executive, in line with the Senior Managers & Certification Regime.
Undertaking a wide range of EPLI claims as a panel, working alongside dedicated claims handlers, we have an experienced team of specialist employment lawyers with experience of working in sectors including leisure, sports, charities, I.T, manufacturing, construction, engineering, health and education.
We advise open-mindedly, on related policy coverage work and have a thorough understanding of the commercial, regulatory and reputational pressures you face in the current market. Our lawyers are frequently called on to advise on the employment aspects of professional indemnity claims, as well as advising on employment claims falling with directors and officers and trustee liability insurance.
And, should the worst happen, we’re confident delivering advice and assistance to policyholders facing employment related claims and representation in Employment Tribunals.
Featured experience
Hiscox
Successfully securing a strike out of a claim against an insured client involving multiple claims of discrimination against the client by a claimant who it was suspected was using an alias and was a vexatious litigant and subject to civil restraint order.
Varied insured clients
Advising insurers on the implications of the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 and approach in defending tribunal claims where the Act is alleged to be applicable.
Hiscox
Successfully defending an insured client where the claimant had issued a Tribunal claim alleging automatic unfair dismissal due to whistleblowing, breach of the TUPE Regulations, negligence and misrepresentation. The claimant was seeking in excess of £1.6m in compensation.
Varied insured clients
Advising clients on the impact of the SM and CR certification regime including amending employment contracts and other relevant documents to ensure compliance with this key piece of legislation for the sector.
Our expertise
Key contacts
Raymond Silverstein
Partner
Dawn Lobley
Legal Director
Leigh Carroll
Senior Associate (FCILEx)
Testimonials
"Their strengths are responsiveness and excellent contextual legal advice; they are extremely supportive."
Browne Jacobson LLP is able to anticipate our needs for information and legal updates through well researched and targeted seminars. The team has a good balance of enthusiastic/responsive juniors and seasoned partners with a solid layer of specialists in between.
The team has the ability to articulate highly complex HR cases into a simplistic and easy to understand way for all leaders.
Legal Update
Greater predictability over terms for workers
Legal Update
Defending equal pay claims: Equal pay for equal work?
Opinion
Government response to Pregnancy Loss Review recommends actions for NHS Employers
Legal Update
Glass ceilings and workplaces
Legal Update
Employment alternative dispute resolution
Legal Update
Parental leave and pay - gender equality?
Published Article
Third Party Harassment – haven’t we been here before?
On-Demand
Employment update webinar
Opinion
Menopause and the workplace
Opinion
Rising Employment Tribunal backlog
Legal Update
Official statistics demonstrate a new wave of age discrimination claims
Opinion
4-day working week a success?
The Covid-19 pandemic drastically changed the world’s way of working, with increased flexibility being greatly desired by employees. Earlier on in the year, a number of organisations trialled the concept of a 4-day working week – which has clearly been a success for many.Legal Update
Coming of age
Official statistics show that 15,336 claims which included a complaint of age discrimination were received at the Employment Tribunals between March 2020 and March 2021.
Published Article
Starling Bank employment tribunal
The outcome of the Employment Tribunal claim brought by Gulnaz Raja against Starling Bank Limited (1) (Starling), and Matthew Newman (2) was reported last month.
Published Article
EU banks show slow progress on gender diversity
Opinion
World Cup 2022 – how employers can avoid scoring an own goal!
The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday 20 November 2022, with the final taking place on Sunday 18 December 2022. Undoubtedly, this is a huge sporting event, and many employees will be keen to show their support for their favourite teams. However, due to the time difference, start times for the matches are between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. UK time, which could have an impact on employers if employees who wish to watch the matches are scheduled to work.
Legal Update
The Starling Bank disability discrimination decision
Legal Update
IR35 rules here to stay after government U-turn
Opinion
Lying on your CV – what can possibly go wrong?
The majority of people do not feel the need to embellish their CV to get that coveted position and move on up the career ladder. Their worthiness and benefit to the hiring organisation are easily demonstrated through the recruitment process – application, psychometric testing, selection day or interview.
Published Article
Cracking the class ceiling
Opinion
Internal reports and privilege
In University of Dundee v Chakraborty, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether a first draft of a grievance report could retrospectively be deemed to be privileged.
Opinion
IR35 rules to be scrapped from April 2023
Opinion
Revoking and reforming EU law
The Government has published the Retained EU Revocation and Reform Bill which, if passed, provides for the revocation of all “EU-derived subordinate legislation” (i.e. UK statutory instruments which were introduced to implement EU law) and retained direct EU legislation on 31 December 2023, unless legislation is specifically introduced to save them.
Opinion
Gender equality
Opinion
Covid-19 vaccine beliefs held to be religious in nature
In Wierowska v HC-One Oval Limited, the Employment Tribunal had to determine whether the Claimant’s beliefs in relation to Covid-19 vaccines amounted to religious beliefs for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.
Legal Update
Gender Identity v Gender Beliefs
We have seen a flurry of recent EAT and ET decisions demonstrating the difficulty that employers face in trying to balance different protected characteristics in the workplace. In this article, Lucinda Chaplin and Will Carter, associates in our employment team, explore the principles from these recent cases, and the workplace implications of them.
Opinion
The Government confirms it has no plans to make menopause a protected characteristic
With menopause cases reaching Employment Tribunals at a record rate, there had been speculation about whether the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) could be amended to include specific protection for menopause.
Legal Update
Can long Covid amount to a disability?
On 7 May 2022, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) tweeted “Discussions continue on whether ‘long Covid’ symptoms constitute a disability. Without case law or scientific consensus, EHRC does not recommend that ‘long’ be treated as a disability.”
Opinion
Long Covid and whether this amounts to a disability
The recent Employment Tribunal decision in Mr T Burke v Turning Point Scotland, Case no.4112457/2021 found that long-Covid amounts to a disability.
Published Article
Menopause in the Workplace
Menopause has become an increasingly discussed topic, with high-profile women talking about their own experiences across a variety of media channels. As awareness is rising in the public arena, it has highlighted the question on how the menopause should be treated at work and what employers should be doing to support their employees affected by menopause.
Opinion
Bill to establish an “Office of the Whistleblower”
Baroness Kramer has now introduced the Protection of Whistleblowing Bill as a Private Members’ Bill, starting in the House of Lords.
Opinion
New mothers suffer a cumulative loss of income of £66,434 over the following decade
Independent think-tank, the Social Market Foundation (“SMF”), has launched a cross-party parliamentary commission on childcare and its implications for mothers.
Opinion
New rules for Fit Notes
Where employees are absent from work due to sickness for more than 7 days, they need to provide reasonable medical evidence in respect of that absence for statutory sick pay purposes – this is most frequently satisfied through the provision of a Statement of Fitness for Work, otherwise known as a Fit Note.
Opinion
80% hours for 100% pay? That’ll do nicely
As has been widely reported this week, some 3,000 UK workers are taking part in a six month trial to assess the viability of a four-day working week without any reduction in their normal pay.
On-Demand
The use and misuse of social media. Managing the impact of difficult behaviour
In this on-demand webinar, the second in our ‘Managing the impact of difficult behaviour’ series employment expert, James Tait and regulatory-specialist Ros Foster come together to discuss the use of social media and vexatious behaviour, and the tools that the law provides to help manage such situations.
Legal Update
Menstrual leave – a (period) pain for employers or a positive step to keep people who menstruate in the workplace?
Legal Update
Are there changes ahead in employment law?
The Queen’s Speech missed the long-promised Employment Bill, instead the Future of Work review and an inquiry was announced - what does this mean for employers?
Legal Update
Employment and Workforce Survey 2021: Blowing the whistle
Whistleblowing claims continue to grab headlines. We provide a recap of whistleblowing tribunal decisions from 2021 and looking ahead to possible changes in 2022.
Opinion
Four-day Working Week – the Future of Work?
In our Employment Survey 2021: Focus on Flexibility, we looked at a number of working developments including the notion of a four-day working week.
Legal Update
Employment law in 2022
As we move into 2022, we take a look at what employment law developments may be on the cards for the coming year.