Steinfeld Law acts for employers and employees on a range of employment related matters, including the provision of standard form employment contracts for employers and the drafting of more complex, bespoke employment contracts for more senior employees.

Employment Contracts: It is important that employment contracts are properly prepared to ensure they comply with legal requirements and contain the protections that the business needs, especially adequate and suitable post-termination restrictions and appropriate intellectual property provisions. The process of preparing an employment contract can often alert the business to shortcomings in its HR procedures and policies that can then be addressed by our team.

Employee Share Schemes: We advise on the establishment of employee option schemes (including tax advantaged and non-tax advantaged schemes and bespoke employee incentive arrangements). Employee incentive schemes can be a mutually beneficial way to ensure that employees remain motivated and their goals are aligned with those of the business. A number of issues can arise in setting up a suitable scheme, including vesting periods and conditions and what happens to share options should employees leave. We provide advice on all these aspects and prepare scheme documentation that meets the needs and objectives of our client.

Settlement agreements: Where an employee is leaving a business, it is often desirable to enter into a settlement agreement to ensure that both parties have a clean break and can go their separate ways. With senior employees, they may also own shares or share options in the company and the company and/or the employee may need advice on what should happen to these shares following termination of employment. Businesses are often concerned about how they can ensure the employee does not breach restrictive covenants or misuse their the business’s confidential information. We provide advice on all aspects of employment termination and prepare and negotiate documentation suitable to the circumstances and concerns of our client.

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