Employment law for rural businesses

Managing a rural estate, farm, or business requires a good understanding of employment law. We’ll keep you up to date with everything you need to know

Rural employers face a wide range of employment law matters. From day-to-day issues around managing absence or performance to one-off disputes. From employing seasonal workers or family members to arrangements around working time or tied accommodation.

Our lawyers can support you on these and all the other employment law issues relevant to your business.

Fixed-fee advice helps you manage cost

We work proactively with rural employers of all sizes to do this, offering one-off or ongoing services.

Many of our rural clients use our fixed-free Prism employment law and HR consultancy service, valuing the budgeting reassurance this offers.

There are different levels of support available, so you can flex our services to your own business needs.

Good advice can prevent issues escalating

With employment law, prevention is always better than cure, and we’ll help you manage aspects such as:

• Day-to-day issues including disciplinary and grievance matters, absence and mental health issues at work, and equal opportunities
• One-off situations such as redundancies and restructuring, or the operation of the TUPE regulations if you’re transferring a rural business
• Issues to consider if you’re diversifying your business – including legal aspects related to employing seasonal workers and/or workers who need visas
• Resolving disputes and representing you at Employment Tribunals
• Drafting director's service agreements, employment contracts, policies or procedures
• National Minimum Wage and Working Time Regulation matters including calculation of holiday entitlement and pay, and rest periods
• Issues related to having family members work in your business, including what does and doesn’t constitute an employment contract.

Through our pragmatic approach, we’ll show you simple, workable ways to manage all of these.