Sudden Drop in Demand for Employment Dispute Lawyers
Dramatic increase in employment disputes may have now peaked with a 7.4% drop in employment related enquiries in the past month
(PRWEB) December 18, 2009
There has been a sharp and unexpected drop in demand for legal advice on employment disputes in the past month, reveals figures from Contact Law, the UK’s leading provider of client introductions to a network of over 500 UK law firms.
Contact Law, part of Thomson Reuters, says enquiries by individuals and businesses requiring employment law advice fell by around 8% in October. Contact Law explains that this is the first break in a rising tide of employment disputes it has been contacted about since the start of the year.
Contact Law says that this sudden reversal is in stark contrast to the 77% jump in demand for employment lawyers it recorded over the first nine months of this year.
James Vintin, Managing Director of Contact Law comments: “Demand for specialist employment lawyers has surged all this year. The impact of the recession provided fertile ground for disputes between employers and their staff.”
“These latest figures indicate that the dramatic rise in recession related disputes may now have peaked as confidence in the economy begins to recover, job cuts slow and the pressure of working in a fast shrinking economy eases.”
“Set against the growth in requests for other legal experts that we received over the same period this actually equates to a decrease in enquiries relating to employment disputes in real terms of 19%.”
According to Contact Law the recession triggered an increase in demand for employment dispute specialists for a number of reasons including:
Rising redundancies have led to unfair dismissal claims Employers have become more active in managing out under performing staff leading to disputes over constructive dismissals Cases being settled out of court require a solicitor to draft a compromise agreement Employees are also challenging reductions in bonuses and to non-payroll benefits A rise in internal disputes and a general souring of working relationships caused by tougher market conditions have to claims for bullying and discrimination
Says James Vintin: “The downturn has created a pressure cooker environment in many workplaces that inevitably leads to employment disputes.”
“Now that the strains of the recession appear to be subsiding, and job cuts are slowing, the rise in employment disputes should taper off.”
Each month Contact Law refers thousands of qualified prospective clients to a growing network of over 5,000 solicitors across all areas of law throughout the UK.
Notes to Editors:
Contact Law (www. contactlaw. co. uk) is the UK’s leading provider of client introductions to UK small and medium-sized solicitors firms. The business is based in London where its team of trained case handlers manage the introduction of thousands of client enquiries every month to its network of solicitors across the UK.
Thomson Reuters (www. thomsonreuters. com) is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Combining industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TRI); Toronto Stock
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