Annette Jackson is the sole Director of AELL. Annette started working in the law in 1980 at John Budd & Co Solicitors as the assistant of Samuel Lee (known to his friends as Sam or even Sammy). Having obtained all the necessary academic qualifications, Annette continued to work under the direct guidance of Sam for two years as his Articled Clerk. It was during this period that Annette started to develop an interest in Employment law and has specialised in this area since then. In 1993 Annette became a Partner in John Budd & Co. At that time she specialised in Crime, Civil Litigation and of course Employment Law. As Employment Law developed Annette found that more of her work was in this field rather than in her other specialties. She developed a reputation for being a fierce opponent of injustice in the workplace, in particular helping employees achieve a remedy at the Employment Tribunal against bad industrial and employment practice.

During the last 15 years the workplace has become a much more regulated arena, with increasing costly penalties being paid by those Employers who either fail to keep themselves abreast of their legal obligations toward their staff, or worse ignore the regulations at their peril. The potential cost of an application by an employee or ex-employee is great. It is not merely the awards that can be so damaging, (there are some claims which have no financial limit) but the cost in time in having to deal with the preparation of a defence; the time taken by the Employer and other members of staff in attending a Tribunal hearing, not to mention the legal costs of being represented by a Solicitor or Barrister. The really bad news is that even if an Employer can successfully defend a claim, it is unlikely that the Tribunal will make the employee pay the wasted costs. Most Employment Tribunal hearings are open to the public and damage to your business can be caused by bad press affecting your reputation.

It is therefore in the best interests of your business to understand your employment law obligations and ensure you have the required documents and policies in place.

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