Regional law firm Royds Withy King, which has an office in Swindon, has launched a legal ‘safety net’ in response to unprecedented demand from human resources professionals and business owners for affordable expert HR and employment advice.
Called HELP, the package provides comprehensive legal support to businesses alongside insurance protection against Employment Tribunal claims. 
Bespoke packages have been developed for the health & social care, retail and leisure & hospitality sectors by lawyers at the firm with an in-depth understanding of the particular issues and challenges facing businesses operating in these industries.
HELP takes its name from a bundling together in one innovative service HR and Employment advice, other Legal expertise such as business immigration, data protection, health and safety and insurance Protection.
Clients will have a dedicated relationship manager who is a qualified solicitor as well as access to a secure, cloud-based portal so that HR and legal documents can be stored and shared safely in real time. This also includes access to Bath-headquartered Royds Withy King’s employment resource centre with HR templates, policies, guidance notes and legal updates.
Head of Royds Withy King’s employment team Malcolm Gregory, who is based in Swindon, said: “In recent months, we have seen how the prevailing climate of economic uncertainty combined with increasing regulatory and market complexities and pressures have created workforce challenges for our clients and their ability to forge ahead and plan for the future.
“Most of the HR professionals and business leaders we spoke to told us that they wanted a safety net – a way of accessing practical and commercial HR and employment law support with the option to add extra legal advice and services– and so HELP was born.”
Health & Social Care sector team head James Sage said the firm was confident that HELP would provide businesses with peace of mind.
“They can get expert legal advice on demand, free-up management time in dealing with tricky workforce issues and minimise their business risk with insurance cover against Employment Tribunal claims, which have risen considerably since the removal of tribunal fees,” he said.
“For us, it’s about developing strong and lasting relationships with our clients, getting an in-depth understanding of their business and providing outstanding service.”
The launch of HELP follows the introduction nine months ago of Royds Withy King’s innovative legacy management portal Life Safe, which offers a secure online vault to store records of all high net worth individuals’ physical and digital assets.
The firm, which was named Best Managed Firm at the Managing Partners’ Forum Awards 2019, employs around 520 people across its offices in Swindon, Bath, Oxford and London.
