We have been very impressed with Martin [Hulls] and the team at Ward Hadaway - they have done a great job and we would have no hesitation in recommending them.
Our experienced team works with recruitment agencies across the UK, supporting and providing advice on a daily basis.
From start-up through scale-up to sale, our multi-disciplinary team can provide all your legal requirements. We’ve got our finger on the pulse and our team is brimming with first-hand experience, including a senior partner working in-house at a multi-national recruitment agency for six years.
With this in mind, we’ll help you achieve your unique commercial objectives, whilst ensuring legal compliance.
Our specialist expertise and proven track record help give you the edge, creating a trusted relationship to help drive your business onwards with maximum effect. With our experts, you and your people are in safe hands.
The range of services we can provide include:
- Business terms (including umbrella arrangements)
- IR35
- Employee terms
- Employee retention and incentivisation
- Advice on/enforcement of restrictive covenants
- Regulatory/Compliance
- Immigration/visa advice
- Share schemes
- Shareholder Agreements
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Equity and debt funding
- Buy and Builds
- Exits
Work we have done
Corporate
- Advising JSA Services Limited on the acquisitions of a number of businesses including:
- Paysure
- Online Professional
- Marsco Group
- Mango Pay Limited
- Kingsley Hamilton
- Crest Plus
- Conduit Accounting
- Nyman Linden
- Liberty Bishop
- Advising JSA Services Limited on the investment by Universal Partners and debt funding by ACPI
- Advising Key Capital Partners on the investment in Routes Northern
- Advising Key Capital Partners on the investment in Sparta Global
- Advising Proclinical Group on the sale to ICS
- Advising Techstream on the acquisitions of Earthstream Global and Voyage
- Advising Techstream on the merger with Xcede Group
- Advising Techstream on the equity investment by Universal Partners and debt funding by Investec
- Advising on the sale of Etonwood Limited
- Advising on the sale of Sparta Group
- Advising on the management buy-out of Hallam Medical
- Advising Operam Group on the investment by BGF
- Advising Operam Group on the acquisitions of Keystage Teacher Supply and Provide Education
- Advising on the sale of Vision for Education to TES Global
- Advising on the secondary buyout of Frank Recruitment Group by TPG
- Advising Nigel Frank on the investment by Living Bridge and HSBC
- Advising Liquid Personnel on the sale to Independent Clinical Services
- Advising Consol Partners on the sale to Empresaria Technology (Holdings)
- Advising Black Swan Group on the acquisition of Livingstone Edwards Limited and its assets
- Advising Antal on the purchase of office personnel specialist Smart Moves
- Advising on the tender offer and delisting of NRG Plc
- Advising Just Teachers on the investment by Synabor
Employment and Immigration
- Successfully defending an Employment Tribunal claim brought by a recruitment consultant in respect of non-payment of discretionary commission
- Advising a London based IT recruitment business during the covid19 pandemic in respect of utilising the Job Retention Scheme, reducing working hours and redundancies
- Obtaining written undertakings from former employees as a pre-curser to litigation for post-termination breach of confidentiality and restrictive covenants
- Successfully applying for a sponsor licence for a London based leading pharma recruiter to sponsor overseas workers and assisting with the sponsorship and visa process
- Acting as the legal representative and level 1 user for a global niche IT recruitment business and managing their day to day immigration issues and reports to UK Visas & Immigration
Dispute Resolution and Litigation
- Advising on an urgent injunction against a departing niche recruitment team, preventing them from taking the niche client base to set up on their own
- Negotiating settlements through formal mediations including, in relation to another departing pair of senior recruiters, securing the profit margin on all work carried out by them over the next 2 years for the short list of clients we agreed to allow them to take
- Securing multiple settlements of recruitment fee claims up to and including six-figure sums where the right to the fee was disputed and hard-fought, including taking matters to court, and through to trial (although trials are rare).
- Successfully pursing or defending claims for recruitment fees, often substantial.
- Years of experience in dealing with disputes over the common issues in recruitment fee claims:
- Whether the “backdoor” engagement qualifies for a fee
- Whether terms of engagement were incorporated
- What comprises a “course of business dealings” by which previous terms may still apply
- Disputes over which of 2 agencies is due a fee
- In what circumstances a fee can be due where no terms have been agreed/incorporated
- Interpretation (construction) of the relevant term, and whether it does create a right to a fee in the circumstances