Surge in those seeking employment law advice

A fifth of all enquiries in the third quarter of this year fielded by find-a-solicitor service Contact Law were from people seeking legal advice on employment-related issues, the company has reported. The number of employment-related enquiries rose 5.1% in the third quarter compared to Q2 2010, and enquiry levels were up 13.3% on the first quarter of 2010.

Overall, the legal referrals website saw a 9.4% increase in legal enquiries across all areas in Q3 compared to Q2.

The most requested legal advice in Q3 was for the following areas:

• Employment (20.2% of all enquiries);
• Family (20.2%);
• Commercial (8.1%);
• Civil litigation (6.1%);
• Criminal (5%);
• Conveyancing (4.7%); and
• Immigration (4.3%).

Dan Watkins, Director of Contact Law, commented:

“One out of every five calls our advisers fielded in Q3 were people wanting legal advice on employment issues, and employment-related enquiries were also up 5.1% on the previous quarter. What was evident was the split between public and private sector enquiries. Our advisers fielded a lot more calls from public sector workers in the last few months seeking legal advice, and we fully expect this number to continue to rise in the fourth quarter following the Government’s Spending Review and the prospect of heavy public sector job cuts across the board.

 “The Coalition Government’s decision to impose an immigration cap has also seen our advisers taking a lot more calls over the last quarter from people who need advice on immigration related matters such as extended visa applications and appeals to the First-tier Tribunal.”

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