On-Demand Employment Law Advice

Pay-as-you-go legal expertise. No retainer, No delay

Not every organisation needs continuous legal support. But when something happens, a grievance, a disciplinary matter, a sudden TUPE question, it matters that you can get reliable, senior-level advice quickly.

Watershed’s on-demand service is built for those moments. No subscription. No upfront commitment. Just clear, intelligent legal advice when you need it, charged on a time-spent basis. It’s the traditional model, modernised for immediacy, practicality, and precision.

When you don’t need us Often, but need us to be excellent

Some employers only require support a few times a year. But when they do, it’s often because something significant is at stake. A poorly managed exit. A process that’s already gone off course.

A board member asking urgent questions. In those moments, you need to speak to someone who understands the legal framework, the human dynamics, and the organisational implications, and who can give you a usable answer now, not next week.

That’s where we come in.

What you can expect

Every on-demand client works directly with senior employment lawyers. There is no junior delegation, no waiting for internal approvals, and no risk of being routed through call handlers. Our advice is personal, precise and proportionate to your context.
Typical areas of support include:

• Disciplinary, grievance and performance advice
• TUPE-related queries during mergers or acquisitions
• Drafting of settlement agreements or exit documentation
• Strategic consultation during restructures or organisational change
• Guidance on complex leave or discrimination issues
• Informal resolution strategies before formal processes are triggered

We charge on a time-spent basis and provide estimates where appropriate. If a matter becomes more involved than first anticipated, we’ll tell you, and work with you to manage scope and cost transparently.

Rapid response. Practical focus.

In many firms, legal advice arrives slowly. A client call is logged, a junior lawyer drafts a response, and a partner reviews it before release. By then, the situation may have moved on.

At Watershed, we prioritise immediacy. Our lawyers are briefed, engaged and equipped to advise in real time. Whether you prefer phone, email, or video, you’ll get a straight answer… fast.

We won’t quote legislation unless it’s helpful. We won’t hedge. We’ll tell you what we think, what you can do, and what we’d do in your shoes.

No retainers. No packages. Just good lawyering.

Unlike fixed-fee clients, on-demand users are not bound to a monthly contract. You engage us as and when you need to. That makes this model ideal for:

• Smaller organisations without regular employment law issues
• In-house legal teams looking for a second opinion
• Businesses going through episodic change, such as a restructure or acquisition
• Clients trialling our services before moving to a fixed-fee model

We operate with the same integrity, rigour and responsiveness across all our support models. What changes is simply the nature and frequency of the engagement.

A starting point, or a long-term fit

For many of our clients, on-demand advice is the starting point. They come to us for a single issue. Then another. And over time, as familiarity builds and usage patterns emerge, they may opt to move into a fixed-fee arrangement.

Others remain on-demand indefinitely, preferring the simplicity of pay-as-you-go. Either approach works. We’re not here to upsell, we’re here to be useful.

When to choose this model

You may find on-demand support to be the right fit if:

• Your employment law needs are infrequent but occasionally complex
• You want to avoid retainer costs for rarely used services
• You need immediate legal input from senior people
• You prefer to work on a case-by-case basis, with flexibility in scope and spend

Get the advice. Skip the formalities.

With Watershed, there’s no onboarding delay, no account manager buffer, no junior gatekeeping. Just a senior employment lawyer who listens, understands, and advises, when you ask, and without fuss.