About Zhan Associates
Someone in your corner when it matters most.
Zhan Associates is a specialist workplace defence consultancy. We stand alongside employees facing disciplinary, grievance and appeal hearings, preparing the case, protecting the process, and speaking with authority in the room.
Who we are
A steady hand in a difficult moment
Being accused at work is isolating. The letter arrives, the process moves quickly, and most people face it with no idea what their rights are or how a hearing actually works. Zhan Associates exists for that moment. We are a dedicated workplace defence practice, and our single focus is representing the employee when their job, their income and their good name are on the line.
We are not a firm of solicitors and we do not provide reserved legal activities or legal advice. What we provide is specialist workplace representation, forensic case preparation and calm, measured advocacy at the hearing itself. That distinction matters, and we are precise about it, because it is the foundation of a standing that cannot be challenged in the room.
The practice is led by a representative with over thirty-five years of experience across the public and private sector, in senior representation, equality and diversity governance, and consultancy. That background means a case is read the way the other side will read it, and answered before it becomes a problem.
Our standing
The basis on which we enter the room
Section 10 recognises three categories of companion: a fellow worker, an official employed by a trade union, and a trade union representative certified by their union as competent to accompany a worker. Shakil Dixon falls into the third. He is a trade union representative accredited by Unite the Union as competent to accompany a worker, and that accreditation is the basis on which he attends your hearing.
We publish this because an experienced HR adviser who knows the section will ask, and because a standing that is asserted is weaker than one that is stated. Where your request to be accompanied falls within one of the three categories and is reasonable, your employer must agree to it. A solicitor acting as a solicitor sits outside those categories and can be refused, which is the practical difference between the two.
The right itself belongs to you. We exercise it on your behalf as your chosen companion, and a formal Notice of Representation goes to your employer before every hearing instruction setting out the statutory framework and the role. The question is settled in correspondence rather than in the doorway.
The accreditation is personal to your representative and establishes his competence to accompany a worker. Zhan Associates is an independent practice and is not part of Unite the Union, this is not union representation, and you do not need to be a member of Unite or of any union to instruct us.
How we operate
Prepared, present, and plain about cost
- Accredited statutory standing. We attend as your chosen companion under Section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, as a trade union representative accredited by Unite the Union as competent to accompany a worker. That is one of the three categories the section specifies, and where your request is reasonable your employer must agree to it.
- Forensic preparation. Every allegation is dissected, the evidence stress-tested, and the employer's process measured against the ACAS Code of Practice before you ever walk into the room.
- Measured advocacy. We put your case, respond on your behalf to views expressed, and confer with you throughout. Composed, never combative, and always on the merits.
- Fixed, transparent fees. Your fee is agreed in writing before any work begins, based on a clear salary band. No hourly billing, no surprises. Zhan Associates is not VAT registered, so no VAT is added.
- Confidential from first contact. Everything you share is held in strict confidence and stored securely, from the first conversation onward.
Who we represent
Employees, at the moment they need it
We act for employees, not employers. If you are facing a disciplinary allegation, a gross misconduct charge, a capability process, a grievance or an appeal, we can help. We support people through internal hearings, ACAS Early Conciliation, settlement discussions and preparation for the employment tribunal.
We work with people at every level, from shop floor to senior management, and across sectors. Some come to us the day the letter lands. Others arrive later, after a first hearing has gone badly, needing an appeal built properly. Either way, the earlier you make contact, the more options remain open to you.
Where we are based
Birmingham, serving England and Wales
Zhan Associates is based in Birmingham and represents clients across England and Wales. We attend hearings in person where that serves the case, and work remotely by video and telephone where it does not, which means distance is rarely an obstacle to strong representation.
Zhan Associates is the trading name of Zhan Enterprises Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 11849088). Our working hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00am to 6:00pm, and you can reach us by email, phone or WhatsApp.
Confidential · Free 15-minute consultation
Don’t face your employer alone.
What’s said in the room matters. Tell us what has happened, and within one free call you will know where you stand, what it costs, and what happens next.