The problem
When an employer needs staff to sign a contract change, someone prints, posts and chases dozens of letters. If you run one exercise a month covering 60 staff and each takes 8 minutes to send, chase and file, that's 480 minutes, 8 hours a month.
What the AI does
Legalesign is an e-signature service for legal documents. Solo Pro, at £25 a month excluding VAT, lists bulk send and fair use of 100 documents a month. You upload the variation letter, send it to the staff list, and track who has signed. The advice on how to run the consultation, and whether the employer can lawfully make the change, comes from a solicitor, not from the signature tool.
A worked example
An employment firm in Cardiff helps an employer with 60 staff update their terms. The solicitor prepares the letter, the paralegal sends it through Legalesign, and chases the rest. The firm runs about one such exercise a month.
Before
8 minutes to send, chase and file each of 60 variation letters: 8 hours in the month
After
About 2 minutes each: 2 hours in the month
What it's worth
About £180 a month, when you run one such exercise in the month (6 minutes x 60 letters = 360 minutes = 6 hours, at £30 an hour), against £25 for Solo Pro. In a month with no exercise there is no saving, so this pays back only if you run exercises regularly. Solo plans are single-user; if more than one person sends, Team is £15 per user (2 to 5 users).
How to set it up
- Have a solicitor settle the advice, consultation steps and the wording of the variation letter.
- Get the staff list with work email addresses from the employer, and check the employer has a lawful basis to share it with you.
- Upload the letter to Legalesign, choose Solo Pro, and send it in bulk.
- Track signatures and chase non-responders yourself or through the employer.
- Keep the signed copies and the audit log on the matter file.
What goes wrong
- A signature does not make a change valid. Imposing a variation without proper consultation or agreement can lead to claims, so a solicitor must run the process.
- Solo Pro has fair use of 100 documents a month, so a larger employer needs a quote. The page's feature tables are inconsistent on bulk send for lower plans.
- Staff data is personal data. Check where Legalesign holds data and agree a data processing agreement; its page does not say.
- Staff who do not sign need a different route. Plan for it before you start.