What can I do for you?
I specialise in the fast moving area of employment law and practice. The work I do includes helping clients including large corporates, owner managed businesses and SMEs as well as public sector clients such as NHS trusts and local authorities.
Most of my time is spent working through, with our clients, the sometimes baffling array of UK and EU employment laws that impact on their businesses. I have a particular interest in transfers of undertakings and complex discrimination cases. A lot of the work I do includes advocacy in employment tribunals. I also enjoy client training as I see that as adding value to our client relationships.
Supporting my clients’ objectives
One of the most enjoyable parts of my work is dealing with issues of national importance.
A recent example was the work I did for Nottingham University Hospitals. A claim for a nationally agreed premium payment was made by four maintenance supervisors. If successful, this would have applied across the NHS. I successfully defended the client in the employment tribunal, the employees appealed and we also successfully defended that appeal.
This case encompassed the variety of an employment lawyer’s work: contractual analysis, advice, litigation and advocacy. It was a fantastic result for our client and also gave me great personal and professional satisfaction.
What do others say?
It is fair to say that employment practice can be daunting. It is complicated and full of jargon – there’s a lot of law. We are often told that we make life easier for clients by reducing jargon and simplifying issues. We think this is really important and ultimately helps clients keep costs down.
Clients tell us that we are friendly and have a sense of humour. For me, the best comments are when clients just see us as part of their team.
What else should you know?
I am a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Institute of Directors, which is very useful for keeping on top of developments in business.
I am a regular speaker at seminars and workshops on employment law and also enjoy writing on the subject, part authoring several books and far too many articles to mention.