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Susan has specialised in employment law since qualification. Susan has been named as an expert in employment law in Legal Expert every year since 2005.Through her work in both private practice and as an in-house employment solicitor at Barclays Bank plc in the late 90s, she has gained considerable and wide ranging experience of all aspects of employment law including collective redundancies, TUPE, discrimination claims, breach of contract and severance packages and both drafting and enforcing restrictive covenants, including the obtaining and defending of injunctive proceedings. Susan also conducts significant litigation in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and in the High Court.
Susan’s practice now is a mixture of contentious and non-contentious matters, acting for both employers ranging from major Plc’s to SME’s and senior executives covering all aspects of employment law.
Susan lectures extensively on all employment issues and works closely with clients to provide in-house training to both HR professionals and line management. She is described as a ‘highly engaging speaker’. She is particularly well thought of for her interactive diversity awareness training and clients have praised Susan for her ‘practical, no nonsense solutions to their issues’. Susan is often asked to comment on developments in employment law by news agencies including Channel 4 News and the Financial Times. She was also closely involved in a BBC production on sex discrimination in the City.
Career History
- 2004 Partner, Magrath LLP
- 2000 – 2004 - Partner, Archon
- 1998 – 2000 – Barclays Bank plc
- 1995 – 1998 – Mayor Brown Rowe and Maw
- 1993 – 1994 – Masons
- 1991 – 1993 – Trainee – MacFarlanes
Recent Notable Experience
- Successfully defending a race discrimination claim in the Employment Appeal Tribunal for a large construction company as to whether claims of race discrimination have been brought in time.
- Advising a significantly sized corporate client on its restructuring with consequent collective redundancy and consultation requirements and advice on individual termination arrangements and payments.
- Advising a corporate client on a director’s breach of confidentiality and leaking of confidential information to third parties. Advised on the internal disciplinary procedure throughout and subsequent termination of director’s employment.
- Advising a corporate client on a complex TUPE transaction involving detailed analysis of the applicability of the TUPE regulations to the transfer, collective consultation under TUPE and analysis of commercial and legal risk.
- Acted on behalf of an individual under the Equality Act 2010 in the Employment Tribunal for discrimination by reason of sex, pregnancy and/or maternity leave.
- Successfully defended a claim in the Employment Tribunal and EAT for an employer client as to whether a casual worker had employment status such that they could claim unfair dismissal.
- Advising employer client facing complex grievance and whistleblowing claims brought against it, advised on all aspects of the internal process to ensure process carried out fairly having regard for commercial risk and impact on employer.
Interests
Susan lives near Kingston on Thames in South West London with her family and in her free time is a Governor for a local infants school, Coombe Hill Infants. She also enjoys cooking, fine wine and the company of good friends, ideally all together.