Employment Law Half-Day Conference 2023

John Grant (Wright Johnston & Mackenzie) - Chairperson and Introduction

Innes Clark - Employment law trapdoors and how to avoid them

Highlighting some of the less well known areas where significant and costly mistakes can be made by employment lawyers if the wrong advice is given.

Bio

Innes has specialised in employment law for over 25 years and heads up Morton Fraser's employment law team. Innes is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in employment law as well as being listed by both Legal 500 and Chambers as a leading employment law practitioner. Innes also lectures on employment law at the University of Edinburgh and is a chartered member of the CIPD.

Katy Wedderburn - Forthcoming changes in Employment Law to Look Out For

Katy will discuss some key changes on the horizon for Employment Law Practitioners such as:

*       Recent new flexible working laws and proposed new Code of Practice for Flexible Working

*       neonatal leave and pay

*       carers' leave

*       withholding tips

*       greater redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents

*       predictable ts and cs for casual workers

Bio

Katy is an experienced lawyer, specialising in employment law and discrimination law.

She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in employment law, and separately, in discrimination law. She has been practising as a specialist in these areas since 2001.

Katy regularly advises clients on all areas of employment law. She regularly represents them in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Katy has been recognised by the legal directives and has been ranked for employment law in Scotland since 2019.

Catherine Greig - Beyond belief - managing conflicting beliefs in the workplace

Tensions can arise when employees hold opposing beliefs or strongly disagree with the opinions of colleagues.   What practical steps can employers take to avoid discrimination claims and maintain a harmonious workplace?”

Bio

Catherine a solicitor and an Accredited Specialist in Employment Law. She first specialised in employment law in 1997 and deal with a broad range of employment law issues, acting for both employers and employees.

Areas of specialism include TUPE, disciplinary/grievance matters, redundancy, whistleblowing, unfair dismissal and also discrimination at all stages of the employment relationship, from before employment commences to post-termination discrimination and victimisation.

​She also has considerable experience representing clients in Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

She provides strategic and commercial advice, taking account of the commercial objectives of the client.

She has provided practical advice on TUPE in corporate transactions and enjoy managing large and complex TUPE projects both in the private and public sector. She also advises in commercial disputes, acting for corporate clients and also for senior executives, including the negotiation of strategies for executive exits and advising on continuing fiduciary duties and restrictive covenants.

Her objective is to provide specialist legal advice while taking account of the practical wider picture.

She tutors on the Employment Law Elective of the Diploma in Legal Practice for the University of Strathclyde.

Kate Sutherland (Harper Macleod) - Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? – disciplinary procedures involving potentially criminal misconduct

I will consider the position where there are allegations of misconduct which have a criminal element. This may be because the employee has been charged with a criminal offence or it might have only reached the stage of them being questioned by the police with potential charges to follow. I will consider the position from both the employer and employee perspective.

Bio

Kate Sutherland is a senior associate at Harper Macleod LLP with nearly 10 years' experience in employment law. Kate advises businesses, charities, public sector organisations, unincorporated associations and individuals on a wide range of employment law matters including unfair dismissal, TUPE, breach of contract, settlement agreements and discrimination. In addition to advising both employers and employees she regularly represents clients in the Employment Tribunal and has experience of judicial mediation from both the employee and employer perspective.