Joanne is dual qualified and advises on all aspects of employment law in Northern Ireland as well as Great Britain (GB), having practised for 9 years at a large leading commercial law firm in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Joanne has extensive experience in Employment Tribunal litigation, specialising in complex discrimination and whistleblowing claims. She also specialises in providing strategic advice to public and private sector clients on non-contentious matters such as TUPE negotiations and large-scale business reorganisations, often involving collective redundancy programmes. In addition, she provides practical advice on day-to-day HR matters as well as complex disciplinary and grievance issues. She also advises on aspects of public administrative law.
With GB experience, Joanne acts for a variety of employer clients in a number of different sectors, with particular expertise in the industrials and retail sectors, having acted for a large number of FTSE 100 PLCS. She also acts for individuals on complex employment disputes and executive terminations.
Joanne has been recognised in Legal 500 as an “excellent communicator”. She has also been recognised in Chambers and Partners for “dedication to the job” and for having “proven to be extremely technical and achieves successful outcomes” as well as being noted for acting “on complex TUPE work and Employment Tribunal claims”.
On 19 March 2020, the Supreme Court held in Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake that care workers who were required to sleep at or near their workplace and be available to be called on during the night, are not entitled to the national minimum wage (NMW) for the whole of their “sleep-in shifts”.
This is a significant and much welcomed decision for care sector employers. Many such organisations may not have been able to afford to pay the NMW to each worker for an entire night-shift, rather than a lesser fixed allowance which is permitted for “sleep-in shifts” under the NMW legislation. Also, care sector employers will be relieved that the door has now been closed on huge back pay
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