Russell Rochford

Employment litigation

• Managing sensitive and complex employment disputes and litigation in all the employment fora and courts including class actions, whistleblowing claims and High Cout injunctions
• Negotiating ‘out-of-court’ settlements in all manner of employment disputes including through formal mediation processes
• Assisting clients in navigating and resolving high-profile disputes with unions including in the context of industrial action
• Providing strategic and commercially pragmatic legal and risk management advice to successfully resolve disputes and litigation at an early stage

Employment advisory

• Advising on the implementation and management of employee relations processes including disciplinary proceedings with both regulated and unregulated employees
• Implementing sensitive severance arrangements and terminations, with a focus on commercially practicable risk management
• Partnering with clients in the preparation and submission of statutory reports under the gender pay gap legislation and compliance with the requirements of the Pay Transparency Directive
• Working closely with clients on the implementation of large-scale change programmes involving individual and collective redundancy processes and harmonisation projects, including in the context of insolvency scenarios

Commercial activities

• Leading on the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions, outsourcings and other commercial projects affecting staff including due diligence processes, the negotiation of transaction documentation and post-transfer restructure issues
• Assisting in the transfer of staff cross-border including compliance with TUPE and the cross-border merger legislation
• Implementing new contractual documentation with senior management including bonus and incentive arrangements as part of pre-transaction and earn-out arrangements
• Advising on the employment aspects of public and private service procurement processes

Whistleblowing

• With a wealth of whistleblowing experience having worked in the UK, I have a particular interest and expertise in all things whistleblowing
• Routinely assisting clients on whistleblowing matters including complex whistleblowing investigations involving regulated and unregulated employees
• Providing strategic and operational advice to successfully resolve sensitive, contentious whistleblowing matters before they degenerate into disputes or claims
• Resolving and managing whistleblowing disputes and litigation including Circuit Court injunction applications