Shoosmiths LLP

Employment

Kevin is the head of Shoosmiths' London and Thames Valley Employment Team and leads its International Employment Group. Kevin has over 20 years of experience in providing legal support on employment related matters to in-house legal departments and HR teams. Kevin has an additional advantage of having trained, qualified and practised as a barrister.

Kevin’s practice focuses on resolving employee relations issues, litigation disputes (often complex or with reputational repercussions), providing transactional support and assisting with senior executive hires/exits. He regularly supports international clients on establishing UK operations, managing employee relations, global restructurings and establishing global advice helplines. Kevin’s clients are diverse including start-ups, banks/hedge funds, manufacturers and construction firms.

Kevin likes to thoroughly understand his clients’ businesses to effectively manage their employment issues, consistent with their culture.

Recent relevant work handled by Kevin includes advising:

• a wealth management company in navigating an allegation of serious sexual misconduct brought by one employee against another.
• a foreign owned utilities company on a national redundancy exercise including collective consultation obligations.
• an international marketing group on the termination of employment of a senior executive with a contract of employment governed by English and Welsh law whilst on secondment to a subsidiary company in California and who also benefitted from Californian legal protection.
• a third sector employer on successfully responding to industrial action (including strike action).
• on the termination of a partner from an LLP following underperformance and failure to attend the office on a sufficient basis following the ending of Covid-19 restrictions.
• a large UK charity in an unfair dismissal and automatic unfair dismissal claim arising out of alleged breaches and whistleblowing concerns related to Covid-19 and health & Safety regulations.
• a financial services company (US subsidiary) facing claims for disability discrimination by an employee’s line manager (head of legal) and responding to internal grievance and whistleblowing allegations.
• defending a US owned IT company from allegations of race discrimination and unfair dismissal where the employee was claiming in excess of £2m in compensation.
• a large employer in a claim before the Central Arbitration Committee for alleged failure to disclose information for collective bargaining purposes.
• a US construction company on the employee implications and process of a pre-pack purchase of an IT company from an administrator.
• in respect of allegations of sexual harassment and unequal pay brought by a senior member of staff based in the UK against her line manager who was based in the US in a Japanese owned company.
• a private equity company concerning alleged inappropriate interactions between a senior member of staff exercising undue influence over a junior employee.
• a bank in respect of allegations of A-Class drug taking on office premises by senior members of the HR team.
• a train operator on secondment of staff for training purposes to a third party involving contractual variations, TUPE and trade union related issues. Negotiating the terms and conditions with the third party including general and TUPE related indemnities.
• a US owned multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company against claims of sex discrimination by a mid-level manager against senior members of the management team.
• conducting an investigation on behalf of a FCA regulated firm (US subsidiary) and reporting to its conduct committee in connection with a whistleblowing allegation made by an overseas employee against a non-executive director of its UK entity.
• a BBC production company on its relocation from London to Media City, Salford, including transferring services/production teams between companies. Kevin advised on changing terms and conditions, redundancies and TUPE implications of various proposals.
• one of the world's largest communication/publishing and media group company (employing over 60,000 professionals) on the high profile and controversial partial closure of one of its group companies and intra group transfer of client relationships/employees.
• a firm regulated by the SRA and a senior member of staff in respect of allegations of, amongst other things, racial harassment.
• a firm regulated by the FCA concerning a senior member of staff (with SMF functions) who admitted to use of an A-class drug.
• an asset management company on a high profile team hire, the TUPE implications of that hire and restraint of trade issues.
• a utilities subsidiary of a Dutch parent company on a sensitive sexual harassment and assault claim lodged against its CEO.
• on recognition and collective agreements including negotiating with trade unions and their lawyers.
• coordinating an international asset acquisition of an oil exploration company in a number of jurisdictions.
• members of a political party in a claim brought by a member of staff for, amongst other things, alleged bullying.

Kevin also represented Elaine Day in her claim against HRH the Prince of Wales’s Household (now King Charles III).

Kevin regularly provides in-house training on employment law/practices/procedures (including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) to senior management and In-house Legal/HR.

Kevin is ranked as a "Recommended Lawyer" and is in the “Hall of fame" in the Legal 500 and "Band 1" in Chambers, a ranking he has held for 17 years.  He has also been recognised by Acritas as a leading HR lawyer and is a Recommended Lawyer in Who's Who Legal: Labour, Employment & Benefits 2023.

Prior to joining Shoosmiths, Kevin qualified at Clifford Chance, worked at Eversheds, Nicholson Graham & Jones (now K&L Gates) and Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens) based in their Melbourne office and qualified/practised as a barrister at Cloisters.

He lectured at Cardiff Law School, the University of Wales and co-authored the Tolleys and Butterworths books: “Termination of Employment”, “Employment Law” and “Working Time”. He also edited Croners' “Employment Law and the European Union” and was appointed to their editorial board.

Dutch.

Employment Lawyers Association.

University of Cardiff (1989 BSc); University of London (1990 LLM Commercial and Corporate Law).

Mountain biking, skiing, tennis, travel.