Weightmans LLP

Adele has extensive quality experience advising, training and representing SME and Corporate business’ on employee relations and all ancillary employment law issues.

Her expertise and insight allied to her friendly manner fosters a very good rapport with clients, so she quickly grasps their business requirements, values and culture. She focuses on the key issues. She forensically breaks cases down delivering clear and pragmatic solutions tailored to the needs of your business. She acts for a host of loyal manufacturing and retail brands, blue chip companies and SMEs.

Her considerable expertise in the manufacturing and retail sectors, includes assisting them with complex change management programmes, advising, supporting and coaching teams of HR Managers in significant restructures with reputational implications for their business whilst enhancing their brand.

Adele is an experienced and persuasive advocate in the Employment Tribunal. She has many successful experiences of judicial and private mediation. Adele regularly leads on bespoke training courses delivered in-company where she is an engaging presenter.

Highlights include:

• Successfully advising, proactively supporting and coaching a team of HR Managers in harmonising and changing terms and conditions of employment of 10,000 employees. The international brand increased weekend working to 3 in 4 weekends. Removal of bonus payments and introduction of living wage foundation pay resulting in increased staff at business critical times and reducing the overall wage bill;
• Advising and supporting and coaching HR in significant restructure to cut 7500 jobs worldwide and 350 jobs in UK with reputational implications for the international brand resulting in a reduction in wage bill;
• Successfully managing capability termination of long-standing employee with significant mental health illness and numerous suicide attempts, preventing future grievances and significant liability for disability discrimination;
• Successfully settling multiple lurid allegations of sex discrimination which had the ability to adversely affect the reputation of a national business and saving approx. £85K in damages;
• Successfully advising and defending unfair dismissal and sex discrimination claims involving a longstanding employee with significant final salary pension loss saving £100k in damages
• Successfully advising and defended unfair dismissal claim where an employee refused to vary his working hours in accordance with the contractual flexibility clause, claiming the respondent engineered a gross misconduct conduct issue to exit him from the business.
• Successfully advising and defended a 6-day ET hearing relating to direct race discrimination, racial harassment and victimisation. The employee had put in a flexible working request (FWR) seeking to deviate from the hybrid working to fully remote. The employee alleged that the failure to grant the FWR was because he was a British Asian and/or that he had previously given evidence in another employee’s race discrimination case, and he had been stopped from attending management meetings.
• Advising on a redundancy. The HR1 was issued for a 45-day consultation with over 100 employees across the shop floor to be subject to a selection criterion devised for the exercise.
• Advising on the performance related exit of an employee with ADHD and depression.

Recent testimonials:

• David Richardson - Business Segment :Systems and System Components – Indutrade - ‘We have worked closely with Adele and Weightmans for many years, always with the same great support. Adele works to give sound advice and help to resolve complex issues always giving clear advice. Adele has a great ability to listen to business difficulties to help form strategies to address issues - always with a successful outcome. I am happy to speak individually if that's helpful.’
• Chris Partington Beldam Crossley Limited - Indutrade - ‘Adele Shortman and the HR rely team are first class, responding to all our HR needs and requirements, with plain English easy to understand advice, support and recommendations. We have no hesitation in recommending Weightmans to other potential clients as well as utilising additional legal services on offer such as; commercial, property, pensions and intellectual property to name a few. I fully endorse and recommend Weightmans, it’s no surprise I have Adele on speed dial!’
• Carole Anderton, HR & SCM Manager, ContiTech UK Ltd Continental AG - ‘However complex a situation I find myself in as a HR Manager, Adele methodically unravels the scenario through thorough questioning and then provides pragmatic tailored guidance in the form of either written or verbal advice. To ensure my understanding and ability to apply the advice provided, Adele includes explanations of the legislation and cases that she has used to formulate the solution and provides templates and other documentation where required. In addition, Adele is proactive in keeping me up to date with any legislative changes that are applicable to our sector of manufacturing, sales and distribution plus any generic changes. I feel as though Adele is part of our business and understands our culture and most definitely works collaboratively with us to limit risks and create best practices.’