Rebecca Ireland

Expertise Rebecca Advises Publications Experience Highlights Career History Testimonials

Partner

Employment Law

+44 (0) 7383 437 939
“Net promoter Score (NPS) is a system used to measure the quality of service given to a client from their feedback. The score ranges from -100 to +100, a “positive” score or NPS above 0 is considered “good”, +50 is “Excellent,” and above 70 is considered “world class”.
Accolades

Expertise

As a highly experienced employment lawyer, Rebecca has extensive technical and commercial expertise, having handled many complex and sensitive matters regarding all aspects of employment law. Rebecca mainly advises employers across a diverse range of business sectors across the UK on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

As well as providing general advice on disciplinary and grievance processes, and day to day Human Resources issues, including proactive performance and sickness absence management, Rebecca’s expertise, includes:

  • All aspects of TUPE (outsourcing and business transfers)
  • Analysing potential enforceability of restrictive covenants and developing strategies to avoid protracted litigation and liaising with gunnercooke Dispute Resolution colleagues
  • Guiding clients through sensitive alleged bullying, harassment and discrimination grievances
  • Assessing Employment status (IR35, self-employed, contractors, workers, employee) situations and defending claims
  • Advising on breaches of national minimum wage legislation
  • Bringing and defending employment tribunal claims in which she has used her litigation strategy, project management and advocacy skills.
  • Recommending solutions for hybrid working situations which have an international / cross-border aspect to them
  • Helping clients handle flexible working requests

She also supports directors, senior executives and other employees, particularly in relation to grievances and negotiating exit settlement packages, which gives her the tactical benefit of handling issues from both perspectives.

The Chambers and Legal 500 testimonials given by her clients consistently praise her for giving pragmatic and commercial advice: She is accessible, approachable, professional, helpful, tenacious, reliable, “a superb litigator” and “an absolute pleasure to work with”. She is a trusted adviser to her clients.

Rebecca works closely with her employer clients on an ongoing basis, allowing her to understand their businesses, and proactively advise on the impact of new laws.

Rebecca takes a holistic approach to a situation, looking at the financial, commercial, reputational — both internal and external — emotional, and health impacts. It is more than just about the application of technical law. People are at the centre of everything she does.

As a qualified workplace mediator, Rebecca has a heightened understanding of the emotional, and not just financial, impact conflict within the employment relationship has on both sides. As well as conducting workplace mediations, she utilises her mediation skills when giving employment law advice, to resolve interpersonal grievances before they escalate to formal grievances or an employment tribunal. See here for more information about workplace mediations.

Rebecca works closely with other gunnercooke lawyers in various legal practice areas, which is testament to her collaborative style.

Rebecca Advises

  • Private sector employers, including technology, financial services, property management, engineering, distribution services
  • Education sector organisations
  • Senior executives and directors

 

Publications

Personal Brochure

The brochure here contains the full service Rebecca offers.

Webinars

Managing Conflict Effectively at a Senior Leadership Level

 

Experience Highlights

  • Urgent instructions from new client on an outsourcing project where TUPE had been ‘forgotten about’ with only a month before completion, which also involved a pre-completion selection process for retaining certain employees, and tri-partite settlement agreements
  • Advised on a sensitive matter involving an employee alleging that the line manager had discriminated against the client over many years because of protected characteristics (sexual orientation and disability (HIV)). There were also COVID health and safety concerns to consider.
  • Acted on a cross-border matter (Gibraltar — tax and employment) in which we found a solution to meet the client’s and employee’s needs, involving mutual termination of the UK employment contract, signing a settlement agreement and entering into a consultancy agreement with the client’s US parent company.
  • Defended against an alleged constructive wrongful dismissal, underpayment of National Minimum Wage and holiday pay arrears claims brought by a freelancer, so involving employment status issues. A settlement was reached for a significantly lower figure, avoiding a hearing and public scrutiny of the client’s business model.
  • Taking urgent action where a client suspected a former employee and two existing employees of conspiring to set up in competition and poaching other team members in breach of their duties of loyalty and post-termination restrictions.
  • Working as an integral part of a wider gunnercooke project team for the seller of a national industrial cleaning company. Dealt with various employment issues arising during the due diligence process (holiday pay, right to work processes, national minimum wage queries and employment status of contractors), drafted the employment provisions of the Sale and Purchase Agreement and Disclosure Letter, and negotiated new services agreements for the two main directors, and a Non-Executive Director agreement
  • Appointed as the Investigating Officer in relation to a complex complaint raised by an academic employee against her high profile line manager of bullying and harassment at a world leading university, which utilised legal and mediation
  • Advised a client in intertwined matters with the assistance of gunnercooke Dispute Resolution colleagues: after an unsuccessful appeal against his dismissal without notice for gross misconduct, issuing a High Court breach of contract claim, which led to a counter-claim against him relating to alleged financial irregularities; defended an Employment Tribunal claim brought against him, and his former employer, of sexual and disability harassment or victimisation by a former colleague, which was settled for a nominal amount and minimising the potential reputational damage to him.
  • Representing one of four directors of a UK company against all of whom a sex discrimination (including sexual harassment), whistleblowing victimisation, equal pay and disability discrimination claim had been brought by a Canadian contractor based in Canada. This was a complicated case involving multiple case management applications, employment status arguments, whether UK law applied, a restricted reporting order, extensive medical evidence, and advocating at a preliminary hearing. We settled the claim against our client for a modest amount and it continued against the other respondents.
  • Heavily involved in all stages of a contentious, but ultimately negotiated, exit of Managing Director, involving mutual grievance between major shareholder and MD, together with allegations of bullying and negligence. Considering the company law issues of forcing an exit, including the effect of the shareholders agreement, and the related employment law implications and risks.

Career History

Previous Law Firms

  • Blake Morgan LLP, Partner
  • Morgan Cole, Partner
  • Clarkslegal LLP, Partner

Education

  • College of Law Guilford, Law Society Finals — Honours, Law
  • University of Bristol — LLB, Law

Expertise

Back to top

As a highly experienced employment lawyer, Rebecca has extensive technical and commercial expertise, having handled many complex and sensitive matters regarding all aspects of employment law. Rebecca mainly advises employers across a diverse range of business sectors across the UK on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

As well as providing general advice on disciplinary and grievance processes, and day to day Human Resources issues, including proactive performance and sickness absence management, Rebecca’s expertise, includes:

  • All aspects of TUPE (outsourcing and business transfers)
  • Analysing potential enforceability of restrictive covenants and developing strategies to avoid protracted litigation and liaising with gunnercooke Dispute Resolution colleagues
  • Guiding clients through sensitive alleged bullying, harassment and discrimination grievances
  • Assessing Employment status (IR35, self-employed, contractors, workers, employee) situations and defending claims
  • Advising on breaches of national minimum wage legislation
  • Bringing and defending employment tribunal claims in which she has used her litigation strategy, project management and advocacy skills.
  • Recommending solutions for hybrid working situations which have an international / cross-border aspect to them
  • Helping clients handle flexible working requests

She also supports directors, senior executives and other employees, particularly in relation to grievances and negotiating exit settlement packages, which gives her the tactical benefit of handling issues from both perspectives.

The Chambers and Legal 500 testimonials given by her clients consistently praise her for giving pragmatic and commercial advice: She is accessible, approachable, professional, helpful, tenacious, reliable, “a superb litigator” and “an absolute pleasure to work with”. She is a trusted adviser to her clients.

Rebecca works closely with her employer clients on an ongoing basis, allowing her to understand their businesses, and proactively advise on the impact of new laws.

Rebecca takes a holistic approach to a situation, looking at the financial, commercial, reputational — both internal and external — emotional, and health impacts. It is more than just about the application of technical law. People are at the centre of everything she does.

As a qualified workplace mediator, Rebecca has a heightened understanding of the emotional, and not just financial, impact conflict within the employment relationship has on both sides. As well as conducting workplace mediations, she utilises her mediation skills when giving employment law advice, to resolve interpersonal grievances before they escalate to formal grievances or an employment tribunal. See here for more information about workplace mediations.

Rebecca works closely with other gunnercooke lawyers in various legal practice areas, which is testament to her collaborative style.

Rebecca Advises

Back to top
  • Private sector employers, including technology, financial services, property management, engineering, distribution services
  • Education sector organisations
  • Senior executives and directors

 

Publications

Back to top

Personal Brochure

The brochure here contains the full service Rebecca offers.

Webinars

Managing Conflict Effectively at a Senior Leadership Level

 

Experience Highlights

Back to top
  • Urgent instructions from new client on an outsourcing project where TUPE had been ‘forgotten about’ with only a month before completion, which also involved a pre-completion selection process for retaining certain employees, and tri-partite settlement agreements
  • Advised on a sensitive matter involving an employee alleging that the line manager had discriminated against the client over many years because of protected characteristics (sexual orientation and disability (HIV)). There were also COVID health and safety concerns to consider.
  • Acted on a cross-border matter (Gibraltar — tax and employment) in which we found a solution to meet the client’s and employee’s needs, involving mutual termination of the UK employment contract, signing a settlement agreement and entering into a consultancy agreement with the client’s US parent company.
  • Defended against an alleged constructive wrongful dismissal, underpayment of National Minimum Wage and holiday pay arrears claims brought by a freelancer, so involving employment status issues. A settlement was reached for a significantly lower figure, avoiding a hearing and public scrutiny of the client’s business model.
  • Taking urgent action where a client suspected a former employee and two existing employees of conspiring to set up in competition and poaching other team members in breach of their duties of loyalty and post-termination restrictions.
  • Working as an integral part of a wider gunnercooke project team for the seller of a national industrial cleaning company. Dealt with various employment issues arising during the due diligence process (holiday pay, right to work processes, national minimum wage queries and employment status of contractors), drafted the employment provisions of the Sale and Purchase Agreement and Disclosure Letter, and negotiated new services agreements for the two main directors, and a Non-Executive Director agreement
  • Appointed as the Investigating Officer in relation to a complex complaint raised by an academic employee against her high profile line manager of bullying and harassment at a world leading university, which utilised legal and mediation
  • Advised a client in intertwined matters with the assistance of gunnercooke Dispute Resolution colleagues: after an unsuccessful appeal against his dismissal without notice for gross misconduct, issuing a High Court breach of contract claim, which led to a counter-claim against him relating to alleged financial irregularities; defended an Employment Tribunal claim brought against him, and his former employer, of sexual and disability harassment or victimisation by a former colleague, which was settled for a nominal amount and minimising the potential reputational damage to him.
  • Representing one of four directors of a UK company against all of whom a sex discrimination (including sexual harassment), whistleblowing victimisation, equal pay and disability discrimination claim had been brought by a Canadian contractor based in Canada. This was a complicated case involving multiple case management applications, employment status arguments, whether UK law applied, a restricted reporting order, extensive medical evidence, and advocating at a preliminary hearing. We settled the claim against our client for a modest amount and it continued against the other respondents.
  • Heavily involved in all stages of a contentious, but ultimately negotiated, exit of Managing Director, involving mutual grievance between major shareholder and MD, together with allegations of bullying and negligence. Considering the company law issues of forcing an exit, including the effect of the shareholders agreement, and the related employment law implications and risks.

Career History

Back to top

Previous Law Firms

  • Blake Morgan LLP, Partner
  • Morgan Cole, Partner
  • Clarkslegal LLP, Partner

Education

  • College of Law Guilford, Law Society Finals — Honours, Law
  • University of Bristol — LLB, Law
Testimonials

News and Insights from our Partners

Go to Reading room >