Steve Esmond

Expertise

Steve is a seasoned, highly skilled employment lawyer with over 15 years’ experience in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious matters. He is a tactician in his approach to tribunal litigation; he provides a rounded strategy to deliver results. He is a vastly experienced tribunal advocate and also acts in High Court employment related actions including breaches of restrictive covenants and the protection of trade secrets and confidential information. Steve gives commercial advice in plain English with a focus on achieving his client’s goals swiftly and effectively. He has a wealth of experience advising in redundancy situations and the full range of HR issues including discipline and grievance, sickness absence and performance management. Steve also brings a common sense approach to the advice he gives on the employment aspects and TUPE issues arising out of mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing and real estate transactions.

Steve Advises

• PLCs
• Private Companies
• OMB’s and SME’s

Experience Highlights

Contentious highlights:

• Successfully defending a multinational pharmaceutical company in a complex disability discrimination claim in which whole life loss of earnings running to seven figures was claimed. This included conducting the advocacy in a five day tribunal hearing.
• Successfully representing an individual in a high profile race discrimination claim in which compensation for injury to feelings in the top band of Vento was awarded along with substantial loss of earnings. This included conducting the advocacy in a five day hearing.
• Representing a large outsourcing company in a group action brought by 36 former employees claiming protective awards for alleged failure to inform and consult contrary to TUPE in respect of a service provision change. Modest commercial settlements were successfully negotiated in respect of all claimants.

Non-contentious highlights:

• Advising a large county council on the employment and TUPE aspects of their “total facilities management” outsourcing project.
• Advising a former nationalised industry on the TUPE and employment issues associated with a major reorganisation as part of a rescue package resulting from a catastrophic accident at one of its major sites.
• Advising a large leisure operator on the TUPE and employment aspects of its leisure management contracts with various local authorities and its bids for new work.
• Advising a large shopping centre operator on the TUPE and employment aspects of the sale of a shopping centre.

Career History

Previous Law Firms

• Muckle LLP
• Hammonds (now part of Squire Sanders)
• Shoosmiths
• Nabarro LLP

Education

• University of East Anglia – Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
• Nottingham University – Legal Practice Course
• Admission as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 1998
• CEDR accredited mediator