Our People

Partners and Senior Management

Sarah Alford

Partner / Head of Employment & HR

About Sarah

Sarah is a Partner who heads up the Employment and HR Team. Sarah has considerable experience in all Employment Law matters – both contentious and non-contentious. Sarah also holds a Master’s in Business Administration and has a vast amount of experience and expertise in working with CEOs, HR Directors, Finance Directors and their colleagues to deliver pragmatic, commercial solutions to their employment law and people-related challenges. Her clients range from senior executives of FTSE 100 listed companies, public sector organisations to PLCs.

Sarah advises on all Employment Law aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, insolvency and business reorganisations (including changes to terms and collective redundancies).

She is the retained HR and employment law adviser to a range of businesses and advises on complex internal dispute resolution; senior executive terminations and sensitive discrimination matters. She represents many local businesses and senior employees in all forms of employment tribunal litigation, including constructive and unfair dismissal, whistle-blowing, discrimination and breach of contract claims.

Sarah is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and regularly speaks and provides training on a range of Employment Law topics.

Sarah is personally cited in the Legal 500

Specialist Areas:

• Exits of senior executives, including related Director and Shareholders issues
• Strategic workforce planning
• Day to day HR advice and strategic support
• Employment Tribunal and Appeal Tribunal litigation
• Internal dispute resolution
• Employment law training
• Business reorganisations and redundancy
• Transfer of employees
• Contract formulation and disputes

Experience:

• Advising a Welsh Government Department on the interpretation and impact of proposed new devolved legislation impacting all local authorities in Wales;
• Retained Employment Law and HR advisor to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, in addition to various other national and international companies;
• Assisted and advised the management of a pharmaceutical company on the employment related aspects of a deal worth £105 million;
• Acting for and negotiating the appointment and termination arrangements of various senior executives of FTSE 100 companies;
• Advising global mechanical and electrical engineering group on changes to terms and conditions of employment;
• Successfully represented a head teacher in respect of 14 separate allegations made against him to the Education Workforce Council of unacceptable professional conduct throughout a matter which included a 15 day hearing;
• Advising and assisting various private and public sector organisations on their obligations under TUPE, including making redundancies post transfer;
• Advising a wholly owned subsidiary of Welsh Government on a range of HR issues and Employment Law issues;
• Advising various Welsh Government sponsored bodies on matters ranging from collective consultation to disability discrimination;
• Advising a civil engineering and construction business and an AIM Listed PLC on various executive level appointments across the globe and working with local lawyers to ensure compliance with cross border labour laws;
• Working with CEO’s to execute restructures of Senior Leadership Teams;
• Advising a group of directors in making a successful claim to the National Insolvency Service for redundancy payments and unpaid wages;
• Advising an employer in the agricultural sector on the devolved requirements of the Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2018;
• Acting for an employee in the Employment Appeal Tribunal dealing with an area of law that was undecided previously and is now used as a precedent for future cases in the area of family rights.