The Annual Employment Law Conference 2025
Delivered in partnership by
2025 Keynote Speaker
Sean Jones KC
11KBW Chambers
Sean is a Specialist Employment Silk and the General Editor of Tolley’s Employment Handbook. He is “widely-regarded as one of the leading Employment lawyers in the UK” having been instructed by and against some of the biggest employers in the country including Amazon, Easyjet, Tesco, HMRC, and the BBC, as well as a number of Premier League football clubs and other national sporting bodies.
Described “as clever as he is creative”, “astute and super bright” with “an encyclopaedic knowledge of employment law” and “an extraordinary ability to present complex arguments simply”, Sean has "taken up residence in the Supreme Court on every employment case going" covering everything from equal pay and pension disputes through to dismissals, whistleblowing claims, restrictive covenant disputes, and industrial action cases.
Tel: 020 7632 8500
Event Speakers
Read more about the 2025 event speakers below.
Claire Scott
Partner, Burness Paull LLP
Claire Scott is an experienced partner specialising in employment law and leads the Aberdeen employment team at Burness Paull LLP which is tier 1 rated in Legal 500 and Chambers.
Claire advises on all aspects of UK employment law compliance. She specialises in complex employment litigation including whistleblowing claims, strategic projects, outsourcings, restructuring, TUPE, cross border projects, investigations and offshore working. She has a keen interest in social mobility.
Claire is rated as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 and won Employment Lawyer of the Year at the Legal 500 Scotland Awards.
Tel: 07881 899767
Lisa Byers
Director, Burness Paull LLP
Lisa Byars is a director in the tier 1 rated Aberdeen employment team at Burness Paull LLP.
Lisa advises on all aspects of employment law with a specialism on employment litigation and discrimination law.
Lisa co-leads the Burness Paull team specialising in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and advises clients on all aspects of equality. Lisa is heavily involved in diversity and inclusion for various industry bodies.
Tel: 07386 952858
Gillian Harrington
Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
Gillian Harrington is a Partner in the Employment & Reward team of Pinsent Masons, based in Aberdeen.
Gillian advises clients, primarily within the energy sector, on all aspects of UK employment law, both contentious and non-contentious, including strategic advisory work and representation in complex disputes. She also has particular expertise in TUPE, business protection, restructuring, and transactional support.
Gillian is recognised for her pragmatic approach and sector knowledge, supporting clients through transformational change and day-to-day workforce challenges.
Tel: 01224 618503
Sarah Munro
Partner, Pinsent Masons LLP
Sarah has over 17 years’ experience advising clients on all aspects of UK employment law, both contentious and non-contentious. She works with a number of key clients, particularly in the Energy and Shipping sectors, advising on disciplinary and grievance issues; whistleblowing and internal investigations; senior exits; TUPE; drafting employment contracts, policies, seafarer employment agreements and collective bargaining agreements; advising on restructuring/change projects and trade union issues.
Sarah leads a global team of lawyers specialising in supporting clients with complex and sensitive investigations. Sarah also has a particular interest in employment litigation and has successfully represented clients at tribunal hearings across the UK in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal. One of Sarah’s areas of expertise is advising shipping clients on maritime labour law and she is an active member of the Chamber of Shipping's Employment Committee. Sarah is also a member of Pinsent Masons’ Climate Change and Sustainability board discussing with clients the HR issues around energy transition, climate change and ESG.
Tel: 07584 175740
Laura Kennedy
Legal Director, Pinsent Masons LLP
Laura is a Legal Director in Pinsent Masons’ Employment and Reward team. She advises on a wide range of both contentious and non-contentious employment matters.
Laura has extensive experience advising in a regulated environment having spent nearly 10 years as in-house employment counsel for a UK bank. Having moved back to private practice in 2022 she not only advised clients on UK employment law, but she also supported them with their global employment issues. Her experience in this area includes undertaking a secondment to an EMEA role for a global FTSE100 company and managing an international advice arrangement in over 30 jurisdictions.
Tel: 07345 431562
Nicola Welsh
Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons LLP
Nicola has specialised expertise in Sport, Retail, and Leisure Sectors, and also has a focus on the Energy Sector. Nicola acts for a range of clients, both nationally and internationally. She recently undertook secondments to a household name entertainment client last year and a household name plc this summer.
Nicola advises on all aspects of employment law both contentious and non-contentious, including senior executive/CEO service agreements, international restructuring projects, sensitive disciplinary and performance issues and senior manager/board level employee exits, grievance/disciplinary/redundancy advice and TUPE. She also represents numerous large employers in complex and commercially sensitive claims in the Employment Tribunals.
Tel: 07824 482641
Download the handouts
Click below to download a digital copy of the content from the event.
A practical guide to TUPE and outsourcing
Employment Law Update
Research Chamber - Redeem your special offer
In today’s dynamic labour market, understanding your employees is more critical than ever. Our Employee Engagement products are designed to provide comprehensive insights into your workforce’s needs and motivations, helping you to attract, retain and engage top talent.
Save 30% on any employee led work booked before the end of 2025.