Katharine has considerable experience advising on employment law. She worked as a Consultant to Withers LLP between September 2021 and March 2022, where she was involved in matters concerning breach of contract (including post-termination restrictions), bonus and other contractual disputes, unfair and constructive unfair dismissal, partnership and shareholder disputes, whistleblowing and discrimination. Prior to commencing pupillage, she worked for over a year as an paralegal with the employment team at Withers LLP.
Katharine appears regularly in the Employment Tribunal and advises on claims involving unfair dismissal, discrimination, TUPE and worker status. She also has experience of judicial mediation and negotiations. Katharine acts for both employers and employees and is particularly well-placed to advise on employment claims litigated in the civil courts, including breach of contract claims and those where there is a potential personal injury and/or common law negligence component. Katharine is currently acting (led by Tom Poole KC) in a High Court claim involving claims for breach of contract and/or wrongful dismissal, infringement of privacy rights and consequential losses.
During pupillage, Katharine assisted Tom Poole KC in a 10-day Employment Tribunal hearing involving allegations of sexual harassment, victimisation and unfair dismissal; she also assisted Tom in connection with advisory work addressing unlawful deduction from wages and the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Under supervision, Katharine assisted on a variety of complex employment matters, which often raised discrimination and data protection considerations. Katharine co-wrote an article for the International Employment Lawyer on how employers can prepare for an emerging AI regulatory landscape and recently delivered a presentation to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s enforcement team on artificial intelligence and algorithmic bias in the employment context.
