Rebecca Sawbridge

Practice Areas

Rebecca is a Partner and Head of Employment in Freeths’ Birmingham office. She has over 20 years’ experience advising predominantly corporate clients on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, including discrimination, executive terminations, TUPE, business reorganisations, trade union issues, employment contracts, policies and procedures, dismissals and disciplinary/grievance procedures. She has substantial experience of handling a wide range of employment disputes, both in the tribunal and courts, and is also an effective presenter of training on employment and HR matters.

Getting the best out of your staff, with ever increasing employment law, the rising cost of labour and the challenges of a diverse workforce, is extremely difficult. Rebecca’s focus is on helping clients to navigate these issues head on, through her non-nonsense approach and by drawing on her extensive experience to anticipate issues and provide solutions. She works closely with clients to build long-term, collaborative and trusted relationships, spending time up front to understand clients’ businesses, attitude to risk and culture to ensure her advice is always commercial and aligned to each client’s aims and objectives. She’s also obsessed with providing great client service, ensuring a prompt response to queries and working flexibly with clients to agree a fee arrangement that fits with their budget.

Career

Rebecca gained a First Class Business degree at Cardiff University before qualifying as a solicitor at Eversheds in 1999. She built her career with Gowling WLG and Shoosmiths before joining Freeths in 2010 as a Partner.

Work Highlights

• Advising a national convenience store operator on the TUPE implications of store acquisitions and outsourcing, including negotiations with recognised unions and fending off the threat of industrial action

• Devising and implementing a new absence policy and procedure for a large charity, enabling robust management of absence and delivering significant cost savings

• Assisting a national retailer to implement a new shift pattern across 150 stores in order to achieve greater efficiencies

• Advising a pub company on a broad spectrum of HR matters, including handling capability and disciplinary procedures, family friendly rights and exiting senior managers

• Advising a food manufacturer on a joint redundancy and contract variation programme, which involved the renegotiation of contracts and remuneration packages, in the context of restructuring various service divisions

• Delivering ‘helpline support’ to a further education college, advising on day-to-day employment law issues and drafting a suite of supporting policies and procedures

• Delivering bespoke employment law training to a national chain of gyms on topical HR issues, including lawful recruitment, Inclusion and Diversity and minimising the risks of sexual harassment

• Successfully representing a range of private and public sector clients against a spectrum of claims issued by former employees, including for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination