Overview
Paul McGrath advises clients across a broad range of industry sectors in all areas of contentious and non-contentious UK employment law.
His practice covers all aspects of UK employment legislation and day-to-day employment matters, including appointments and terminations, employment status and worker classification issues, employment policies, employee data privacy, disciplinary and grievance issues, and restructuring and redundancy exercises.
Paul advises on the full range of contentious employment matters, including claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and breach of contract.
As part of his non-contentious work, Paul advises on the employment aspects of all types of corporate transactions, including share sales, business transfers and joint ventures, not least the implications of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).
Paul has particular experience advising on the handling of employee-related privacy and data protection issues, including in the context of workplace investigations, international data transfers, the implementation of whistleblowing hotlines and subject access rights.
Paul regularly devises and delivers client-training seminars and also speaks on topical employment and data protection law issues at external conferences.
Paul has prior experience working in-house for clients in the information technology and banking sectors.
Results
- Advising a media client in respect of sexual misconduct allegations
- Advising a food industry client on the employment aspects of the acquisition of a leading sports nutrition brand
- Advising a performing arts client on #MeToo and employment status issues
- Advising a client in the food industry in respect of a significant asset purchase that involved an extensive TUPE information and consultation exercise concerning more than 1000 employees
- Advising a healthcare sector client in relation to the investigation of whistleblower concerns and related employment matters
- Advising a US healthcare client in respect of the share acquisition of multiple businesses in the UK
- Advising a variety of clients in respect of executive terminations, including pre-termination negotiations and the conclusion of settlement agreements
- Advising a financial services client in successfully resisting a substantial finder’s fee asserted by a recruitment consultancy
- Assisting a recruitment consultancy in effecting a key strategic hire in the face of threatened restrictive covenant injunction proceedings
- Advising a manufacturing client in respect of the reorganisation of its UK business
- Advising various clients on wide-ranging employee data privacy matters, including subject access requests and whistleblowing hotlines
Recognitions
- Chambers and Partners UK, 2021 – 2023. Ranked Lawyer – Band 5 for Employment: Employer. Sources state: “He is detailed, efficient, and brings a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience to each situation. He provides timely responses delivered with clarity, providing reliable support for our business.” “He is fantastic; he’s accessible, completely on top of the technical detail, always pragmatic and provides consistently clear and commercial advice.”
- The Legal 500 UK 2017 – 2023. Paul is recommended in Employment: Employers and has been described as ‘pragmatic and knowledgeable,’ his ‘skillset and eye for detail is at the high end.’
- The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, Employment Law, 2022 – 2024
- Chambers and Partners UK 2019, 2020. Ranked Lawyer – “Recognised Practitioner” for Employment: Employer
Community
- Employment Lawyers Association (ELA)
- International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
Credentials
Education
University of Leicester, LLM, Employment Law, Distinction, 2012
Nottingham Law School, LPC, Distinction, 2005
Durham University, LLB, (Hons), 2004
Certified Information Privacy Professional / Europe (CIPP/E), 2016
Admissions
The Law Society of England and Wales, 2008
