David Poddington

David advises employers on all day-to-day HR matters including employee relations, disciplinary and grievances, contractual disputes, discrimination, whistleblowing, and advising employers on executive severance matters.

• Acted on a retainer basis for various companies providing all day-to-day HR support as an extension of the in-house HR team.
• Advising various companies on senior executive and board level departures, securing confidential exits promptly and on favourable terms.
• Advised a company in the financial services sector on various contractual matters including a review of policies and procedures.

David is highly experienced in TUPE and outsourcing matters, advising on both contentious and non-contentious issues during business transfers, outsourcing projects, and insourcing arrangements across multiple industries.

• Appeared in the Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal for the successful party in the reported case of Eddie Stobart Ltd v Moreman and others [2012] IRLR 356, a leading case on the meaning of an “organised grouping of employees” for the purposes of service provision changes within the TUPE Regulations.
• Acted for a national media organisation in defending multiple Tribunal claims regarding a TUPE transfer to a company based in France, securing a successful outcome with the Tribunal concluding that a service provision change had taken place.
• Acted in relation to a number of large-scale outsourcing exercises particularly in relation to IT, advertising and media, including negotiating TUPE contractual provisions and advice on consultation obligations.

David advises on a variety of matters concerning relations between employers and trade unions and the operation of works councils including union consultation requirements.

• Advised a company in the energy sector on a major reorganisation and whether entitlement to enhanced early retirement pension benefits for relevant employees would be triggered as a result.
• Acted for a private sector company in relation to an application to the Central Arbitration Committee by a trade union for statutory union recognition.
• Advised various companies on drafting and amending collective agreements, trade union facilities agreements, and constitutions for employee forums and works councils.

David has significant experience representing employers in Employment Tribunal litigation, covering complex claims such as whistleblowing, TUPE, and international jurisdiction disputes.

• Successfully defended a whistleblowing claim in the Employment Tribunal on jurisdictional grounds from a freelancer working in North America for a UK company with international operations.
• Acted for a company in the energy sector in successfully defending a claim for constructive unfair dismissal and breach of contract following a redeployment pursuant to a contractual flexibility clause.
• Acting for various companies in finding proactive and innovative strategies to end Tribunal litigation early and in a cost-effective manner including successfully achieving the strike-out of many claims at a preliminary stage.

Member of the Employment Lawyers Association