Marie van der Zyl OBE

Marie acts for senior employees and partners in complex discrimination, harassment, and religious discrimination claims. She has defended sensitive cases involving disability, pregnancy, and unfair dismissal across financial, engineering, and retail sectors.

• Acted for a senior male employee of a hedge fund accused of bullying and harassment.
• Acted for associates and partners in law firm exits, and discrimination claims including, harassment and religious discrimination.
• Acted for a senior individual employed by a financial regulator in a disability discrimination claim.
• Defended claims in the engineering sector for discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and sensitive allegations.
• Defended a discrimination claim on the grounds of disability and unfair dismissal for a high-street retailer.

Marie advises on senior exits, partnership and LLP exits, business restructures, reorganisations, large-scale redundancy, outsourcing, TUPE, team moves, and termination packages including compensation for long-term incentive plans and benefits.

• Advised partnerships and LLPs in respect of partnership disputes in the legal, financial and accountancy sector including whistleblowing, discrimination and exits.
• Advised doctors in relation to GP partner disputes and exits and removing a GP partner.
• Acted for a statutory market authority for its employment work including unusual working practices, trade unions, advisory including disciplinary and grievance, investigations, exits and claims and, when the market was being redeveloped, drafting senior contracts with performance-based targets and objectives.
• Acted for an international chamber of commerce, drafting complex senior and workplace contracts and procedures, advisory, disciplinary and grievance, investigations and exits.

Marie acts for clients on unfair dismissal, gig economy claims, and dismissals, providing strategic advice on settlement agreements, breach of contract, and enforcing restrictive covenants. She supports organisations in managing tribunal claims with restrictive reporting and confidential information.

• Acted for a department store to obtain an injunction in relation to an individual setting up in competition in breach of post-termination restrictions and negotiated a settlement.
• Advised a senior executive in the sporting world facing public investigation to obtain the best settlement and management of reputation.
• Acted for an individual with disabilities and facing investigation for misconduct, in the financial sector, to obtain permanent health insurance claim.
• Acted for a senior jewellery designer who worked in a renowned jewellers, who was suspended pending investigation for gross misconduct.

Marie advises on directors’ service agreements, consultancy agreements, and general workplace contracts. She provides guidance on compensation for long-term incentive plans and benefits, disciplinary and grievance procedures, managing performance, and sickness absence.

• Acted for an independent gold trader in respect of day-to-day employment issues, performance management and workplace contracts and procedures.
• Carried out employment day-to-day work for a Jewish care home.
• Acted for 27 artists and art lecturers engaged at the National Gallery in 2018 who were recognised as workers in a widely reported preliminary hearing (they had been classed as self-employed despite paying PAYE and national insurance).

Marie advises clients in the hotels, hospitality and leisure sector on HR issues, including managing staff, exits, poor attendance, layoff, theft, national minimum wage, investigations, defending claims, disciplinary and grievances, and contract reviews.

• Acted for a restaurant chain on all aspects of employment advice including day-to-day employment issues including minimum wage, tips, layoff, restructuring and collective redundancy.
• Acted for private members clubs / individuals in gig economy cases involving worker status, self-employed and employee status and unfair dismissal.
• Defended a claim for a private members’ club for unfair dismissal involving a preliminary finding as to whether a lap dancer was employed or self-employed.
• Defended multiple claims for unfair dismissal for an online cross-border adult entertainment site involving different jurisdictions and employment status issues.
• Represented 27 individuals engaged at a national art gallery to obtain worker status when they had paid PAYE and NI but told they were self-employed.
• Advised a polo club on terms and conditions for employees, service occupancy and TUPE issues.
• Advised a hospitality trade association in respect of day-to-day staffing issues.
• Acted for Stringfellows in the leading 2012 case Quashie v Stringfellows at the Court of Appeal where it was held that a lap dancer was self-employed, not an employee.

Marie provides specialist employment law advice regarding employees and volunteers, employment policies and procedures, managing workplace issues, defending employment tribunal claims, managing disputes, equality and diversity, strategic advice, redundancy, and outsourcing (TUPE) and training.

• Advised a religious institution in relation to staff disciplinary and grievances, trade union issues, exits, defending employment tribunal claims, volunteers, and safeguarding issues.
• Advised a charity for actors in relation to day-to-day employment issues, defending claims in relation to unfair dismissal and sex discrimination following the failure to give a promotion.
• Acted for a synagogue in relation to the dismissal of a rabbi, grievance proceedings and exit.
• Acted for a Catholic diocese in relation to various day-to-day employment issues, considering aspects of canon law and defending claims including for unfair dismissal.
• Acted for a rabbinical team in relation to exit negotiations from their synagogue involving vacating the house provided during their employment.
• Acted for a charity for actors involving a trustee dispute and day-to-day employment issues, exits and a defending tribunal for failure to appoint an individual for a promotion.
• Acted for charities and a local authority to defend complex discrimination / unfair dismissal claims, restructurings, trade union advice, and advisory including disciplinary and grievance and equality law.
• Advised synagogues, Catholic dioceses and religious institutions on all aspects of employment law including day-to-day advisory, defending tribunal claims, exits and restructurings.

Marie advises senior management and retail managers on day-to-day issues including disciplinary and grievances, claims, exits, restructures, redundancies and the drafting of employment contracts policies and procedures.

• Defended a claim for sex discrimination brought by a man against a lingerie chain.
• General advice including disciplinary, grievance and managing performance for several high-street retail brands.
• Advised on changes in minimum wage and ‘on call’ implications for a well-known high-street retailer.
• Advised on restructurings and exits, bank holiday working, family-friendly policies, and salaried and hourly workers for many well-known high-street retailers.
• Advised a cutlery retailer on all aspects of employment law in the UK and defending a claim in Northern Ireland.
• Advised a national retail chain with several well-known high-street brands, on all aspects of day-to-day employment advisory, disciplinary and grievance, employment status, minimum wage, on call, defending tribunal claims, exits and restructurings.

Marie advises a broad range of professional service firms, particularly in relation to complex partnership disputes, investigations, disciplinary and exit, and represents senior executives, partners, directors, and prominent figures where reputation management is key.

• Acted for an accountancy partnership in a complex dispute under the 1890 Partnership Act and dissolution of the partnership.
• Acted for doctors in relation to NHS partnership disputes and negotiating the most favourable exit.
• Acted for LLP members and partners in law firms in disputes and negotiated exits.
• Acted for a senior associate in a law firm in a case for religious discrimination.
• Acted for a senior associate in a law firm which wanted her to move on as she was not going to be promoted to partner.

Recognised in The Legal 500 for Employment: Employers 2024-2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Employment: Senior Executives 2024

OBE awarded in the 2023 New Year Honours List

Trustee for the Holocaust Memorial Trust, and a Vice President of the World Jewish Congress and their Commissioner for Gender Equality and Inclusion

Regular speaker on radio and television including Question Time, Newsnight and the Today Programme

48th President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews