Rhodri is an all-round employment law specialist with particular strengths in employment law litigation in the Employment Tribunal, High Court and appeals courts, employee share-related and other incentive arrangements, corporate M&A transactions, in- and out-sourcings and restructurings, senior and c-suite executive appointments and dismissals, international advisory and transactional projects, and investigations (in particular with a regulatory aspect).
He also has extensive experience in advising senior and c-suite executives and providing day-to-day “general counsel” employment law advice to national and global employers.
Rhodri has wide sector experience advising household name clients in the services, retail, real-estate, logistics and transportation, private equity, natural resources, financial services and IT sectors, in addition to smaller and medium-sized enterprises across a variety of further sectors including the marine, family office, international development, and renewables sectors.
Expertise
Contentious matters
- Employment Tribunal, High Court and appeals courts tribunal litigation
- Restrictive covenant enforceability and team moves
- Dismissal and redundancy disputes
- Discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- Whistleblowing
- Disciplinary and grievance issues
- Confidentiality issues
- Breach of contract claims including wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and bonus/commission claims
Non-contentious matters
- All employment law aspects of corporate M&A, in- and out-sourcings and restructurings (including extensive TUPE experience)
- National and international employment law advisory projects
- Senior and c-suite executive appointments, dismissals and settlements
- Employee and corporate investigations
- Employee relations and HR best-practice advice
- Holiday and working time
- GDPR compliant employment practices
- Employment status and misclassification risk
- Maternity/paternity/adoption
- Redundancy planning and consultation
- Managing stress-at-work issues
Experience
Financial & Professional Services
- Led on various Employment Tribunal claims (including discrimination and whistleblowing claims) for a global household name bank.
- Advised on UK law employment law implications of the acquisition (and subsequent TUPE integration) of a financial services business, including conducting due diligence and advising on structuring considerations and transaction documents, workforce retention arrangements and regulatory remuneration matters.
- Advised a private-equity model investment business on its high-value separation with a c-suite executive.
- Advised a global payments business on enforcement of restrictive covenants against a senior executive moving to a competitor.
- Advised, and negotiated on behalf of, a senior individual in the financial/trading sector on his US$30m consultancy arrangement.
- Acted for inter-dealer brokers in High Court injunction proceedings in relation to post-termination restrictions.
- Advised a senior executive in the insurance sector on the implications of a team move to a competitor and negotiation of his employment and indemnity arrangements with the new employer.
- Advised a UK hedge fund on a redundancy procedure.
- Advised a global consultancy firm in connection with the employment and TUPE implications of terminating its provision of large-scale pension administration services to a third party.
- Represented a multinational consultancy firm in a seven-figure sex discrimination Employment Tribunal claim.
Healthcare
- Advised a global healthcare business on a successful redundancy program and on ongoing day-to-day employment matters including outsourcings, in-sourcings, re-tenderings and employee relations issues.
- Extensive day-to-day advice for a multinational business in the pharmaceutical logistics sector.
- Advised a multinational healthcare business on an entrenched employment dispute involving whistleblowing and discrimination allegations.
- Advised a global healthcare business in Employment Tribunal age, sex, race and whistleblowing proceedings.
- Advised a consultant doctor on pursuing and resolving discrimination and grievance allegations.
Marine & Shipping
- Advised an international shipping company on the impact of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) on its seafarers’ terms and conditions of employment and preparing MLC-compliant crewing agreements.
- Advised on crewing agreement requirements for UK flag leisure vessels.
- Prepared and advised on crewing agreements and confidentiality agreements for the crew of a high-net-worth individual’s private yacht.
- Employment due diligence and M&A advice in connection with the auction tendering of a multinational shipping company with offices in approximately seven jurisdictions.
- Advised UK and international shipping businesses on senior executives’ and directors’ terms of employment and employee incentive arrangements.
Energy & Natural Resources
- Created and advised on a ‘Build, Operate, Transfer’ staffing model for a global natural resources business.
- Advised a global mining business on a large-scale international staff restructuring and redeployment project.
- Advised on all aspects of employment law for the UK functions of an international and offshore geophysical company, including advising on jurisdictional matters pertaining to offshore employees, the relocation of employees upon a change of premises and managing redundancy programs.
- Created and established a bespoke share and share-related staff incentive program for an advisory business in the renewables sector.
- Advised on the UK integration and restructuring of two business streams for an employer in the solar power sector.
Other Sectors
- Conceived, established and led a managed service platform for the conduct of volume Employment Tribunal litigation, including lead responsibility for over 120 claims per year for a UK listed PLC client.
- Led on all UK employment law aspects of a wide variety of corporate M&A transactions, for global household name clients.
- Supervised and delivered a 50-jurisdiction project for a global IT sector business relating to employment law implications around COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Advised two global businesses on employment and data privacy law implications of internal and regulatory investigations.
- Advised a multinational textile business on the employment and TUPE implications of the transfer of one of its product and retail lines to a third party.
- Conducted and supervised multiple Employment Tribunal proceedings for a global cosmetics business.
- Acted for a private equity business on separation with the managing director of a media sector portfolio company.
- GDPR compliance employment review and gap analysis project, involving advising on UK implications and coordination and delivery of multijurisdictional advice.
- Advised on, and prepared for, seeking injunctive relief to restrain breaches of non-solicitation of employees’ post-termination restrictions for an employer in the media and public relations industry.
- Advised a US-based technology business on restraint and recovery proceedings against a former employee in relation to database material.
- Extensive day-to-day advisory work for a multinational business in the transportation logistics sector.
Employee Incentives
- Advised a multinational retail PLC on matters relating to implementation of a global employee share and cash incentive program.
- Advised a Middle East investment business on structuring and preparing a bespoke share incentive plan and related materials.
- Advised a NYSE-listed multinational chemicals business on and implementing a global matching share plan.
- Advised national and global businesses on understanding and addressing the employee incentive implications arising in a wide variety of corporate M&A transactions.
Investigations & Regulatory
- Advised a global construction sector business on employment and data privacy law implications of an internal and regulatory investigation into bribery and anti-competition activities.
- Advised a global industrial/manufacturing business on employment and data privacy law implications of a multinational anti-bribery investigation.
- Conducted disciplinary and grievance investigations on behalf of a household-name media business.
- Advised a multinational IT business on the conduct of a discrimination and harassment investigation.
- Advised a c-suite hedge fund executive on employment and regulatory implications of his exit from the business, working extensively with regulatory colleagues in relation to FCA conduct compliance.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Co- author of “GDPR: Employee personal data – handle with care”, Employment Law Journal, December 2020
Member of the Employment Lawyers Association
Recognised by The Legal 500 for employment law: “Rhodri Thomas has High Court-level employment litigation experience and also handles investigations and transactional mandates.”
The Legal 500 2024
Career
Rhodri qualified as a solicitor in 2005. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2024, he worked at the following firms:
- Dentons
- Baker & McKenzie
- Watson Farley Williams