Rebecca Jones

Rebecca Jones handles a broad range of both contentious and non-contentious HR issues, with a particular specialism in TUPE and large-scale reorganisations, in addition to general HR advisory work.

Rebecca helps clients to plan for and manage the risk associated with TUPE transfers, achieving the best commercial outcome, a smooth transfer process and successful implementation of any related change. Rebecca will work with you to ensure any TUPE liabilities are fully understood and that adequate protection is negotiated.

With an appreciation that structural and workforce change is often crucial for businesses looking to fulfil organisational objectives, from overall growth to delivering a strategic project, and a particular interest in collective processes, Rebecca is the person to assist with pre- and post-transfer workforce change.

Rebecca understands that employment issues can be complex and the potential to affect individuals on a deeply personal level, with sometimes unexpected consequences, must be factored into planning if a client's aims and objectives are to be achieved. Her extensive experience specialising in a broad range of employment matters ensures her clients always have a perspective on the wider context. They benefit from Rebecca's ability to provide commercially-focused results (drawing upon her completion of a six-month secondment working in a client's commercial legal services team with a TUPE focus), while balancing the need to uphold workforce relations.

"I enjoy the people aspect of what I do and I love finding solutions that deliver both the best results for the organisation and the best for its people. I like to bring sound judgment and commercial nous to help clients navigate their way through TUPE and other challenges. I often find the most valued suggestions draw as much on my practical experience as legal expertise and I enjoy influencing employee communications to get the result my client wants."

Highlights

Rebecca likes to get stuck in delivering solutions to challenging matters so a recent highlight involved advice to a public sector client who approached her for help on a complex procurement which had previously been subject to challenge. Rebecca helped the client navigate this retender, ensuring a level playing field for bidders and a successful mobilisation of services.

Rebecca also enjoys the teamwork and relationship aspects of what she does and the opportunity to work with an acquisitive client on a series of transactions, each bringing their own unique challenges, has been another recent highlight. As well as the opportunity to strengthen existing executive team relationships, it has enabled her to build new ones at an operational level and gain greater insight into the client's culture along with the sector in which they operate.

Clients

Government bodies and other public sector organisations, retailers, manufacturers, investors, local authorities and healthcare and social housing providers.

Experience

Advising numerous public sector authorities in connection with the TUPE aspects of procurement and retender. Rebecca has advised on all stages of the procurement process, from consideration of existing contractual risks and protections to preparation of contracts, tender documentation, bid evaluation, negotiation and consultation processes. Rebecca has also advised on complex issues arising from many procurements including assignment challenges, application of the Henke exemption, transfer of contractor arrangements and has provided strategic advice on related workforce planning and restructuring issues.

Working with a number of our real estate clients to identify and manage TUPE risks on the purchase of property portfolios. Understanding commercial drivers and engaging with contractors to manage key relationships alongside contractual negotiation.

Advising two major retailers on the initial outsourcing of IT functions, including negotiation of commercial terms, advice on the approach to retained functions and conducting TUPE and pre-transfer redundancy consultation processes.

Advising a non-department public body on strategic reorganisations within the group and on a broad range of sensitive HR issues, including pay transparency, IR35 compliance, use of social media vetting and a number of speak up, disciplinary and grievance investigations. Rebecca recently worked with the client to modernise its whistleblowing policy, taking a best in class approach to deliver the client's broad aims.

Defending high-value whistleblowing claims brought by two former non-executive directors against our client (a start-up bank subject to dual regulation by the PRA and FCA) and its chairman. Rebecca also supported our client in responding to multiple DSARs and requests from the ICO.

Advising an acquisitive plc on various transactions involving a range of HR issues from incentivising key executives, retention arrangements and identifying and managing risk and exposure in the sale process to post-completion reorganisation and senior exits.