Nicola Whiteley

Partner

London

Read full biography at www.orrick.com

Nicola is head of the London Employment Team and has more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, with a particular focus on complex and/or cross border issues for multinational clients and on the Technology and Finance sectors.

Leading a "straightforward and solutions-focused" team in London, Nicola is listed and noted for her "business-oriented approach" in Who's Who Legal and recognised by Legal 500 as a "very responsive, thoughtful, and pragmatic consummate professional", with clients praising her "excellent judgment and knowledge."

She is a member of the International Committee of the Employment Lawyer's Association.

Posts by: Nicola Whiteley

Is it now OK to have the ‘It’s not working…’ conversation in the UK?

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on August 22, 2013

July 29, 2013 was a big day for employment law in the UK.

Firstly compromise agreements were renamed ‘settlement agreements’. This is largely a rebranding exercise but one that is welcome as we now have a title which more accurately describes what the agreement is designed to achieve.

On this same date, changes around ‘pre-termination discussions’ came into effect. These changes are contained in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act and talk about ‘confidentiality of negotiations before termination of employment’. The theory behind this new law is that employers should be able to discuss with their employees the option of the employee leaving with a settlement agreement without the risk that that discussion itself will be used against them in a future claim. READ MORE →

Today is the Day – UK Employment Law Update

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on July 29, 2013

TODAY is a big day for employment law. Even though many of you will be thinking about your holidays, or may have even jetted off to sunny shores, take care to remember that certain changes are taking place which will affect your standard document and how you handle any exiting employees. Read more.

Five Grievances Don’t Make A (Dismissal) Right

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on July 9, 2013

A recent case in the UK Employment Appeals Tribunal Woodhouse v. West North West Homes Leeds Limited UK EAT/0007(12) has looked at whether it is possible to fairly dismiss an employee who has raised repeated grievances, on the basis that the relationship with the employer has irretrievably broken down. READ MORE →

Employee Shareholder Status – An Innovative Solution for Innovative Employers?

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on May 1, 2013

After twice rejecting the Government’s proposals, the House of Lords has just finally voted to accept the much argued Clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, thereby paving the way for new legislation that will create a third type of UK employment status—Employee Shareholder. READ MORE →

Employers Beware: Post-termination Whistleblowing

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on March 6, 2013

In the recent case of Onyango v. Berkeley Solicitors, the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that an employee was allowed to bring a ‘whistleblowing’ claim relating to a protected disclosure that was made after the termination of his employment.

Under UK law, workers are protected from receiving detrimental treatment as a result of raising a concern about certain types of wrongdoing occurring in the workplace. In Onyango, the Claimant (Mr. Onyango) brought a claim in the Employment Tribunal alleging that as a result of making a protected disclosure, he was accused of forgery and dishonesty which ultimately led to him being investigated by the regulatory body for solicitors in the UK, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The Employment Tribunal held that it did not have jurisdiction to hear Mr. Onyango’s claim because he had made the protected disclosure after the termination of his employment and that it could only hear the case where such disclosure was made during the course of his employment. Mr Onyango appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. READ MORE →

Ending It All

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on January 10, 2013

In the recent case of Geys v. Société Générale, Mr. Geys, who was employed as managing director was given a letter in November 2007 by Société Générale stating: “I am writing to notify you that Société Générale, London has decided to terminate your employment with immediate effect”. Mr. Geys was then escorted from the building and never returned to it. Despite this, the Supreme Court has ruled that his contract of employment was not terminated. READ MORE →

UK Government Encourages Employees to Relinquish Rights for Shares

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on October 10, 2012

The UK Chancellor announced at the Conservative Party conference this week an outline plan to enable a new category of “employee owners” to receive shares in exchange for zero capital gains tax and a significant reduction in employment rights (the press release is here). Whether this will be a sufficiently attractive carrot to justify diversion from the well-trodden path for emerging companies of granting simple and highly flexible Enterprise Management Incentive (“EMI”) options and/or to entice employees away from their statutory employment protections remains to be seen, as does much of the fine detail of the proposal. READ MORE →

Employment Law and Litigation