Our People
Contact Details
Simon WhysallPartner and Principal
Simon Whysall, 24 years’ experience in private practice, is the Principal of Altor Employment Solicitors and an Accredited Employment and Workplace Mediator.
Rated in Band 1 by the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners: Simon Whysall stands out as a leading employment adviser…. thanks to his “prompt responses, positive client relationships,” and, “detailed approach to any issue raised.” One source offered extensive praise for his wide-ranging work: “He is very knowledgeable, he deals with issues thoroughly, and he keeps a close eye on things to ensure the best result for us. Good, commercial advice.”
Simon has always practised as a specialist employment solicitor. He was a Partner and the Head of the Employment and Benefits practice in the Milton Keynes office of one of the largest law firms in the world for 10 years from April 2006 and before that he practised in two leading London based law firms.
Simon advises on all aspects of employment law and has particular expertise on employment litigation in the Employment Tribunal and High Court, restructures, business-wide changes to employee contracts, TUPE, collective consultation issues, the employment aspects of outsourcing projects and corporate transactions, PFI/PPP deals and data protection.
Simon regularly advises on executive exits and settlement negotiations and his work often includes a pan-European/international element. He has a close network of employment lawyers in other countries that he has worked with on international assignments over many years.
Simon has particular and extensive experience of advising on employment law issues in the transport, telecommunications, retail, education, media and financial services sectors. Simon has led and been responsible for the employment work for many clients over the years to include Tech Mahindra, Scania GB, Ralph Lauren, Saffery Champness, Silverstone Circuits, Cognita Schools, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and DZ Bank.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-whysall-8264732/
Testimonials
“Straight talking and empathetic advisor who was understanding whilst dealing with some unusual and tricky employment matters. Helpful guidance and advice enabling a swift close to the matters in handdd.”
“I have worked with Simon a number of times and cannot recommend him highly enough. Clear, straightforward, no-nonsense advice delivered in a timely and most importantly human fashion. Simon’s strategic and operational skill set and ability to assess the pros ad cons of any situation are invaluable assets in decision making, whether employee or employer.”
“Simon was a great employment solicitor. Very knowledgeable and provided information clearly and easily digestible. He did a great job of providing the information I needed to make an informed decision and providing a fair/balanced view risk, reward and cost. I was recommended Simon by a good friend and would highly recommend Simon to others.”
“I highly recommend Simon. He is very professional and gave me good advice. Without him I would never have reached such a good settlement.”
“Simon provided the employment law advice I needed professionally and succinctly. He came back on my queries quickly and was always clear in his advice.”
“Simon has offered a range of great employment advice to me over the last 2 years. His experience of how employment legislation is interpreted by the courts is excellent. I continue to work with him whenever the need arises because his approach is open, honest and straightforward. I can therefore be sure of getting sound, realistic advice for my clients. I would highly recommend Simon as a specialist in Employment Law.”
"I and several of my colleagues have used Simon of Altor Employment Solicitors on complex and sensitive employments issues with very successful results. He is extremely knowledgeable and able to cut through high level and technical legal challenges with ease. He is a pleasure to deal with and really gets things done, enabling peace of mind and confidence in a positive and fair outcome for all concerned. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Simon to others who need help and support in working through the complicated ‘minefield’ of employment law."
“I have used Simon’s services and found him to be a professional, fair, consistent and pragmatic solicitor. Simon would be my first call for employment law support.”
“Simon provided me advice on a complex employment issue. Simon’s expertise was invaluable and helped resolve the issue quickly.”
“Simon provided an excellent service – great legal knowledge and understanding, quick and efficient responses and pragmatic approach and advice”
“Simon gives valuable, considered guidance in a clear and timely fashion. It is always satisfying discussing matters with Simon as his client centric approach and expertise installs a high degree of confidence in the advice.”
Pardip SinghotaHR Consultant
Pardip Singhota is an HR Consultant for the clients of Altor Employment Solicitors, with 19 years of HR experience and a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Pardip’s HR experience was gained working as an Employee Relations Manager for a global bank where she supported and implemented a number of reorganisation and restructures, investigated complex disciplinary and grievance matters and advised directors and managers on best practice. More recently she has supported over 100 small and medium sized businesses by acting as their HR function. The diverse range of sectors Pardip has worked with include facilities management, architecture, hospitality, manufacturing, finance, insurance and logistics.
Pardip’s advice has enabled businesses to avoid and, where necessary, robustly defend employment tribunal claims by following her advice on how best to manage their employees.
Pardip’s key skills include running investigations, disciplinary and grievance matters, redundancy procedures and absence management.
Pardip’s approach to the businesses and people she supports is to provide them with proactive, pragmatic and commercial advice so they feel enabled to make an informed decision and to be in control of whatever the situation they are facing. Pardip has been described as very knowledgeable and personable.
Gill CraikHR Consultant
Gill Craik, 20 years’ experience, is an HR Consultant for the clients of Altor Employment Solicitors.
Gill has worked for a wide range of entities across the private and public sectors, including commercial businesses, charities and not for profit organisations. Her realistic advice is based upon previous experiences gained in operational and commercial roles.
Gill is a fully qualified Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD), and is currently studying for her Legal Masters in Employment Law (LLM).
Gill’s key skills and achievements include:
People management – Managed people ranging from small teams of 20 people to larger groups (200+ people) including multi-site and cross border teams.
Employee relations – Managed investigations and hearings for grievances and disciplinary matters (including appeals) and performance management issues. Successfully managed two warehouse closure programmes for an international engineering company.
Possesses a deep and broad commercial and operational mind-set. Empowers key leadership decisions through the provision of top level HR, business and operational advice, underpinned by thorough research and knowledge building.
Recruitment and selection – Successfully recruited a range of staff, including specialist roles.
Learning and development – Developed and delivered absence management and development programmes for clients in the engineering, charity, automotive and mobile assets sectors.
Influencing – Gained board approval for the development and training of a national absence management system and roll out across the UK, resulting in financial savings to the organization; guided a full complement of board members through the HR aspects of a complex TUPE process, redundancy consultation and change management programme to enhance services for its clients.
Gill has excellent communication skills; she is able to communicate and relate to staff at all levels, including staff forums, works councils, boards and trustees. She has coached executive teams to top levels of performance and draws on her extensive experience of enhancing skills and knowledge to win the confidence of business leaders and line managers on a range of company issues.
Stephanie MackeyHR Consultant
Stephanie Mackey, is an HR Consultant for the clients of Altor Employment Solicitors having over 18 years’ experience in the HR field. She is a qualified Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD).
Before starting as an HR Consultant, Stephanie spent many years in manufacturing and engineering and then moved in to logistics, working for both blue chip and SME organisations. Since then she has worked in a wide range of sectors including automotive, construction, engineering, logistics, and not for profit organisations, covering the whole employment life cycle.
Some of her key skills include:
TUPE, Redundancy and Restructuring, where she project managed a TUPE-In transfer, from a blue chip company of approximately 230 people from 3 sites – in Gloucester and Manchester into one dedicated site in Staffordshire phased over 12 months to accommodate operational requirements. In addition, the transfer-In, of approximately 50 technicians and staff into a global organisation covering 2 separate locations.
Also advising on the complexity of adjusting terms and conditions to fit the new operation, re-aligning organisational structures and recruiting additional staff to replace those who did not transfer, incorporating redundancy. As a team effort with management, our key formula is to keep communication channels open thereby ensuring the process is seamless and any risk to the organisation is minimised.