Rhodri Thomas is an employment lawyer. He has extensive experience in helping businesses as well as senior executives with both contentious and non-contentious employment law advice. His practice spans multiple sectors with a particular focus on healthcare and pharmaceuticals, natural resources, TMT, marine, financial and professional services and retail work.
Rhodri studied law at Bristol University before completing his legal practice course at BPP Law School. He qualified then became a senior associate at City firm Watson Farley & Williams LLP before joining the London office of international law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP in 2018. In 2021 Rhodri joined the London office of international law firm Dentons as a partner in their employment law department before leaving in 2024 to become a consultant.
Rhodri’s employment law experience is diverse and impressive – from advising global businesses on the employment law aspects of complex multinational transactions to defending firms from seven-figure discrimination claims and bringing Employment Tribunal claims on behalf of senior executives of listed companies. He is highly commercial, responsive and gets to the heart of issues quickly.
Examples of Rhodri’s work since qualification:
Non-contentious
- Led on all UK employment law aspects of a wide variety of corporate M&A transactions, for global household name clients.
- Advising a global healthcare business on a successful redundancy programme and on ongoing day-to-day employment matters including outsourcings, insourcings, retenderings and employee relations issues;
- Conducting disciplinary and grievance investigations on behalf of a household name media business;
- Advising on all UK employment law implications of the acquisition (and subsequent TUPE integration) of a financial services business, including conducting due diligence and advising on structuring considerations, 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.
- Advising a renewables business on a complex workforce restructuring and redundancy programme in connection with the divestment of a part of its asset portfolio;
- Created and advised on a ‘Build, Operate, Transfer’ staffing model for two separate global businesses in the natural resources and technology sectors.
- Supervised and delivered a 50 jurisdiction project for a global IT sector business relating to employment law implications around COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Advising on the employment law aspects of outsourcings, joint venture structures and operation and maintenance agreements in connection with various energy projects;
- Preparing employment, employee incentive and admission documentation for companies admitting to trading on AIM;
- Advising on all aspects of employment law for the UK functions of an international geophysical company, including:
- advising on the relocation of approximately 50 employees upon a relocation of premises; and
- managing a redundancy programme for 30+ employees;
- Advising and negotiating on behalf of a senior individual in the financial/trading sector on his US$30m consultancy arrangement;
- Advised a NYSE-listed multinational chemicals business on and implementing a global matching share plan.
- Created and established a bespoke share- and share-related staff incentive programme for an advisory business in the renewables sector.
- Preparing share option and EMI documentation and advising on the employee benefit strategy (including equity structuring strategy) for an internet start-up operating with private equity funding;
- Preparing and advising on crewing agreements and confidentiality documentation for the crew of a high net worth individual’s private yacht;
- Advising 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;
- Advising an international shipping company on the impact of the Maritime Labour Convention on its seafarers’ terms and conditions of employment;
- Providing advice on all UK employment law aspects of multiple M&A transactions including on TUPE, redundancy and share option arrangements, and UK due diligence, including for:
- a multinational shipping company with offices in approximately 7 jurisdictions;
- the acquisition of a UK based automotive distributor; and
- the proposed acquisition of a UK renewable energy company with entrenched share option arrangements.
Contentious
- 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.
- Represented a UK FTSE 250 PLC in connection with a seven-figure discrimination Employment Tribunal claim.
- Representing a multinational consultancy firm in a seven-figure sex discrimination Employment Tribunal claim;
- Represented a global bank, and a separate global retail business, on a variety of Employment Tribunal claims including in unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination proceedings;
- Advising a multinational healthcare business in Employment Tribunal age, sex, race and whistleblowing proceedings;
- Supervising conduct of multiple Employment Tribunal proceedings for a global cosmetics business;
- Acting for inter-dealer brokers in two separate High Court injunction proceedings in relation to post-termination restrictions;
- Advising on, and preparation 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;
- Advising a senior executive of an AIM listed company in his Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination and on prospective High Court proceedings for breach of contract; and
- Acting for an employer in the energy sector on a disability discrimination claim involving liabilities in connection with the provision of permanent health insurance.
