Maeve Vickery
Director - Employment Department
Maeve provides practical support and advice to employers on dealing with all aspects of the employment relationship, from recruitment through to termination of employment. This involves her drawing up contracts of employment, advising on terms and conditions, dealing with changes to terms and conditions, putting in place policies regarding discipline, sickness absence and holiday entitlement, dealing with complaints and grievances including allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination, and tackling the issues thrown up at the time of termination of employment, redundancies and staff transfers under TUPE and business reorganisations. She devises strategies to deal with disputes and avoid litigation where this is appropriate, conducting negotiations and advising on termination packages and compromise agreements. She is able to provide and bring about effective conduct of litigation, including drafting statements and preparing documents. She supports clients through the whole process to enable the case to be presented in the best possible way at the hearing, including briefing clients on what to expect, discussing questions they are likely to be asked, and providing effective representation at the Employment Tribunal.
Maeve is an experienced advocate, having worked as a Barrister from London Chambers and having also qualified as Solicitor Advocate. She has had wide ranging experience of the conduct of employment litigation, including unfair dismissal, sex and race discrimination, disability discrimination, claims relating to maternity entitlements, working time and complex multi party equal pay cases. She has had a very high success rate in representing clients at the Employment Tribunal. She has a high level of understanding and considerable experience of the entire litigation process.
Maeve gives practical and pragmatic advice on all employment issues, having developed a hands-on problem-solving approach while working as an in-house employment adviser to a large multinational PLC and subsequently as the sole in-house employment lawyer to one of largest local authorities in the country. She works with clients to find practical solutions to all their employment issues, ranging from management difficulties regarding individual employees, to large scale transfers of staff, changes to terms and conditions, and group redundancies. She has had particular experience of dealing successfully with sensitive disputes with the potential for a wide ranging negative impact on the parties involved if not handled correctly.
Maeve is an experienced speaker and trainer. She is able to devise and deliver training sessions or modules on all aspects of employment law. Maeve's training experience includes development and delivery of training sessions on equality issues in the workplace, disability discrimination, new employment legislation, proposed changes to the law on agency workers, and transfers under TUPE.
She is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and was on the ELA National Training Committee for 5 years prior to being invited onto the ELA National Legislative and Policy Committee, responsible for reviewing proposed legislation and providing input and feedback to Government prior to implementation of the new rules. She has contributed as a member of working parties relating to surveillance and interception of communications, employment status, development of the Equality Bill and the new general equality duty. She has Chaired a working party and drafted submissions on the gender equality duty in the public sector.
Maeve is also a member of the Employment Law Bar Association. In that role, she Chaired a working party regarding the implementation of the Working Time Regulations 1998.
She is a member of the Bar European Group.
Maeve gained a BA in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham before working within the pharmaceutical industry, responsible for development and implementation of marketing strategies. She then took the Diploma in Law at City University and the Bar Vocational Course, and took up a pupillage at the leading employment set, Old Square Chambers. She took a tenancy at Field Court Chambers before becoming Group Employment Law Advisor in-house at United News and Media plc (now United Business Media). After a time as Head of Employment at Toller Beattie Solicitors, she became Devon County Council Employment Lawyer, an in-house position supporting over 120 HR professionals and having conduct of all employment-related litigation for one of the largest local authorities in the United Kingdom having over 25,000 workers. During her time there, she had a 100% record at the Employment Tribunal. She joined Battens Solicitors as Head of Employment in April 2009.
Maeve combines a busy work life with an equally demanding private life, looking after her horses, dog, chickens and sheep.
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