Tom Shears

Information about the specialist

tom.shears@wardhadaway.com

Practice Areas

Tom is a Managing Associate in the Employment team and provides advice on contentious and non-contentious employment law to clients throughout the private and public sectors.

Tom is a member of the firm’s Education team, with particular expertise in providing specialist advice to schools and early years providers. Tom’s school clients include multi-academy trusts, academies, faith schools, maintained schools, independent schools and nurseries. In addition to employment law and HR matters, Tom advises schools on parental complaints and exclusions. Tom has also assisted a number of schools clients in successfully defending disability discrimination claims brought in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Tom has independently conducted a number of complex disciplinary and grievance investigations for employers involving allegations relating to safeguarding, discrimination and whistleblowing. Tom has also clerked a number of formal independent hearings.

Tom provides advice on all aspects of employment law, including:

Day-to-day employment law and HR queries;

Managing complex disciplinary, capability, grievance, redundancy and sickness absence processes;

Business restructures;

Preparation of contractual and policy documents;

TUPE transfers and advice on employment-related matters in commercial transactions;

Collective agreements, collective consultation and trade union issues;

Settlement negotiations and Employment Tribunal claims.