Sally Gwilliam

Sally is a partner in Harper James’ employment teams who helps businesses manage workplace issues, resolve disputes and reduce employment risk.

Sally qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and has worked with businesses ranging from SMEs to large international organisations. That breadth of experience gives her a strong understanding of how employment issues affect businesses differently depending on their size, structure and stage of growth.

Sally advises on a wide range of employment matters, including:

• employment contracts and consultancy agreements
• bonus and commission arrangements
• TUPE and outsourcing
• restructures and redundancies
• changes to terms and conditions
• settlement agreements
• IR35
• disciplinary and grievance processes
• data subject access requests

Employment litigation is a major focus of Sally’s work. She has defended employers against a broad range of claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing, wages and holiday pay claims, collective consultation disputes and breaches of TUPE.

She also advises businesses where former employees breach confidentiality obligations or post-termination restrictions, helping employers protect sensitive information, client relationships and other valuable business interests.

Sally explains employment issues in plain English, helping clients understand their options, assess the commercial risk and decide on the most practical way forward.

Before joining Harper James, Sally trained and qualified at DLA Piper, where she spent more than a decade advising medium-sized and large businesses on complex employment and strategic issues, including matters spanning multiple jurisdictions. She later worked with smaller legal businesses, building extensive experience advising SMEs and gaining a close understanding of the different pressures growing businesses face.

Sally has advised clients across a range of sectors, including retail, hospitality and food, care, recruitment, manufacturing and technology.

Outside work, Sally enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, travelling and discovering good food and restaurants. She also keeps active with outdoor HIIT classes and her Peloton bike.