Susan Battye

I have practiced employment law for over two decades and been a partner since 2014. I pride myself in taking a practical, common-sense approach in the evolving employment law landscape. My depth of experience and understanding of what really matters to individual clients enables me to provide strategic, commercial, and cost-effective advice.

I advise international and domestic clients on the entire life span of Irish employment law issues. In addition to a front-end advisory service, I provide employment law assistance on an integrated basis with all other practice groups in the firm. My focus is on proactively engaging with clients to anticipate potential issues, helping to implement their business objectives, and supporting them to manage risk and resolve disputes in a commercial manner. My advice is always tailored to each client's strategic objectives and adapts depending on whether a hands-on or hands-off approach is needed.

My experience includes resolving complex issues, such as senior executive terminations, negotiating severance packages and drafting settlement agreements, changing contract terms, regulatory issues, bonus claims, breach of confidentiality clauses, and the enforcement of post-termination restrictions. I have represented clients in employment disputes before the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court, including unfair dismissals, constructive dismissals, discrimination claims, whistleblowing and penalisation claims, workplace bullying and stress-related claims, industrial relations disputes, and employment injunctions before the High Court. My ability to discreetly manage a crisis and mitigate legal, reputational and ESG risks in a cost-effective manner is what sets me apart.

My advisory work is informed by my contentious experience and includes: atypical working arrangements, insourcing and outsourcing arrangements, corporate restructuring and redundancies, employment issues in M&A transactions, implementing contractual changes and pay-cuts, transfers of undertakings, harmonising employee benefits and entitlements, HR compliance projects, drafting all types and levels of employment contracts and service agreements across industries, drafting core and optional employment policies and procedures, updating employee handbooks, implementing codes of conduct, advising on day-to-day advisory issues, including assisting with disciplinary and grievance matters, whistleblowing reports, internal investigations and processes, and helping regulated industries to implement applicable accountability obligations and standards.