Susanna Gilmartin

Partner

Specialisms and expertise

Susanna provides employment law advice for employers and employees and advises on all aspects of employment law with particular expertise in conducting Employment Tribunal and High Court claims, including injunctive action and relief. She also specialises in advising and negotiating exit strategies for directors and senior employees, business restructures and reorganisation issues, business transfers, restrictive covenant, confidentiality and fiduciary duty issues and advising on team moves.

Susanna is ranked in Chamber & Partners 2011 and 2012 as a Leader in her Field. She is described as someone who "spells out the pros and cons of a case, giving us a clear idea of our options" (Chambers & Partners 2011) and as an "all round star" (UK Legal 500 2009).

Examples of some of Susanna’s work over the past 12 months include:

  • Acting for an employer and securing the employee’s withdrawal of a claim for unfair dismissal and breach of contract 2 weeks before the final hearing where the employee schedule of loss claimed £80,000.
  • Obtaining the summary dismissal of two employees' claims for constructive unfair dismissal with a costs penalty of £1,000 awarded against the employees.
  • Successfully facilitating and negotiating an exit and securing a settlement package in excess of £480,000 for a Senior Director who was being marginalised by his employer.
  • Assisting a Finance Director to negotiate his departure from his employer in extremely difficult and media sensitive circumstances, helping him to secure a financial package in excess of £350,000.
  • Advising a Managing Director whose employment had been summarily terminated on fictitious redundancy grounds and successfully negotiating a compensation settlement in excess of £175,000 with watered down restrictive covenants.
  • Representing a Director in winning a claim in the employment tribunal for constructive unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and breach of contract, resulting in compensation award of more than £100,000.

Reported cases

  • Solent SD Limited v Johns [2008] Court of Appeal
  • Voith Turbo Ltd v Stowe [2005] - EAT
  • Curr v Marks & Spencer PLC [2002] - Court of Appeal.

Types of client

Susanna primarily advises commercial clients, senior employees and Directors.

Profile

Susanna qualified as a lawyer in 1998. She joined Thomson Snell & Passmore in November 2007 as a Partner moving from Vizards Wyeth where she headed up the Employment team in its London office.