Nikola Dellinger (Partner)
Niki combines technical rigour with commercial nous and a pragmatic, strategic approach to place clients in the best possible position to avoid litigation, initiate claims or, for employers, provide a strong defence to any claims and reach favourable resolutions.
Niki advises on the full range of contentious and non-contentious employment law. She acts for employers, LLPs, senior executives (including directors), partners and consultants from a broad range of (often regulated) sectors including the legal, professional, financial, higher education, medical, retail, and media sectors.
Working closely with heads of HR, General Counsel and senior leaders, Niki provides advice to support their effective management of what are often sensitive, business-critical issues, which arise throughout the employment relationship including: drafting and negotiating contracts of employment, service agreements and buy-out agreements; managing employee exits; high value severance arrangements; grievance, whistleblowing and disciplinary processes (including under the Maintaining High Professional Standards in the NHS); performance management; sickness absence; discrimination; bullying and harassment; TUPE, redundancy and reorganisations. Advice on business protection is an important aspect of this day-to-day support which includes: drafting of post termination restrictions and confidentiality provisions; enforcement of those provisions (including applications for injunctive relief); advice on team moves; and the use of mediation to resolve disputes.
Niki provides advice to senior executives in all of the above areas with a particular focus on the negotiation of exit terms, often for individuals in the financial services sector, which take into account bonus provision, deferred remuneration arrangements and post-termination restrictions.
Investigations work, including investigations into sexual misconduct, forms a substantial part of Niki’s practice. In conjunction with specialist lawyers from across Hanidel Jones LLP (particularly from our Regulatory, Dispute Resolution, Criminal and Public Law teams), Niki advises (or facilitates advice to) employers and LLPs, senior executives and partners on the conduct of investigations using internal or external investigators and all related matters including: planning and managing the investigation; suspension; management of employment relationships; employee/partner support; legal rights of those involved in the investigation; concurrent criminal and/or regulatory investigations; anonymity; data protection and reputation management.
Niki’s strong litigation practice informs all other areas of her advice. For 20 years, she has successfully pursued and defended numerous hard-fought cases in the High Court, Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal including for breach of contract, wrongful and unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and equal pay.
Niki co-edits the employment precedents in Thomson Reuter’s Practical Commercial Precedents.
Recent Employer work
- Advising a major London employer on the management of a complex grievance process in relation to disability discrimination and pay.
- Providing TUPE advice to a fashion agency on the closure of its business.
- Acting for a higher education institution on process for managing an employee with serious mental health illness.
- Defending a claim for equal pay (equal value and like work), sex discrimination and unfair dismissal for a publishing company.
- Advising on the reviewing of senior pay to resolve historic inequalities.
- Bespoke drafting of employment contracts, consultancy agreements, privacy notices and handbook for a global employer in the publishing sector.
Recent Senior executive work
- Representing a senior oil broker in his high-value, hard-fought claims in the High Court and Employment Tribunal for breach of contract, unfair dismissal and age discrimination.
- Advising a senior sales executive in a long-running dispute regarding unlawful practices by the employer and discriminatory treatment of her on the grounds of race and sex.
- Negotiating exit packages for lawyers who were put at risk during their maternity leave, were not properly consulted or considered for suitable alternative roles.
- Advising a senior executive with particularly high value deferred remuneration (requiring close review of plans and consequential amendment to the termination documentation) on his exit from a financial services firm.
- Negotiation of the exit of an individual from a key position in a higher education institution following long-running bullying.
Memberships
- Employment Lawyers Association
- European Employment Lawyers Association