Maximising settlement payments while minimising the stress

Paul Roberts

Employment Services | Head of Department | Partner

Experience 

Paul joined the firm in 2006 as Head of the Employment department. He has over 20 years’ experience of employment law, originally at city law firms. 

Practice Area

Paul specialises in all aspects of employment law, acting for both employers and employees. For employers, he advises on a full range of employment issues, including disciplinary action, grievances, TUPE, performance issues, sickness absence, redundancies and employment tribunal claims. He acts for a range of clients, including businesses, churches and charities.  For employees, Paul advises on unfair dismissal and discrimination, settlement agreements and TUPE claims.

Highlights

• Successfully defending claims from four employees following a TUPE transfer, including success at the Employment Appeal Tribunal
• Recovering the maximum compensatory award following the unfair dismissal of a Managing Director
• Successfully defending a claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination against a local school
  

Qualifications

Solicitor

Interests

Paul enjoys cycling, drumming and snowboarding, though not at the same time.

Tom Parkes

Employment Services | Partner

Experience

Tom joined Keelys as a trainee solicitor in 2005 and joined the Employment Team soon after qualification in 2007.  He was promoted to Associate Partner in 2012 and in 2016, promoted to Partner.

Practice Area

Tom specialises in all aspects of employment law, acting for both employers and employees. For employers, he advises on a full range of employment issues, including disciplinary action, grievances, TUPE, performance issues, sickness absence, redundancies and employment tribunal claims. He acts for a range of clients, from small owner managed businesses to plcs. For employees, Tom advises on unfair dismissal and discrimination, settlement agreements and TUPE claims.

Highlights

• Achieved a substantial settlement for an individual in a claim against a Premier League Football Club
• Advised a Claimant in a complex whistleblowing claim against an international restaurant chain, securing a settlement in excess of a year’s remuneration.
• Advised on a large scale collective redundancy consultation following the closure of high profile employer

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Father to two daughters, lifelong Evertonian, keen follower of the England cricket team, occasional runner and avid collector of vinyl.

Ravinder Sandhu

Employment Services | Partner

Experience

Ravinder joined Keelys as a trainee solicitor in 2001 and qualified into the Employment Team in 2003. She was promoted to Associate Partner in 2008 and in 2011, promoted to Partner.

Practice Area

Ravinder specialises in all aspects of employment law, acting for both employers and employees all over the UK. For employers, she advises on a full range of employment issues, including disciplinary action, grievances, TUPE, performance issues, sickness absence, redundancies, restructuring, employment tribunal claims and drafting of employment documentation including contracts of employment and policies and procedures. She acts for a range of employer clients, of all sizes, on a retainer basis across the UK and offers employment law training. For employees, Ravinder advises on all employment claims including unfair dismissal, discrimination, settlement agreements and Tribunal claims.

Highlights

• Successfully advised a Claimant in a claim for unfair dismissal and its appeal in the Court of Appeal.
• Achieved a substantial settlement in excess of a year’s remuneration for a Claimant involving a large and well recognised employer.
• Advising a number of employers with an international presence.

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Mother of one daughter, spending time with family and friends, travelling and exploring the world near and far, shopping and photography.

Ian Pettifer

Employment Services | Associate Partner

Experience

Ian joined Keelys in 2020.  He has been a qualified solicitor for over 25 years, and is a Chartered Member of the CIPD.

Practice Area

Ian specialises in employment law and advises employers in many different sectors and industries, from start-ups to multinational businesses, as well as public sector and not for profit organisations.  He also advises employees, directors, groups of workers and their representatives. 

Ian advises and supports employers and employees through disciplinary action, grievances, performance issues, sickness absence, equal opportunities and discrimination, redundancies and restructuring, TUPE, data protection and regulatory law, and with settlement agreements.  He often presents cases in Employment Tribunal hearings.  Ian has also defended Nurses in professional conduct proceedings before the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Highlights

• Successfully defending a care business from claims including unfair dismissal which placed their good standing with the Care Quality Commission at risk.
• Advising several hundred employees of a large employer on settlement agreements during a series of factory closures.
• Presenting a test case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, on the calculation of holiday entitlement for workers on variable hours.
• Coordinating a multinational redundancy programme for an IT company, to comply with the laws of several countries.
• Winning an injunction restraining former employees and directors of an insurance broker from taking and using confidential information to set up a rival business.

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services Department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Ian has been a committee member of local branches of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development for the last decade.  He is a devoted husband and father of three sons, and enjoys camping, swimming, and watching rugby (but not playing, as he can’t catch the ball).

Jas Dubb

Employment Services | Associate Partner

Experience

Jas has over 15 years of experience specialising solely in employment law, most of which he has spent working for large city firms. In his previous roles he has worked closely with retained business clients.

Practice Area

Jas is adept at advising both individual employees and business organisations alike in all areas of employment law.

For individuals his work includes advising on bring claims for unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination.  He has assisted clients with grievances and been involved in numerous high-profile exit negotiations. Jas regularly advises on settlement agreements.

For businesses he provides advice on the full spectrum of employment issues. Jas is comfortable advising no matter the size of the business or the type of industry/sector. His work includes advising on handling disciplinaries, grievances, sickness absence, performance management and TUPE. Jas has a special interest in restructuring and redundancy advice. He drafts contracts, policies and procedures and regularly advises on their implementation.

Highlights

Qualification

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services Department: Paul Roberts

Dally Rai

Employment Services | Solicitor

Experience

Dally joined Keelys as a solicitor in 2025. She has 19 years of dedicated employment law experience.

Practice Area

Dally has extensive experience in providing advice across a wide range of industries in all aspects of employment law, acting for both employers and employees. These include handling disciplinaries, grievances, performance management, managing sickness, redundancies, restructures and TUPE. Her personable approach enables her to explain and break down the legal complexities by providing clear step by step commercially focused advice. She is also able to advise on both the implementation and drafting of employment contacts and handbooks. For employees Dally is able to assist with negotiating settlement agreements, unfair dismissal, discrimination and constructive dismissal.

Highlights

Advised a major distributor on carrying out a collective consultation exercise involving the reorganisation of shift patterns.

Advised on an investigation for a business in the tech sector relating to serious allegations made against the CEO

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services Department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Outside of work Dally has a passion for travel, discovering new restaurants and spending quality time with friends and family.

Ellie Walsh

Employment Services | Solicitor

Experience

Ellie joined Keelys in 2025 having qualified in 2006. Since then, she has gained valuable experience in both private practice and working internally within the HR departments of several businesses, ranging from professional services firms to not for profit organisations. Prior to joining Keelys, her most recent role was as a Senior Employment Law Adviser where she advised a wide range of employer clients on a variety of employment law issues.

Practice Area

Ellie specialises in all aspects of employment law, advising both employer and employee clients. She advises employers on a full range of employment issues, including grievances, disciplinary action, redundancies, sickness absence, performance issues and discrimination. She also advises on employment tribunal claims and drafting contractual documentation along with policies and procedures. In relation to employee clients, Ellie’s focus has been advising on settlement agreements and potential employment claims.

Highlights

Successfully advising on a collective redundancy consultation exercise where the organisation was unfamiliar with the process to follow

Successfully supporting a client with the termination of employment of an employee with excessive sickness absence and a potential disability

Agreeing a settlement for a senior employee resulting in an extensive compensation payment

Successfully defending an unfair dismissal claim on behalf of a large, well-known organisation where multiple claims were presented by a serial Claimant in person

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services Department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Ellie has an almost(!) teenage son and a six-year-old daughter. Most of her free time is spent taking them to and from various activities, but when she has time, she enjoys the gym, going for walks (when it isn’t raining) and travelling.

Phone:01543 420404

Email:ewalsh@keelys.co.uk

Cerys Tyson

Employment Services | Solicitor

Experience

Cerys is a solicitor and completed her training via the solicitor apprenticeship route at a top 50 UK law firm. Cerys obtained a First Class (Honours) degree in Law and Legal Practice.

With over six years of experience in the legal sector, Cerys has developed a broad understanding across multiple areas of law. This diverse exposure has sharpened her attention to detail, critical thinking, and communication skills. She now specialises in employment law, where she advises on a range of contentious and non-contentious matters.

Practice Area

Cerys specialises in advising employers on a wide range of employment matters. She has experience advising clients in employment tribunal claims, including cases involving discrimination, victimisation, and unfair dismissal. Cerys also has experience assisting with senior exits, supporting both employers and employees through redundancy processes, and reviewing company policies to ensure compliance and best practice.

Qualifications

Solicitor

Reporting to

Head of Employment Services Department: Paul Roberts

Interests

Outside of work, Cerys enjoys staying active and spending time outdoors, especially walking her family dog, Daisy. She also likes to keep fit with the occasional run. Cerys loves exploring new countries and enjoys socialising with family and friends in her downtime.

Phone:01543 420403

Email:ctyson@keelys.co.uk