"Debbie Grennan is a delight to work with. She is the perfect blend of calm reassurance for the client, and incisive and persuasive advocacy in tribunal, which is always done with a smile."
Chambers UK 2021
Debbie is a highly sought-after and experienced employment & discrimination barrister.
Debbie has a balance of claimant and respondent work which covers all aspects of employment and discrimination law, as well as business protection and trade union law. She appears in the Court of Appeal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the High Court and County Courts, as well as the Employment Tribunal and SEND Tribunal.
Debbie represents parties from public and private sectors. Her work regularly involves complex cases of whistleblowing, health and safety, discrimination, TUPE and related matters, as well as claims in respect of restrictive covenants and directors / fiduciary duties. She is experienced in dealing with equal pay litigation and has been involved in very large public sector equal pay claims on behalf of both local authority employers and groups of employees, as well as private sector claims relating to large clearing banks.
She advises in respect of trade union matters, including issues relating to recognition, collective agreements and industrial action.
Debbie has particular expertise in the area of overlap between employment and insolvency law.
She also advises and appears in the Special Educational Needs (“SEND”) Tribunal and undertakes civil Equality Act claims in respect of the matters such as the provision of services and education.
Debbie`s employer clients include Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, schools, clearing banks, large national and multi-national businesses and a large number of solicitors` firms, who appreciate her commercial outlook, pragmatism and ability to quickly get to the heart of the problem and find solutions which work for their organisations.
Her employee clients include professionals from various sectors, from celebrity chefs and football club directors to medical professionals, senior public and private sector directors and employees and legal and HR professionals.
She is regularly instructed to advise in relation to TUPE transfers, restructuring and redundancy processes and changing terms and conditions.
Debbie is renowned for her exceptional client care skills, forensic attention to detail and is a highly respected advocate. She is consistently ranked as a Band 1 barrister by both Legal 500 and Chambers UK and is actively involved with the key employment law professional groups and associations.
Debbie is on the EHRC Panel of approved barristers.
Debbie regularly undertakes internal investigation processes for employer clients (such as disciplinary, grievance, whistleblowing and health and safety matters), as well as chairing and determining issues at internal hearings and appeals. She is also able to provide specialist employment advice in respect of their processes and decisions.
For employees, Debbie has particular expertise in cases which involve potentially career-ending allegations, most notably for senior medical staff, headteachers and legal and FCA-governed professionals.
Debbie regularly undertakes work in respect of proceedings before professional regulators. Her work includes advising and appearing in proceedings before the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council, the General Optical Council, the Nursing & Midwifery Council and the Teachers` Regulation Agency.
She also advises as to solicitors` professional conduct obligations under the Code of Conduct and in proceedings before the SRA.
Employment
Band 1
Highly experienced in high-value and complex discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, as well as matters relating to equal pay and TUPE. She regularly receives instructions on behalf of public sector clients, including respondent local authorities and the NHS.
Strengths: "Debbie Grennan is a delight to work with. She is the perfect blend of calm reassurance for the client, and incisive and persuasive advocacy in tribunal, which is always done with a smile." "A fantastic advocate and very client-friendly. She engages with the client and is able to distil complex factual and legal issues in layman's terms. She is calm and collected and gets the best out of witnesses. You definitely want her acting for your side!"
Recent work: Acted for a consultant surgeon in a whistle-blowing detriment claim against BMI Healthcare.
Employment
‘Very impressive on her feet - a joy to watch in action.’
Ranked: Tier 1
Employment
Highly experienced in high-value and complex discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, as well as matters relating to equal pay and TUPE. She regularly receives instructions on behalf of public sector clients, including respondent local authorities and the NHS. She appears before the Employment Appeal Tribunal in addition to her court practice.
Strengths: "She's an excellent advocate, with a first-rate technical ability. She is cool, calm and collected, approachable and always meticulously prepared."
Recent work: Successfully acted for 15 claimants in a case to determine whether a TUPE transfer had taken place, or simply a share sale, in relation to a private clinic.
Employment
"Very good with difficult clients."
Employment
Highly experienced in high-value and complex discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, as well as matters relating to equal pay and TUPE. She regularly receives instructions on behalf of public sector clients, including respondent local authorities and the NHS. She appears before the Employment Appeal Tribunal in addition to her court practice.
"She has a great cocktail of qualities: she has a real fighting spirit, and a good measure of commerciality as well; she's clever at making the other side engage with our position when they are entrenched." "She's tremendous: she's very strong, very diligent and very sensible."
Recent work: Represented the successful claimant in an age discrimination claim against BAE Systems. The respondent's enhanced redundancy scheme meant that employees aged 63.5 or above received reduced or no enhanced payments.
Employment
‘Her technical ability is first rate.’
Employment
Leading Junior - Band 1
Highly regarded for her expertise in high-value and complex discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, as well as matters relating to equal pay and TUPE. She regularly receives instructions on behalf of respondent local authorities and the NHS. She appears before the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in addition to her civil court practice.
Strengths: “Calm, collected, meticulously prepared and very persuasive. Watching her unravel a case through cross-examination is better than going to the theatre.”
Recent work: Represented the claimant in an age discrimination case against BAE Systems. The case concerned a tapering provision in an enhanced redundancy scheme.
Employment
Leading juniors
‘Experienced in equal pay litigation.’
Employment
Leading Junior - Band 1
Highly regarded for her expertise in high-value and complex discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, as well as matters relating to equal pay and TUPE. She regularly receives instructions on behalf of respondent local authorities and the NHS.
Strengths: "She has complete knowledge of her brief and is calmness personified."
Recent work: Represented the claimants in a high-profile whistle-blowing case brought by two senior employees against two NHS trusts. The claims were successful, leading to a number of resignations and significant settlements.
Employment
Leading juniors
'An employment law specialist.'
Employment
Leading Junior - Band 1
Well reputed for her handling of complex whistle-blowing and discrimination cases, along with TUPE and equal pay claims. She receives a large number or instructions from NHS and local authority respondents.
Strengths: "She's a very effective presenter, a feisty cross-examiner and a robust advocate." "Good with clients, sharp on her feet, and involved closely even before the hearings."
Recent work: Represented the claimants in Sardari & Gates v Torbay and Southern Devon Health & Care NHS Trust and South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, a high-level whistle-blowing matter which ultimately led to internal investigations at the organisations concerned.
Employment
Leading juniors
'Her advice is always focused, clear and pragmatic'.
Debbie Grennan recently represented two employees in a high-profile whistleblowing case against two NHS trusts.
Employment
Leading Juniors (Band 1)
One of the Western Circuit's leading employment barristers, with vast NHS and local authority-related experience. She is noted for the breadth of her practice, which covers discrimination, whistle-blowing, TUPE and equal pay-related claims.
Expertise: "She is incredibly intuitive in terms of knowing what you want to achieve and finding the quickest way to get you there. If you ask her to do something you know it will be done quickly, but you can also be safe in the knowledge that everything is going to be done properly." "She is an excellent advocate, clear and concise in the advice which she provides."
Recent work: Represented Newport City Council as the respondent in a case at the Court of Appeal concerning a complex disability discrimination issue.
The "incredible" Debbie Grennan. She is a "calm authority" on matters involving equal pay, whistleblowing, driscrimination and TUPE.
Employment
Leading juniors
'She has expertise in complex whistleblowing and discrimination cases, as well as TUPE and equal pay'.
Employment
Has considerable experience of employment law disputes. She handles a mix of claimant and respondent work related to all aspects of employment law, and also acts on trade union cases.
Expertise: "She is an excellent advocate, clear and concise in the advice she provides, and very approachable."
Recent work: He was instructed in a high profile EAT appeal concerning the issue of the employment status of a Sikh priest.
Other recommended members of the 'very strong' group include Debbie Grennan.
Debbie Grennan has particular expertise in discrimination and whistle-blowing claims.
'Debbie Grennan's responses are prompt, apposite and down to earth; and her business acumen is faultless'.
'Mixes a delightful and reassuring approach with clients with real grit and determination in the Employment Tribunal'.
'Debbie Grennan has loads of ability and is user-friendly too'.
'Highly-regarded'.
For further information and enquiries please contact:
Employment & Discrimination: Kate Hather
