Debbie Grennan > Chambers of Anna Vigars KC > Bristol, England > Barrister Profile
Guildhall Chambers Offices
Guildhall Chambers
23 BROAD STREET
BRISTOL
BS1 2HG
England
- Set Profile
- Go to...
Debbie Grennan
Work Department
Employment and discrimination; professional discipline.
Position
Barrister specialising in all aspects of employment law (including transfer of undertakings, equal pay, discrimination, whistleblowing, unfair/wrongful dismissal and industrial relations) as well as professional disciplinary proceedings.
Career
Called 1997; Gray’s Inn; in private practice since 1998; has specialised exclusively in employment law since 2001.
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.
Memberships
- Employment Lawyers Association
- Employment Law Bar Association
- Industrial Law Society
- Western Circuit
Education
- LLB Hons
- LLM, Medical Law & Ethics
- Bar Vocational Course
- Winner of the Lady Shaw prize as the highest placed female Grays Inn student
Lawyer Rankings
Regional Bar > Western Circuit > Employment
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Debbie Grennan – Guildhall Chambers ‘She is a clear and persuasive advocate who is is completely unfazed, even when the other advocate is extremely challenging. In the run up to a hearing, as well as providing clear advice on the area of law in dispute, she is able to give strategic and pragmatic advice regarding the conduct of litigation.’
Guildhall Chambers‘ employment team offers ‘real strength in depth, both in terms of call and expertise‘. Julian Allsop, who heads the team, is ‘forensic in his approach to litigation‘ and regularly instructed in high-value cases in the High Court, often involving director-level remuneration claims, restrictive covenants, and confidentiality agreements. He recently acted for the claimant in Macanovic v Portsmouth NHS Trust, a significant case raising the issue of whistleblowing detriment and involving the cross-examination of several medical consultants. Fergus Currie, ‘a highly competent and consistent advocate‘, has recently focused on claimant instructions, including wrongful and unfair dismissal actions, discrimination cases, and collective and individual redundancies. Debbie Grennan specialises in high-value whistleblowing and discrimination claims for public sector clients, including local authorities and health care bodies, while Douglas Leach ‘has an excellent ability to think on his feet’ and is well-regarded for his expertise in TUPE, whistleblowing, and discrimination matters as well as in employee competition cases involving breach of confidence, restrictive covenants, and injunctive relief.