Tabytha Cunningham | Partner | Employment | Southampton Skip to content

Tabytha Cunningham

Partner - Employment & Immigration

My experience

Employment Law

I am a partner with over 13 years’ experience in advising on all aspects of employment law. My experience covers:  

  • employment tribunal claims;
  • day to day HR issues;
  • discrimination and family friendly rights;
  • managing disciplinary and grievance issues;
  • unfair dismissal;
  • Whistleblowing;
  • business re-organisations and redundancies;
  • settlement agreements;
  • employment contracts and director’s service agreements; and
  • IR35 and worker status issues.

Immigration Law

I also advise on immigration matters for both individuals and businesses.

Business immigration

My experience covers:

  • sponsorship issues for employers;
  • right to work checks;
  • visas under the points based system;

Personal immigration

My experience covers:

  • family visas;
  • applications for British citizenship;
  • settled and pre-settled status for EU citizens; and
  • applications for children for British citizenship.

I also specialise in data protection issues, providing advice to businesses in relation to the employment aspects of compliance with the GDPR. This includes advising on subject access requests submitted by employees and advising on complex issues surrounding personal data, such as health information and criminal records data.

I use my experience to find practical solutions which meet clients’ commercial needs whilst managing the legal risks they face. I also help organisations manage strategic changes such as business reorganisations and redundancies, ensuring clients understand the legal requirements and risks and manage these in the best way possible.

I regularly provide training for clients and present at seminars.

I am a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.

Insights from Tabytha Cunningham

Articles

Employees' time off work rights when a family member is ill

Read article

Key changes to holiday pay in 2024

Read article

Calculation of holiday pay - Supreme Court decision increases financial risk for employers

Read article

Non-compete clauses - Are they still appropriate?

Read article

Podcasts

Sarah Hayes and Tabytha Cunningham | 28th September 2022

Menopause in the workplace

LISTEN TRANSCRIPT

Sarah Hayes and Tabytha Cunningham | 28th September 2022

Menopause in the workplace

In today's episode, we'll be discussing the impact of menopause on employees, and some of the steps that employers can take to support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms.

01:21: To start with, we'll hear from Sarah Hayes, an employment lawyer at Paris Smith LLP. Sarah has extensive experience in advising employers on a range of issues relating to menopause, and she offers some great advice on how to support employees going through this difficult time.

09:00: We'll also be talking to Tabytha Cunningham, who provides some great tips on how employers can make reasonable adjustments to help staff manage their symptoms.

13:53: Finally, we'll ask Sarah about the usefulness of introducing a menopause policy, and she offers some great advice on what this could include.

So, whether you're an employer looking to support your staff better through menopause, or an employee who's experiencing symptoms and looking for advice, you won't want to miss this episode.

Thank you for listening.

References and further reading

https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work
https://parissmith.co.uk/blog/menopause-and-employment-law-is-it-a-disability-and-what-steps-can-employers-take/

LISTEN

Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell | 3rd February 2022

Hybrid and Remote Working: Practical Implications for Employers

LISTEN TRANSCRIPT

Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell | 3rd February 2022

Hybrid and Remote Working: Practical Implications for Employers

Remote and hybrid working has now become the norm for many businesses. Not only can there be various benefits to this flexibility, but more and more prospective employees look for this when applying for roles.

Employers who have embraced remote and hybrid working however need to ensure they are doing this compliantly; it's crucial to have the right policies in place and employment contracts.

Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell discuss in our latest episode.

Find our more: parissmith.co.uk/your-business/employment-law/

Download our guide to hybrid working: parissmith.co.uk/wp-content/uploa…brid-working.pdf

00:45
Why should employers formalise their remote working practices?
Employers need to think about how they can support employees who are now permanently working from home.

02:33
What steps do employers need to take to formalise these new processes? Charlotte and Tabytha talk about the importance of having a hybrid working policy and what this should include.

04:35
Key practical considerations - our experts cover health and safety, risk assessments and data protection obligations in relation to hybrid and remote workers.

07:15
How employers can best support their remote employees and the importance of using appraisal procedures effectively.

09:35
Issues with international employees. If employers are happy with having staff in other locations, what practically do they need to think about?

LISTEN

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 2: Long Term Employee Retention

LISTEN TRANSCRIPT

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 2: Long Term Employee Retention

Many organisations are struggling with retaining talent, with some offering high salaries in order to attract and retain key people. But does this keep good staff in the long term? Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Claire Merritt explore the key factors that affect employee retention, and how you can keep existing staff happy and productive.

00:50 Claire talks through the importance of good and frequent communication in your business at all levels.

01:57 Training and development is key. Businesses change all the time and people are looking for their next challenge.

03:17 Managing staff after the pandemic and new skills. How can we effectively manage remote teams and keep them engaged?

05:43 Managing wellbeing and making employees feel valued. What tools are available?

06:55 Flexible working, work life balance and making sure your employees don't feel overwhelmed.

09:12 How do you advertise your roles and do you mention remote working?

09:50 Managing mental health at work. Do you have training in place to ensure managers can help people properly? This can be key in employee retention.

12:09 The importance of recognition. What motivates people is different for each individual but it is always important to show employees they are valued.

13:44 How should you reward employees?

16:19 Career progression and ensuring employees feel they are heading in the right direction.

LISTEN

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 1: Recruitment Best Practice

LISTEN TRANSCRIPT

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 1: Recruitment Best Practice

Welcome to the first of our two-part employee recruitment and retention podcast. Lots of business are struggling to recruit and retain the right people for their organisation. Employment law experts Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham explain how getting your processes right can really help.

01:41 What does best practice look like? Claire examines how contracts of employment can be used as a key recruitment tool.

03:51 Going back to basics and focussing on the requirements of the role.

04:30 Your job adverts - be mindful of discrimination claims be careful with language

05:20 Ensuing you have an objective selection and interview process.

06:40 Risks of getting it wrong - the pressure on wage inflation, the gender pay gap.

09:03 A move towards openness - disclosing salaries and meeting candidate expectations.

10:22 Best practice for candidate onboarding and offering the best support.

12:00 Probationary periods and using these correctly.

LISTEN

How I’ve helped our clients

I received excellent service and advice from Tabytha and Charlotte, especially given the time constraints of the issue that we were looking to resolve. Communication was prompt and easily understood and we ultimately achieved the desired outcome.

Oat Services Ltd - Employment & Immigration Law Advice

Crondall Energy enlisted the immigration services of Paris Smith, namely Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell, to advise and assist firstly with a sponsorship licence application, and also with the application of a skilled worker visa. Charlotte and Tabytha are both extremely professional with excellent communication skills. From the outset, their communication has been both thorough and easy to understand. They are very quick to respond to any queries and we are totally confident that the advice we are receiving is both accurate and up-to-date. The process for application of both a sponsorship licence and a skilled worker visa is extremely complicated and requires high attention to detail and having the assistance of Tabytha and Charlotte has proved invaluable.

Jo Whitlock, HR & Office Manager
Crondall Energy

In recent months I have the pleasure to be assisted by a good number of the Paris Smith legal teams on a range of matters including sale of business, IPR and employment matters. Referring to the most recent experience with a company employment matter, I would commend Charlotte and Tabytha most highly for the service they provided to me. They give clear information so one knows what the legal position is and support that with a pragmatic commercial approach to help resolve the real life situation. I felt much more comfortable after speaking with the Paris Smith Employment team and would like them to be our preferred partner in relation to these legal matters.

Sandra Walmsley, Finance Director
Aspect Ecology Ltd

As a relatively new client of Paris Smith I have been incredibly impressed by the professionalism and quality of advice given to me, and the company, by both Charlotte and Tabytha.  Assuming a pivotal role within a global company has presented issues in terms of Brexit and the movement of inter company personnel.  Engaging with Charlotte and Tabytha early has allowed us to navigate the legal complexities of Visa issuance and sponsorship with ease, something we would have struggled with without their sound advice. Explaining complex legal jargon in a simple and clear format along with an enthusiastic and professional approach has helped us immensely and it has, and will continue, to be a pleasure to be a client of Paris Smith. A first class service!

Andrew Pollington, Head UK Support Services
Tekever Ltd

Our organisation has been working with Paris Smith for a few years, but I was first introduced to Charlotte Farrell and Tabytha Cunningham in the summer of 2021 when we applied for a Skilled Worker Sponsorship Licence. Having never worked in this area before, and finding the UKVI website and CoS application process confusing, we asked for their help. They made everything so much easier for us – from writing some of the wording needed to back up our case to producing a step by step guide on what we needed to do from start to finish. They have helped us with everything we have needed – CoS allocation increase, priority applications, creating and assigning a CoS, a new licence application due to change in circumstances, the list is long. They are extremely knowledgeable, very patient and always respond to emails or phone calls quickly. They provide an absolutely excellent service with a smile and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Sarah Farley, Head of People
Cloud21 Limited

I have been a client of Paris Smith's Employment law department for several years, including for the resolution of a challenging worker-related dispute. The team has been superb throughout, far exceeding my expectations in terms of their professionalism, proactiveness, pragmatism and generous spirit, often going above and beyond in their service delivery to bring the matter to a far better than hoped for conclusion. At a personal level, everyone I dealt with was delightful too. Paris Smith will certainly remain by 'go to' law firm for employment and other legal advice!

Dr Katja LH Samuel, Chief Executive Officer
Global Security and Disaster Management

Paris Smith have been my ‘go to’ employment law providers for 21 years. Over the years the practice has also helped me with my GDPR, property, commercial and domestic legal needs. I have used Paris Smith all these years because they are knowledgeable, friendly, pragmatic and cost effective. It doesn’t matter which member of the team you are dealing with you get a consistent approach.

Joy Craddock, MD - JCV Consulting Ltd
JCV Consulting

PHL have worked with Paris Smith since 2016 who have provided exceptional employment law advice and support over the years. They have provided various advice on employee case management situations, self-employed status, union, TUPE, IR35 and NHS AFC legislation advice to name a few. I find them a professional, friendly, approachable team who provide a quick turnaround on support and advice. They are always quick to respond in a professional manner, breaking down the complexities of employment law and regulations talking through possible options. We also enjoy the regular HR seminars they invite us to which consist of employment law updates, case study examples and a chance to meet the team.

Bobby-Anne Payne, HR Manager - Partnering Health Ltd
Partnering Health Ltd

I am so pleased I've used Paris Smith to help steer us through our GDPR Interpretation - the team were approachable, smart and knowledgeable.

Larry Haywood, Head of Compliance - Gist Ltd
Gist Ltd

I have receievd a reliable, professional and value for money service from Paris Smith for a number of years. Paris Smith are able to offer advice, guidance and have assisted me with both my personal and business requirements, and supported me through any necessary action required to be taken. Paris Smith have experts within their team of professionals who have, in their specialism, assisted with my personal and business activities, conveyancing, Will and associated end of life planning, probate, employment issues and tax planning. Their professional advice, suggested course of action, clearly explained and if required quickly executed. I shall continue to use their excellent services in supporting me with my business and any personal issues I may have in the future.

Julie Harrison, MD - The White House (Curdridge) Ltd
The White House (Curdridge) Ltd

Charlotte and Tabytha were an amazing source of support, guidance and expertise during one of the most challenging times of my employment life. Their commitment and willingness to go the extra mile to help me was so valued and appreciated. We concluded the case with me securing enough financial recompense to cover my losses which meant so much to me and my family. I would not hesitate to highly recommend the support of Charlotte and Tabytha for any employment tribunal case.

Former National Development Manager - Health and Social Care sector

Paris Smith is a fantastic company with departments for all areas. Not only are they a fast responsive team they are good at what they do and are easy to communicate with. They have helped review all of my employment documents across three companies, tying them all up together with the correct documentation and making it easy for me to move forwards with minor editing. They were sympathetic to my new company as this only had start up funds and so I was working to a budget!. I found them willing to help me, and were interest in my business and projects. Really trying to understand and suggest what was best for me. I am continuing to work my way round the departments so all areas of business meet current legislation. I look forward to future business.

Anthony Hughes, Director
Window Repair Specialists

Outstanding service provided by Tabytha Cunningham and her colleague Charlotte Farrell. I would highly recommend Tabytha as she provided exceptional and first class legal advice on an elongated dispute with my previous employer. Tabytha is very professional and her attention to detail is astounding. Tabytha is honest, hardworking, trusted and a brilliant individual working for a well sought after legal company - she is a real credit to Paris Smith LLP. Tabytha kept me in the loop and did exactly as she said she would and I was never let down. After two years I was grateful for Tabytha's tenacity and her extreme passion in her role. Highly recommended.

Daljit Kooner

Always responsive and thoughtful. The experience of our Partner and diligence of her team are reassuring.

Neil Roberts
Coastal Home Care (Hove) Ltd

Truly the most informative, relevant, and interesting course I've done. It's so useful to have the chance to hear from the law firm and HR and be able to ask any queries. Courses like this help massively in giving us the confidence and knowledge to carry out the processes correctly.

Feedback from an attendee at a recent in house training course on carrying our disciplinary and grievance investigations effectively

Charlotte & Tabytha have provided an excellent, efficient and honest service throughout with clear and regular updates and communication.

Paul Atwal