Marc Meryon

Partner and Head of Industrial Relations , Eversheds Sutherland

Marc Meryon is a partner and Head of Industrial Relations in the London office. He is also an Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School, City University. Marc specialises in helping companies with difficult labour relations issues, often arising from organisational change. He frequently advises on managing and resolving collective disputes, including preventing and mitigating the impact of strikes and responding effectively to union backed corporate campaigns, both within the UK and internationally. Marc’s role includes helping employers with union negotiations; new models for staff engagement; managing stakeholder relations; and using innovative legal challenges to protect businesses from disruption. Marc also advises on the growing impact of human rights on business and labour relations, and on the increasing use of contingent workers.

Carl Roper

National Organiser , TUC

Marc Meryon

Partner and Head of Industrial Relations , Eversheds Sutherland

Marc Meryon is a partner and Head of Industrial Relations in the London office. He is also an Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School, City University. Marc specialises in helping companies with difficult labour relations issues, often arising from organisational change. He frequently advises on managing and resolving collective disputes, including preventing and mitigating the impact of strikes and responding effectively to union backed corporate campaigns, both within the UK and internationally. Marc’s role includes helping employers with union negotiations; new models for staff engagement; managing stakeholder relations; and using innovative legal challenges to protect businesses from disruption. Marc also advises on the growing impact of human rights on business and labour relations, and on the increasing use of contingent workers.

Lisa Micallef

Vice President Human Resources (Industrial Relations) , Centrica

Highly driven, leading international HR professional with 20 years experience across a number of industry sectors including Manufacturing, Logistics, Oil and Gas & Commercial. Having held HR Director positions at Group, Regional, Country level for large corporates. International experience has covered a platform serving Europe, Middle East, Africa, & Latin America and includes UK PLCs, privately owned businesses and subsidiaries of US corporates. Working also as a change management expert; is a natural leader with keen business acumen and unmatched ability in providing pragmatic solutions to drive successful pursuit of new business opportunities. Excels in advancing revenue objectives and costs savings objectives defining winning Talent strategies; developing and implementing People integration plan and Talent & Succession Strategy to drive attraction, development and retention of key talent and effectively leading teams to achieve their goals. A reputation for relationship management and delivery; thrives in change and transformational situations; inspiring at all levels. Specialties: Delivery; Applying high levels of business acuity; driving solutions within complex and competitive arenas; influencing decisions; overseeing process improvements. Skills: Relationship management, implementing Talent strategies; team leadership; ensuring delivery; issues & resolution, Executive stakeholder management; process improvement & project implementation

Richard Justham

Employee Relations , Govia Thameslink Railway

John Hendy QC

Barrister, Chair of the IER and Advisor to Laura Pidcock MP (Shadow Minister of Labour) , IER

John Hendy QC is Chair of the Institute of Employment Rights. He is a leading employment law barrister, operating from Old Square Chambers London, and H P Higgins Chambers in Sydney Australia. He is also vice-chairman of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR)and Joint Secretary to the United Campaign for the Repeal of Anti Trade Union Laws. John is standing counsel to UNITE, ASLEF,CWU, NUJ, NUM, POA, RMT and UCU.

Marc Meryon

Partner and Head of Industrial Relations , Eversheds Sutherland

Marc Meryon is a partner and Head of Industrial Relations in the London office. He is also an Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School, City University. Marc specialises in helping companies with difficult labour relations issues, often arising from organisational change. He frequently advises on managing and resolving collective disputes, including preventing and mitigating the impact of strikes and responding effectively to union backed corporate campaigns, both within the UK and internationally. Marc’s role includes helping employers with union negotiations; new models for staff engagement; managing stakeholder relations; and using innovative legal challenges to protect businesses from disruption. Marc also advises on the growing impact of human rights on business and labour relations, and on the increasing use of contingent workers.

John Hendy QC

Barrister, Chair of the IER and Advisor to Laura Pidcock MP (Shadow Minister of Labour) , IER

John Hendy QC is Chair of the Institute of Employment Rights. He is a leading employment law barrister, operating from Old Square Chambers London, and H P Higgins Chambers in Sydney Australia. He is also vice-chairman of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR)and Joint Secretary to the United Campaign for the Repeal of Anti Trade Union Laws. John is standing counsel to UNITE, ASLEF,CWU, NUJ, NUM, POA, RMT and UCU.

Carl Roper

National Organiser , TUC

Tony Dobbins

Professor in HR Management & Employment Relations, Birmingham Business School , University of Birmingham

Tony is Professor of Employment Relations and HR Management at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He is also Visiting Professor at University of Limerick, Ireland. Previously, he was Professor of Employment Studies, Bangor University. Tony has 25 years’ experience in employment relations, having worked in various posts in academia and the private sector, including eight years as a journalist in Dublin with Industrial Relations News. His research on work and employment issues has been published widely, and he regularly engages in public knowledge exchange, including with the BBC, Guardian, RTE, Huffington Post.

Tony Dobbins

Professor in HR Management & Employment Relations, Birmingham Business School , University of Birmingham

Tony is Professor of Employment Relations and HR Management at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He is also Visiting Professor at University of Limerick, Ireland. Previously, he was Professor of Employment Studies, Bangor University. Tony has 25 years’ experience in employment relations, having worked in various posts in academia and the private sector, including eight years as a journalist in Dublin with Industrial Relations News. His research on work and employment issues has been published widely, and he regularly engages in public knowledge exchange, including with the BBC, Guardian, RTE, Huffington Post.

Derek Luckhurst

Training and Development Director , IPA

Derek Luckhurst has been the Training & Development Director of the IPA (Involvement And Participation Association) since December 2000 responsible for consultancy services. Previously he was the Manufacturing, Science And Finance Union’s National Secretary for Legal & General since 1996. He was instrumental in the establishment of a breakthrough partnership agreement, which was signed at L&G in 1997. At IPA he has developed partnership workshops for the Inland Revenue, the Audit Commission, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Aintree NHS Trust, Bolton NHS Trust and Santander. In conjunction with the workshop, he has written a partnership induction programme specifically tailored for people working on partnership initiatives. He is the author of “A Practitioner’s Guide To Sustaining Industrial Partnership” published by the IPA with DTI support in 2004, updated and re-published in 2011. He also wrote a Staff Representatives’ Handbook, which has been commissioned by Sanctuary Housing, Halfords, BP, Coral Racing and Avon Cosmetics. He has worked with many organisations helping them with employee relations including United Welsh Housing Association, Steria, Standard Life, Santander, Norwich Union, Royal College Of Surgeons, The General Medical Council, The Prince’s Trust, Egg, Blue Arrow, Royal National Institute For Deaf People, Bank Of Ireland UK Financial Services, The Independent Police Complaints Commission, The Healthcare Commission, Avon Cosmetics, The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, The National Asthma Campaign, National Grid, Peabody Trust, British Bakeries, The Employers Organisation, Pizza Express, The Communication Workers Union, The Post Office, De La Rue Cash Systems, Peabody Housing, Corps of Commissionaires, The Cancer Research Campaign, South East Water, Inland Revenue, Eurotunnel, Siemens, Pfizer, Terrence Higgins Trust, Electoral Reform Services, Opportunity Links, Kelloggs, the CBI, Skandia, AOL Broadband, Vodafone, Kimberley Clark and BP, Pearson, City & Guilds and HCL. Derek has also introduced the option-based consultation model for the effective involvement of the representatives of employees, be they union or non-union in identifying opinions and influencing the decision making process at a strategic level within organisations. Described by Keith Sisson, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations at Warwick Business School as a ‘landmark in UK industrial relations’, Derek has been busy training managers and employee representatives in option-based consultation in organisations like the Healthcare Commission, Standard Life, Bank Of Ireland, United Welsh Housing and many others. Derek leads the IPA’s influential Best Practice Network and, with them, developed the “15 Strategic Questions” that have proved popular with representatives and senior managers alike. He is also the author of “The 5 Key Steps To Employee Engagement”, published in 2007, which explores the unique role representatives can play in ensuring staff lose the cynicism that blocks engagement. He was a key player in developing a framework for flexible working in Legal & General and was responsible for the training of both managers and union representatives in how the concept should work in practice. A new anti-harassment and bullying procedure was established during his term of office together with improved grievance and disciplinary processes.

Mark Harris

Lead Crisis Consultant , Blindside

As Blindside’s Lead Crisis Consultant, Mark allocates resources to ensure clients are serviced throughout the Crisis and Issues Management cycle from identification and preparation, prevention through planning and training, to response and recovery. Blindside’s crisis management preparedness and response services ensure clients are ready to face situations and events of a challenging nature, throughout the world. Over the last 24 years, Mark has worked at the forefront of crisis management and communications internationally and held senior positions with leading consultancies such Control Risks, and Burson-Marsteller. Mark has worked on over 150 incidents of kidnapping, extortion, and hostage taking around the world, and 19 cases of vessel hijack. He has also advised numerous companies as they have prepared to restructure, close facilities, or transfer operations to other countries. Mark regularly presents at conferences and is often invited to comment on news stories on a regular basis by news channels such as the BBC, ITN, Channel 4, CNN, NBC, and Al Jazeera.

Ian French

Lead Risk Consultant , Blindside

Ian French is the founder and Lead Risk Consultant at Blindside Limited. Blindside helps clients improve their resilience to risks and minimise the impact of incidents and crises, no matter what triggers the event. Ian has held senior positions with leading risk consultancies where among other things he advised clients on operational risk mitigation for companies, executives and staff during strikes and industrial disputes in the UK and internationally. Ian has in house experience as the head of risk and security for multinational mining and oil and gas companies where relations with employees, communities and governments were often key to success.