‘Sheilah Cummins is thorough whilst taking into consideration what client is trying to achieve. The team overall is super supportive, professional and goes above and beyond our expectations.’ 

 Legal 500 [UK 2024]

Work Synopsis

Sheilah qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, in 2011. She has a 1st Class BA Honours degree in religious studies from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff and, before joining Prettys in 2016, worked for a large commercial firm with offices in Cambridge, London and Singapore. Sheilah specialises in Employment Law, working for employee and employer clients across a variety of industries but has a particular interest in the ecclesiastical sector. She advises on a range of contentious and non-contentious employment matters and is also experienced at preparing and delivering training and seminars for clients on a range of employment issues. In October 2017, Sheilah was promoted to Associate and then to Senior Associate in October 2021.

Expertise

Areas of expertise include

  • Human Resources and Employee Relations including disciplinaries, grievances and performance management
  • Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal claims
  • Settlement agreements and exit negotiations
  • Redundancy and business reorganisations
  • Contracts, service agreements and consultancy arrangements
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE)
  • Employee benefits and incentive schemes
  • Corporate support

Personal Synopsis

In her spare time, Sheilah enjoys going to the gym, and running (having completed two half marathons) and is an “improving”, albeit sometimes reluctant, skier!

Recent Work

  • Successfully defending a high-value Employment Tribunal claim brought against an employer client, including obtaining maximum cost awards of £20,000 against each Claimant;
  • Successfully defending Claimants’ appeal against Employment Appeal Tribunal’s refusal to extend time for lodging appeal;
  • Acting for high-profile employer client in a successful Judicial Mediation process;
  • Advising on cross-border employment issues;
  • Assisting with legal due diligence and TUPE advice on corporate transactions; 
  • Delivering tailor-made workshop programmes;
  • Undertaking a disciplinary investigation for quasi-public sector organisation. 

Testimonials

“Sheilah Cummins was really knowledgeable and helpful throughout the process!
The solicitor was brilliant at explaining the process of a settlement agreement and ensuring that I received a fair severance package. Felt I was in safe hands at all times – always available and responded quickly to my questions”.