Laura Darnley

Solicitor, Ward Hadaway

Laura is a Partner in Ward Hadaway's Employment and Immigration team. She has extensive experience in advising clients in relation to all of their "people" related needs . She specialises in advising on business immigration issues to help clients recruit and retain the best talent from across the world

Laura provides advice on all aspects of the UK’s immigration regime, including right to work compliance, sponsor licensing, Skilled Worker visas and Global Business Mobility visas. She also advises on the requirements for international business travellers inbound to the UK and globally mobile workforces so that clients can ensure they have access to key talent when and where they need it. She has a 100% success rate in relation to sponsor licence and visa applications. Her advice is commercial and pragmatic and ensures that her clients are able to achieve their strategic workforce goals.

Laura regularly advises on the immigration law compliance requirements and regularly assists clients with audits and resolving Home Office challenges/inspections. She also advises on the immigration law implications arising from corporate transactions such as share sales, TUPE transfers and intragroup corporate reorganisations.

Laura’s employment law background means she is able to navigate the complicated overlapping employment and immigration law issues that frequently arise, providing a holistic and sensitive approach to these issues. This has included advice on managing migrant workers, dealing with their employment documentation (such as specific clauses in their employment contracts and fee repayment agreements) and resolving legal disputes such as discrimination, or claims surrounding an employee’s termination.

In relation to Laura’s employment law expertise, she advises employers and senior employees on all aspects of employment law including managing disciplinaries and grievances, defending/bringing employment tribunal disputes, reorganisations and restructures, redundancy exercises (of all sizes), employment contracts and handbooks (including bespoke drafting for senior staff) and the enforceability of post termination restrictions.

Laura’s expertise straddles a number of different sectors but she has particular experience in working with clients in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, technology, manufacturing, recruitment and care sectors.

Contributed to

2

Right to work checks and illegal working: problem areas and practical tips

Practice notes

This Practice Note looks at how advisers can balance the competing risks that arise in practice where an employer fails to conduct a compliant right to work check or comes to suspect that an employee does not have the right to work.

Immigration

Right to work checks: how to conduct the check

Practice notes

This Practice Note looks at what employers need to do in order to carry out a ‘right to work check’ correctly, including the main steps that should be taken for both online and manual checks, record-keeping requirements and preparing for repeat checks. It also looks at right to work checks using Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) via an Identity Service Provider.

Immigration