David Stirrat

Solicitor

Experience

David Stirrat is a UK employment law specialist solicitor with 14 years of experience helping companies navigate the complexities of employment law and personnel issues. 

Having trained and practised for over a decade with two of the UK’s 1st tier employment teams, he has an outstanding breadth of cross-sector experience, including in Sports, Technology, Education, Energy, Charities, the Public and the Third Sector.

Personable and engaging, David brings a fresh and jargon-light approach. He is adept at quickly identifying the crux and context of issues and providing commercially attuned and pragmatic advice. He has built his style and practice on clear thinking and sensitivity to his clients’ unique settings and wider objectives.

David covers the full spectrum of employment law, from recruitment and contracts through day-to-day HR advice, policies, performance and disciplinary, grievances and discrimination, departures and Restrictive Covenants. 

He has extensive experience in company rescaling and restructuring, including changing terms, redundancy consultation and TUPE. 

He also has a particular interest and expertise in Respondent-focused Employment Tribunal litigation. He has maintained an active caseload since qualification and regularly appears in Employment Tribunals across the UK.

David particularly values opportunities to work with small/medium companies. 


In David’s own words…

“As an employment lawyer, working with SMEs elevates the value of my service and advice. Employment challenges are ‘par for the course’ for large dedicated HR teams, but they can be seismic issues for smaller companies - sitting right at the heart of their success and plans. 

The vast body of employment legislation is unwieldy for SMEs, and the agility and engagement within smaller companies also give them a significant advantage. With a clear understanding of the material risks and priorities, SMEs will regularly find lighter-touch or more pre-emptive solutions. 

Of course, unavoidable problems sometimes require the most robust advice. Still, as an adviser in this area, it is incredibly satisfying to inform a client that the challenge is not nearly as great as was feared!”


Education

  • University of Glasgow - Honours degree in Philosophy
  • University of Edinburgh - Law Degree (LLB) and Diploma in Legal Practice
  • Legal training with Brodies LLP, a 1st Tier Commercial Law Firm based in Edinburgh

Achievements

  • Designing, implementing and managing an HR helpline and advisory facility for 50+ branches of well-known high street public advisory service
  • ‘On record’ solicitor in 200+ ET cases, including high-profile and high-value discrimination, dismissal, whistleblowing, TUPE and equal pay
  • Conducting ET advocacy at hearings across the UK incl. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Norwich, Edinburgh and Glasgow
  • Acting for a global UK bank in multiple discrimination cases, incl. four week hearing of complex race/disability litigation (London) and; complex sex discrimination /criminal conduct hearing (Glasgow)
  • Acting for high-profile sporting administrative bodies in player disciplinary issues, referee employment status and age discrimination disputes
  • Acting for local authorities in large-scale class action equal pay litigation incl. collective negotiations, and ET advocacy
  • Successfully representing clients in alternative dispute resolution processes, including judicial and private mediation and collective consultation
  • Providing training sessions to management and HR teams on employment law topics, incl. disciplinary and grievance management, redundancy consultation and negotiated exits

Other Interests

David values time with his young family, dog walks and trips to the cinema. He loves taking pictures, playing jazz guitar, and keeping Japanese rice fish in mini ponds in his garden.