Cassandra is a Legal Director in the Schools HR team within our Education practice. Cassandra specialises in HR and employment law in the education sector. Her clients include maintained schools and academy trust companies, as well as independent schools, further and higher education institutions, dioceses and HR consultancies operating within the education sector. Prior to joining Winckworth Sherwood, Cassandra worked at the Catholic Education Service providing legal advice on all manner of HR and employment law matters to Diocesan Schools Commissioners in England and Wales.

Cassandra also advises on employment law within the healthcare sector particularly in the context of safeguarding.

Cassandra’s experience spans the whole depth and breadth of employment law, from day to day HR support and advice, drafting and reviewing contracts of employment and workplace policies, through to advising on national agreements, industrial action and complex employment tribunal litigation including at appeal level (EAT).

Recent Experience

• Acting for an academy trust in a number of complex disability discrimination claims brought by a serving employee
• Acting for a multi-academy trust in defending a pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim arising out of a surrogacy arrangement
• Advising a multi-academy trust in a claim brought by a teacher for unfair dismissal and race discrimination and securing strike out or withdrawal of all claims
• Acting for a multi-academy trust in an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal concerning strike out
• Acting for various school employer clients, whether they be maintained schools or single or multi-academy trust companies, in defending employment tribunal proceedings involving unfair dismissal, discrimination on all protected grounds, whistleblowing and breach of contract
• Supporting an academy trust in a complex and long running grievance and disciplinary process relating to safeguarding and financial irregularity
• Advising the Church of England on template terms and conditions of employment and offer letters for the full range of leadership, teaching and support staff roles, as well as a suite of template workplace policies, for all Church of England schools and academies and Church in Wales schools
• Drafting and maintaining a suite of model employment documents, including contracts and workplace policies, for over 2,500 Catholic schools and academies in England and Wales
• Extensive experience and knowledge of the law as it applies to voluntary aided schools and voluntary academies through my role supporting and advising Catholic dioceses generally
• Reviewing and drafting bespoke suites of contracts of employment and workplace policies for school and academy clients
• Provision of bespoke client training, in particular to support panels convened in complex grievance and/or disciplinaries, to ensure they carry out their role confidently to meet the relevant legal tests involved