Autumn: Season of Change for Employment Law – What Changes Are on the Horizon?
The arrival of autumn often brings a sense of renewal, and this year, it’s no different for employment law.
Claire is a Solicitor and a Consultant to the firm who provides help and advice to our clients in all aspects of employment law and HR consultancy. This includes drafting employment contracts, policies and disciplinary procedures, providing advice on handling misconduct, capability and sickness absence issues and advising on discrimination.

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Claire CollingeSolicitor, Employment LawClaire also advises businesses on the employment aspects of restructures, redundancies and TUPE transfers, as well as exit strategies and drafting settlement agreements.
Claire qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and has since been a partner and team leader in two national law firms, specialising in employment law. She became a partner in a niche employment law practice in 2015, where she continued to work until starting her own consulting practice in 2020 joining Walker Foster in the February of that year.
She has advised trade union clients and their individual members, as well as advising businesses and schools, particularly owner-managed businesses. This has given her considerable experience of workplace dispute resolution from both the employee and employer point of view.
A particular interest for Claire is in helping employers manage the employment relationship well, by having the right procedures in place, addressing issues effectively before they grow and making informed commercial decisions to benefit their business and minimise the risk of Tribunal claims. She has experience in delivering training to business clients and their managers to help them achieve that.
Outside of work, Claire can be found walking her Doodle dog or doing Pilates to keep fit, watching her sons’ cricket and football matches, enjoying films at the local cinema and trying to see as many modern Shakespeare productions as she can.
The arrival of autumn often brings a sense of renewal, and this year, it’s no different for employment law.
This is aimed at reducing the occurrence of inappropriate and offensive comments from colleagues (often referred to as ‘banter’), as well as instances of physical harassment.
In this blog, our expert employment law solicitors at Walker Foster explore practical steps employers can take to boost employee productivity.
Employers often ask us how to bring an employment relationship to a close quickly and efficiently once it has run its course.
The requirement to be physically present is absolute. A signature cannot be witnessed online via a video call like Zoom or FaceTime, or even through a window.
A power of attorney does not continue after death. When the donor dies, the authority granted to the attorney ends immediately. There is no grace period, and the attorney stops acting from the point of the donor’s death.
If you are thinking about ending a power of attorney, one of the first questions is often about cost. The answer will depend on factors such as your circumstances and whether you need support with the process.
There is no single statutory definition for executor misconduct in England and Wales. Instead, it is understood as a breach of the fiduciary duty owed to the estate.


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