Susanne Matthissen
Susanne is a Senior Associate in our Employment and Immigration team. She advises on both contentious and non-contentious aspects of employment law, as well as all aspects of information law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Freedom of Information Act.
She advises a range of clients from individuals to family owned businesses and third sector organisations, local authorities and large private companies.
Susanne undertakes employment aspects of corporate transaction work, including employment due diligence, drafting employment contracts, director service agreements and consultancy agreements, advising on TUPE and the employment related aspects of the transaction documents.
As well as our work with employers, Susanne is also involved in advising individuals. This work includes advising individuals on disputes in the workplace and in employment tribunal claims, which includes guidance on disciplinary and grievance processes, negotiating exit packages and legal advice on the terms of settlement agreements.
Susanne assists both public and private sector clients in advising on their legal obligations on information law legislation and providing practical assistance in relation to any requests made under GDPR and FOIA.
She can also help with information law compliance planning and implementation, undertaking data audits, as well as designing and delivering workshops and bespoke in-house training for clients and their staff in relation to GDPR and FOIA.
Susanne also attends Cardiff Employment Law clinic to provide Pro-bono advice to individuals that need help, as well as attending the Employment Tribunal Litigant in Person Support Scheme to provide unrepresented litigants with initial advice and representation at Cardiff Employment Tribunal.
Probably the most useful professional training I’ve ever been to – not an exaggeration. We need this kind of practical information. You’ve hit the spot!
Sarah McGuiness, Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni
- Assisting with advising and supporting an international client in relation to large scale redundancies and restructure.
- Assisting with advising a local authority on a service provision change, involving complex TUPE negotiations.
- Assisting with the employment aspects of a multimillion pound private equity investment transaction.
- Conducting several large scale subject access request responses on behalf of both national and international private business clients, which included reviewing the documentation, providing advice on exemptions, and preparing the response documents.
- Performing all defence preparation for a fitness to practice hearing, against an education union member. The allegations involved safeguarding issues, which were denied by the defendant. The Headteacher avoided being struck off the register of teachers after being dismissed for gross misconduct.
- Assisting a third sector organisation with a claim for grievance, involving investigation against a number of claims including unfair dismissal; discrimination on the grounds of disability; sex and sexual orientation; harassment and victimisation. Assisted with the successful defence of the subsequent employment tribunal case which followed.
- Assisting the claimant with a complex employment tribunal claim in relation to unfair dismissal linked to whistleblowing.
- Advising and assisting a housing association with their collective consultation process.
- Provided GDPR training through Capital Law workshops, in-house to clients (both in-depth training to senior managers/directors and roll-out training across all staff), and partnering with a national union to provide training to the education sector.
- Absence management
- Business acquisitions
- Business restructuring
- Collective bargaining and negotiation
- Collective consultation
- Contract and policy drafting
- Corporate support
- Day to day HR issues
- Disciplinaries and grievances
- Discrimination
- Education
- Employment Tribunals
- Executive dismissals
- Exit strategies
- Fitness to practice
- Data protection
- Freedom of Information
- Service agreements and consultancy agreements
- Policy and procedure review
- Post-termination restrictions
- Redundancy programmes
- Restrictive covenants
- Settlement agreements
- TUPE
- Unfair dismissal claims
- Employment law training
- Information law training
Career
- Senior Associate, Capital Law Limited (Nov 2023 – present)
- Associate, Capital Law Limited (Nov 2020 – Oct 2023)
- Solicitor, Capital Law Limited (Feb 2016 – Oct 2020)
- Solicitor (NQ), Gabb & Co. Solicitors (Sept 2015 – Feb 2016)
- Trainee Solicitor with seats in Dispute resolution, Corporate and Banking and Employment, Hugh James (Sept 2013 – Sept 2015)
- Senior case manager in Nursing Care team, Hugh James (Nov 2013 – Sept 2013)
Education
- Cardiff University: Diploma in Legal Practice (2010 – 2011)
- Swansea University: LLB Law (2004 – 2007)
Memberships / Trustee Positions
- The Law Society of England and Wales
- Employment Lawyers’ Association