Search

How can we help?

Helen Beech

Senior Consultant

Helen Beech

Senior Consultant

“Helen Beech is a top-class employment lawyer. Always available, always on top of the issues. We have used her for some of our most difficult situations and she always leads an efficient and committed team”

The Legal 500

Helen Beech is a senior consultant in the employment team. 

Helen has over 30 years’ experience and has been ranked band 1 in Chambers and Partners 2023 in employment and HR related matters.

She is an industrial relations specialist having been involved in a significant number of high profile and complex restructurings and change programmes, supporting her clients, in both unionised and non-unionised environments to negotiate their way through the challenges of pay disputes, contingency planning, reputation management, strikes and union recognition bids. She has a wealth of experience advising on and managing large-scale consultation processes, employee engagement programmes and setting up employee forums.

She also acts for both companies and individuals negotiating settlement packages, often in situations involving complex discrimination issues, ranging from disability, transgender and race discrimination as well as equal pay cases, often combined with whistleblowing allegations and reputation management challenges.

Helen is frequently recognised as a leading lawyer by a number of the legal guides including Chambers and Legal 500 for her focus on complex restructures, change programmes and TUPE matters.

Her significant expertise and longstanding trusted relationships with clients mean she always has a focus on practical and commercial solutions for businesses, drawing on other practice areas and specialist experience within the HR consultancy.

Experience

Redundancy / Restructuring

Helen has supported a number of major clients during the process of implementing major changes programmes including changes to terms & conditions, working arrangements, shifts patterns, closures of final salary or other pension schemes, managing the election process from start to finish, advising on collective consultation obligations and working with employee and trade union reps, supporting redundancy processes and minimising protective award risks.

TUPE and business transfers

Helen has supported a number of major clients during the process of implementing changes to or closures of final salary or other pension schemes, managing the election process from start to finish, including the auto-enrolment process, working with pension advisors to those facing the enrolment challenge.

Pension changes and auto-enrolment

Helen has supported a number of major clients during the process of implementing changes to or closures of final salary or other pension schemes, managing the election process from start to finish, including the auto-enrolment process, working with pension advisors to those facing the enrolment challenge.

Discrimination and harassment

Helen has supported a number of major clients during the process of implementing changes to or closures of final salary or other pension schemes, managing the election process from start to finish, including the auto-enrolment process, working with pension advisors to those facing the enrolment challenge.

Industrial Relations

Helen has for many years helped her clients navigate the complex issues around industrial relations, from the cut and thrust of strike action and ballots to contingency planning and reputation management as well as working in helping companies to create and/or work pro-actively in partnership with both employee forums and trade union representative.

What our clients say

“Helen is very practical and easy to get on with. She has provided sound advice over a number of years.”

Chambers 2024

“Helen Beech is a top-class employment lawyer. Always available, always on top of the issues. We have used her for some of our most difficult situations and she always leads an efficient and committed team”

Legal 500 2024

“Helen is always extremely helpful and knowledgeable.”

Chambers 2024

“Monica Atwal and Helen Beech are both outstanding. Their significant legal knowledge across all areas of employment law and years of practical experience within the employment tribunal system puts them amongst the best instructing solicitors I have worked with.”

Legal 500 2024

“Helen is very responsive and very adaptable. She is  strong commercially and will deliver the news in the right manner”

Chambers and Partners 2025

“Helen has a lot of experience and knowledge. She explains technical issues very well and is always looking for solutions to make situations work for the situation”

Chambers and Partners 2025

“Helen is great technically and brilliant in a crisis. She is a knowledgeable person in a really complex area.”

Chambers and Partners 2025

‘Consistently outstanding service from Helen Beech and the employment law team. She is extremely responsive, has a deep understanding of our business, and offers highly effective, pragmatic solutions.’

Legal 500 2025

“Consistently outstanding service from Helen Beech and the employment law team. She is extremely responsive, has a deep understanding of our business, and offers highly effective, pragmatic solutions.”

Legal 500 2025

“Helen Beech leads an excellent team. She is reactive, technically excellent and committed.”

Legal 500 2025

Read, listen and watch our latest insights

art
  • 22 October 2020
  • Employment

Major changes to Job Support Scheme: could it now work for your business?

The Chancellor has today announced welcome major changes to the Job Support Scheme (JSS). The changes mean the scheme is likely to be worth considering for many more employers.

art
  • 22 October 2020
  • Employment

When working from home means working from abroad: considerations for employers

Working from home is the new normal for many. Some employers have been flexible in their approach to what “at home” means in reality. As long as the job is being done, does is matter where it’s being done from?

art
  • 22 October 2020
  • Employment

Self-Isolation and Sick Pay

With the high and rising number of employees needing to self-isolate while awaiting coronavirus (COVID-19) test results, businesses need to understand their sick pay obligations.

art
  • 19 October 2020
  • Employment

£40,000 in penalties for failure to inform and consult

The Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Verizon European Works Council v Verizon Group highlights the risk of bypassing established statutory mechanisms for informing and consulting with the workforce. Where these arrangements are national works councils or European Works Councils (EWCs), this can lead to penalties of up to £75,000.

art
  • 15 October 2020
  • Employment

Update: Oxford University to pay professor forced to retire at 68

The employment tribunal also ordered Oxford to reinstate the professor after he won his claims for age discrimination and unfair dismissal. The Tribunal set out the reinstatement for a fixed maximum term which will expire on 30 September 2021. This was the date on which the Claimant had intended to retire from the Respondent before his dismissal

art
  • 15 October 2020
  • Employment

The Expanded Job Support Scheme: Extra cash for businesses forced to close by new lockdowns

The Job Support Scheme, initially announced on the 24th September, was expanded by the Chancellor on the 9th October 2020. The expanded scheme, formally known as the “Job Support Scheme Expansion for Closed Business Premises” is intended to support businesses that are legally required to close due to local or national coronavirus restrictions. As with the Job Support Scheme, the expanded scheme starts on November 1st and runs for 6 months.