Fiona Meek
Senior AssociateFiona is a Senior Associate and is an accredited specialist in employment law in our leading Employment Law team.
Fiona advises employers across the public and private sectors in relation to a wide variety of employment law matters. This includes issues such as discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblowing, complex disciplinary and grievance investigations, managing absence or poor performance, unfair dismissal, and redundancy. Fiona also provides advice to employees on similar issues.
Fiona has particular expertise in discrimination law and is regularly instructed by clients to provide advice on complex and sensitive discrimination and equality issues such as workplace harassment investigations and managing neurodivergence in the workplace.
Fiona also represents both employers and employees in Employment Tribunal proceedings throughout the UK, including in relation to Judicial Mediation.
Fiona is a regular contributor to publications on employment and discrimination matters and also provides bespoke training for clients, including in relation to preventing workplace harassment (including sexual harassment).
Fiona also has experience in representing clients facing fitness to practise investigations initiated by professional regulators. Fiona has represented clients in fitness to practise investigations and subsequent hearings before the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health Care and Professionals Council and the Scottish Social Services Council.
Fiona always ensures that she provides clients with clear, pragmatic, proactive advice and works hard to achieve the best possible results for her clients.
Podcast
Can job applicants be rejected for supporting a rival football team?
In this podcast, David Hossack and Fiona Meek look at a recent Employment Tribunal decision which has attracted significant media attention, where an Employment Judge commented that there could be circumstances where a job applicant's support for a rival football team could provide a justifiable basis for an employer refusing to offer them a job.
Article
Can job applicants be rejected for supporting a rival football team?
Rejecting a job applicant for supporting a rival football team is generally lawful since team allegiance isn’t a protected characteristic. However, if that preference indirectly relates to a protected characteristic, such as religion or belief, it could amount to unlawful discrimination, making such hiring decisions risky.
