Alex May

Alex is an Associate Solicitor in the Employment team here at Clarke & Son Ltd.

Main area of practice:

• Advising on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, acting predominantly for employers but also for individuals (particularly at senior and executive level).
• Retained advisory services for in-house HR managers and directors, providing ongoing support with day-to-day people management and employment law issues, including disciplinary and grievance procedures, performance management, sickness absence and workplace investigations.
• Drafting complex and senior-level terms and conditions of employment, workplace policies, employee handbooks, and consultancy and self-employed contractor agreements.
• Restructuring, redundancy programmes and workforce reorganisations.
• Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) on the acquisition and disposal of businesses or service provision changes.
• Senior executive appointments, terminations and exit negotiations at all levels from junior staff to board-level individuals, including service contracts, settlement agreements and negotiated departures. Drafting, advising on and enforcing restrictive covenants and post-termination restrictions, including non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses
• Discrimination and equality matters, advising employers and individuals on claims under the Equality Act 2010 and related legislation.
• Employment Tribunal litigation and dispute resolution, including preparing cases and working closely with specialist employment counsel at preferred chambers.
• Hospitality and Leisure sector specialism. Clarke & Son has a substantial hospitality client base, and Alex has developed particular expertise in understanding the unique pressures and employment challenges faced by businesses operating in this fast-paced industry.

Career:

Alex obtained his LLB Law degree from The University of Winchester in 2018 and later completed his Legal Practice Course at the University of Law Guildford, achieving a distinction. He qualified as a solicitor in 2021 and was promoted to Associate in 2024.

He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

Working closely with the firm's corporate partners and sector bodies both within and outside the hospitality and leisure sector, he has developed strong relationships with organisations including Hampshire Fare and British Institute of Innkeepers (BII).

Outside of employment law practice, he serves as a trustee of St Michael's Hospice (North Hampshire), an independent charity providing end-of-life and palliative care to patients and their families across North Hampshire. As a member of the Finance and Operations Committee, he advises on people management matters and works closely with the hospice's HR Director.

Notable Work:

• Advising a specialist resource agency on a large-scale TUPE transaction involving approximately 80 transferring employees, including successfully negotiating amended standard terms with a household car brand as part of a new services contract.
• Successfully defending a large hospitality corporate client against an unfair dismissal claim where the claimant had wrongly alleged they had not registered.
• Acting for a respondent client in disability discrimination proceedings, successfully negotiating proceedings, successfully negotiating a drop hands settlement following a preliminary hearing in which the Judge found the claimant was not disabled in respect of the operative disability and only permitted the claim to proceed on secondary disabilities.
• Achieving a significant reduction in compensation awarded in an unfair dismissal claim by demonstrating contributory conduct on the part of the employee.
• Assisting an individual in successfully overturning a finding of gross misconduct with internal disciplinary proceedings and securing a favourable outcome.
• Negotiating and drafting a director's service contract for an incoming CEO on behalf of a drinks brand and advising the in-house legal team of a major supermarket chain.
• Guiding a large hospitality client through a comprehensive redundancy and business reorganisation programme, advising on consultation obligations, selection processes and risk mitigation.
• Supporting a brewery client through a series of acquisitions, advising on TUPE compliance and the employment aspects of each transaction.
• Assisting numerous executive-level departures and exits, acting for both employers and senior individuals.
• Advising multiple corporate clients on their obligations to employees in connection with business sales and acquisitions.
• Collaborating with the corporate team on numerous high-value transactions for both buyers and sellers, advising on employment-related due diligence, drafting and negotiating employment warranties and indemnities in sale and purchase agreements, and managing TUPE compliance throughout (where relevant).

What Alex says:

"I pride myself on giving straightforward advice without unnecessary legal jargon. My approach is simple. Direct and honest, with a strong focus on providing pragmatic, commercial solution. I am always mindful of what is in the clients best interests, rather than taking  transactional approach or generating unnecessary legal fees."

"I am passionate about helping businesses improve and about building long-term relationships with clients. I believe that the best legal support comes from truly understanding a client's business, its challenges and it's goals, so that I can act as a trusted long-term partner rather than simply providing one-off advice."

"What I enjoy most is helping clients solve problems. I value building strong relationships, getting to know each business I work with and hearing that my advice and support have made a real difference. The same applies when supporting individual clients."

Outside of work:

Alex is a keen sports fan and season ticket holder and Southampton Football Club. He is also a member at Hampshire County Cricket Club and rarely misses a T20 Blast Finals Day. When not watching sport, he enjoys long walks with hi wife and their fox red Labrador Marvin...which usually ends up at the pub. Alex is a foodie and is a strong believer in supporting local hospitality businesses.