OT is sad to report the death of AOP employment solicitor, Karen Tarling, who died unexpectedly following a short illness in May.
Karen joined the AOP in April 2019 having amassed a wealth of experience across a wide range of sectors, including private practice, in-house, charity, and local authority.
As a highly respected employment lawyer, prior to joining the AOP Karen worked as a lawyer at The Nursing and Midwifery Council and as an employment adviser for the Royal Bank of Scotland. She also had experience as a group legal adviser at the Countrywide Assured Group and as a senior barrister for Essex County Council.
Having originally qualified as a barrister in 1991, Karen later transferred her skills and became a solicitor in 2002, spending 15 years of her career specialising in employment law. During this time, she represented both employees and employers, and undertook her own advocacy in employment tribunals.
Throughout her time at the AOP, Karen specialised in drafting and advising on contracts and HR policies, discrimination, dismissal, redundancy, equal pay, Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, and settlement agreements. During the pandemic she was on-hand and responded quickly to advise members on furlough and COVID-19-related matters.
Excelling in her role at the AOP, in November 2020 she was promoted to interim head of employment, a position she held for 12 months as maternity cover.
Speaking about Karen, AOP director of legal and...
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