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Anna Cope

Partner

Contact
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English

Anna Cope is an employment law specialist and a partner in the CMS UK Employment Team working across Bristol and London. She is an adept and strategic employment tribunal litigator with a wealth of experience in successfully defending and resolving multifaceted and complex high value employment disputes including discrimination, whistleblowing, TUPE and other statutory and contractual claims. 

Anna’s clients range from well-known global corporations to small and medium size enterprises across a variety of industries, including the technology, consumer products, media and life sciences business sectors. Anna is also regularly instructed by insurers, and their insured clients, to manage and resolve their employment related disputes.

Anna’s commercial approach and ability to see the bigger picture are instrumental in her non-contentious practice where she is a “trusted advisor” to businesses on the entire lifecycle of the employment relationship, from recruitment to dismissal, including employee relations and industrial relations matters and reorganisation and transformational projects.

Anna has been recognised for many years by the leading directories and is a regular speaker and author on topical employment law issues.

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"Anna Cope is a trusted employment advisor to insurance, TMT and consumer goods sector clients."

Legal 500, 2023

"Anna Cope and her team are extremely responsive; they always get back to you in a very timely manner and are always understanding of the urgency in timelines."

Chambers, 2023

“Recognised as a 'Next Generation Partner'."

Legal 500, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023

"seemingly unflappable and a great asset!"

Client Feedback

"highly skilled, thoughtful, creative, pragmatic, responsive and dependable.”

Client Feedback

Relevant experience

  • A portfolio of UK employment tribunal litigation on behalf of a global technology company, including defending complex and high value multifaceted employment disputes.
  • A well-known UK plc on its investigations and resulting actions relating to various incidents of harassment.
  • A leading insurer and global technology company, in both the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, in claims brought by a former employee relating to his ill health.
  • Strategic partner to numerous clients in relation to day to day employment law, employee relations and industrial relations issues through the lifecycle of the employment relationship, from recruitment and contractual documentation, strategic advice during employment to dismissals and ACAS early conciliations.
  • Two separate employers on applications by a leading union to the Central Arbitration Committee for statutory recognition to entitle it to conduct collective bargaining.
  • Successfully leading and mediating high value claims using commercial mediators, judicial mediation and ACAS mediation services.
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Memberships & Roles

  • Employment Lawyers Association
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Publications

  • Aug 2022 - Striking Times (3): the current industrial relations landscape in the UK.
  • July 2022 - CMS Media Update Morning.
  • Oct 2021 - The S in ESG: The role of HR.
  • July 2021 - Changing dynamics in the workplace – more challenges for employers.
  • May 2021 - Future Facing Disputes - The Future Risks of the Remote Workplace.
  • Jan 2021 - 2021 trends in employment law - what is impacting the people agenda? 
  • Sept 2020 - Risk Essentials: Navigating the new workplace landscape.
  • Aug 2020 - Can technology keep the workforce safe?
  • July 2020 - Job Retention Bonus Scheme.
  • Apr 2020 - Lockdown and beyond (Webinar).
  • Mar 2020 - COVID-19 - What about the self-employed? You have not been forgotten. 
  • Mar 2020 - Coronavirus – what next?
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Education

  • 2005 – Admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales
  • 2003 – LPC, University of Exeter
  • 2002 – LLB, University of Kent, Canterbury 
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Feed

09/01/2024
The people agenda 2024
Change is afoot in 2024, not only is a general election looming, but we will see significant reform as a result of developments in UK employment laws. Employees are set to benefit from various new statutory...
20/11/2023
Post Brexit reforms – changes to holiday entitlement and pay
As part of the wider process of reviewing the current state of UK laws in the wake of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, the government has published draft regulations that make some...
22/06/2023
Workforce reporting
Reporting on workforce data is one way of measuring the social aspect of ESG. Gender pay gap reporting is probably the most popular method but there are other ways that an organisation can publish workforce data to enhance their ESG credentials.  Apart from gender pay and some aspects of corporate governance, workforce reporting is a largely unregulated area of the law. Employers currently have a choice about what information they publish. We believe that will change in time. The direction of travel is towards greater transparency and more data, as the EU has shown in adopting the Pay Transparency Directive. Although this Directive will not apply to the UK when it is implemented in three years’ time, we envisage it will have an impact in the EU with multinationals who operate across the EU and the UK.
06/04/2023
Modern slavery
Modern slavery considerations are a central part of supply chain management and procurement processes.   Modern slavery and human trafficking can exist at any stage of an organisation’s supply chain and present risks at multiple levels. They pose risks to those directly affected and will damage an organisation’s business relationships, tender opportunities and reputation.
20/03/2023
Mental health in a cost-of-living crisis
The Mental Health Foundation recently published a report saying that they expect the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on public mental health to be on a scale similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over...
10/02/2023
Government publishes draft statutory code of practice on dismissal and...
The practice of ‘fire and rehire’ has been under the spotlight in the past year following several well publicised and controversial cases, which has led to calls for reform of this working practice...
11/08/2022
Striking Times (3): the current industrial relations landscape in the UK
With strike action currently taking place across the UK, and with more planned by workers in a variety of industries, comparisons are already being drawn to the 1978-1979 Winter of Discontent. Factors...
14/07/2022
CMS Media Update Morning
Our popular Media Update Morning returns. We are delighted that this session will be our first in person media event since before the pandemic and we are very excited to see you all. Please do come early...
20/10/2021
The S in ESG: The role of HR
As ESG becomes an increasingly important factor for organisations, what role can HR play in shaping the ESG agenda? In our guide the employment team discuss the S in ESG and the role of HR. 
08/07/2021
Changing dynamics in the workplace – more challenges for employers
We are delighted to invite you to a panel discussion exploring “Changing dynamics in the workplace – more challenges for employers.” Our experts in employment, health and safety and personal in­jury/in­sur­ance...
11/05/2021
Future Facing Disputes - The Future Risks of the Remote Workplace
The way we work is changing. The traditional concept of the ‘workplace’ and the nature of workplace disputes is therefore changing too. As the working world adapts and looks to establish increasingly...
06/01/2021
2021 trends in employment law - what is impacting the people agenda?
Following a year of unexpected and unprecedented change in the world of work, we start 2021 looking ahead at ten employment law trends and legislative changes which we anticipate will have a significant...