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Associateships and employment law

We support members on a wide range of employment and associate issues such as contract checking, performance management and grievances/disciplinaries. Our advice team has more than 70 years’ combined experience of advising dentists on associate and contract matters. We aim to resolve disputes in our members’ best interests and use a conciliatory approach to avoid litigation.

James Goldman, Associate Director of Advisory Services
Advisory Services

James is a barrister specialising in employment law and dental contracts. He has appeared in a number of employment appeal tribunals on behalf of dentists and is also an accredited mediator. James has been with the BDA for 12 years.

Juliet Mellor, Head of Operations (Advisory Services)
Advisory Services and line management of Practice Support

Juliet is a qualified solicitor, having previously worked in private practice and in legal departments within the NHS. Her expertise lies in NHS regulations, commercial contracts and commercial property. She’s an accredited mediator and has been with the BDA for eight years.

Alan Pitcaithley, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Alan is a practice management consultant focussing on a range of non-clinical issues affecting associates and practice owners in Northern Ireland and Scotland. He has been with the BDA for more than 10 years.

Claire Bennett, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Claire is a solicitor specialising in employment law. She advises members on issues relating to practice management, including staff contracts, sickness absence management, disciplinaries, grievances and data protection. Claire is an accredited mediator.

David Harris, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

David is a solicitor with 30 years’ experience advising on employment law. He has also worked for local authorities and law centres, specialising in unfair dismissal and discrimination claims before employment tribunals. At the BDA, David advises on contracts, employment, HR and dental legal issues.

Ezra Moffatt, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Ezra qualified with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) having trained in the employment law team of a private practice solicitors firm. She has several years' experience advising and assisting businesses in all aspects of employment law and HR.

Michael Fenton, Practice Management Consultant
Practice support

Michael is a practice management consultant with a CIPD Level 5 award in Human Resources. He joined the BDA in 2015 from a family dental practice and has worked as an advisor in the Compliance and NHS advice teams and as a Good Practice Assessor. He now advises members on the full range of queries relating to practice management.

Jacinta McKiernan, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Jacinta is Chartered MCIPD qualified in human resources, who has sixteen years’ experience in delivering and advising on all aspects of human resource management and complex employment relations issues. Jacinta is an accredited mediator and also advises members on contractual disputes between practice owners and associates.

Nashima Morgan, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Nashima joined the BDA after completing the postgraduate legal practice course and has over 18 years’ experience advising members on employment and HR issues, conducting disciplinary and grievance meetings. Nashima is an accredited mediator and advises members on contractual disputes between practice owners and associates.

Natalie Birchall, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Natalie is a solicitor specialising in employment law. She advises members on a wide range of issues relating to practice management, including contracts, sickness absence management, disciplinaries, grievances and data protection. Natalie is an accredited mediator.

Neeta Udhian, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Neeta has an LLB in law and an advanced professional diploma in employment law. She is also an accredited interpersonal mediator. Neeta provides advice to BDA members on complex employee relation matters as well as on all aspects of running a dental practice, including contractual disputes.

Sabina Mirza, Practice Management Consultant
Practice Support

Sabina holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and is a chartered member of the CIPD. She advises on all aspects of running a dental practice, focussing primarily on employment law and contractual disputes.

James Dawson, Head of Advice Publications
Advice Production team

James co-ordinates online advice for members as well as reviewing contracts, writing advice articles and e-newsletters and doing talks on a number of advice topics. He has been with the BDA for more than 10 years.

The business of dentistry  

We provide advice on all matters relating to setting up and running a practice, whether it be NHS or private. This includes NHS contract terms and variations, financial clawback and breach/remedial notices. We are on hand to advise on the requirements of the Dentists Act and NHS Act, including restrictions on the performance of dentistry, the carrying on of the business of dentistry and eligibility for NHS contracts.

Victoria Michell, Head of NHS and Business
NHS & Business Team

Victoria is a solicitor and mediator who has been advising members since joining the BDA in 2012. She advises on a wide range of private practice and NHS issues and has undertaken a secondment representing clients buying and selling dental practices. Prior to joining the BDA Victoria trained in the City of London and worked for a large regulator undertaking investigations.

​Ela Rexhaj, Practice Management Consultant
NHS & Business Team

Ela is a Law LLB graduate and an LPC MSc Law, Business and Management postgraduate. She has developed an in-depth understanding of various areas of law, including public law, commercial, and contract law. As such, she has a good understanding of the commercial realities of running a small business in a regulated industry like dentistry.

Isabella McLean, Practice Management Consultant
NHS & Business Team

Isabella is a Solicitor and accredited mediator working over 5 years for the BDA as a Practice Support Advisor specialising in NHS, business, employment/HR and contractual matters gaining a good understanding of the issues and pressures faced by dentists and practice owners.

Compliance  

We help members stay on top of changing regulations and ensure that their practice is safe and complies with national standards. Our comprehensive advice covers everything from preparing for inspections to infection control, conscious sedation to emergency drugs and equipment. 

Richard Harris, Head of Compliance
Compliance

Richard heads up the team which advises members on UK regulatory bodies, such as the CQC. He has more than 20 years' experience of advising dentists on a variety of practice-based issues and has been heavily involved with developing BDA’s related advice.

Harriet Purdie, Practice Management Consultant - Health and Safety
Compliance

Harriet advises a wide range of topics which include CQC and other regulatory body compliance and all aspects of health and safety within a dental practice. She is a qualified dentist and has experience in running her own practice, so is able to offer advice in a manner that is both practical and achievable.

Lynn Woods, Practice Management Consultant - Health and Safety
Compliance

Lynn is a health and safety adviser, with 15 years of experience. Joined the BDA after studying occupational health, safety and the environment. She advises members on health and safety, infection prevention and control, prescribing, radiation protection and overall regulatory requirements.

Sarah Williams, Health & Safety and Compliance Assistant
Compliance

Sarah is a health and safety compliance advisor. Originally from a dental nursing background, she has spent 20 years in dental practice in practice/clinical management roles which have seen her working on many compliance related matters. Sarah has also carried out the role of a CQC registered manager.

Employment relations support for salaried dentists  

We support salaried members working in public health, the community, prisons, the armed forces and academia, providing you with one-to-one advice by phone or email on employment and workplace-related issues. We can also offer personal representation in matters of personal or contractual disputes with employers. 

Meet the team

Martin Jones, Head of Employment relations
Employment Relations

Martin and his team support salaried members in their employment in the NHS, academia and the armed forces, whether that be in disputes with their employer or negotiating on their behalf on national and local policies. He has been with the BDA for 23 years.

Alun McLean, Employment Relations Advisor
Employment Relations

Alun provides advice, support and representation to salaried BDA members across Wales, the West Midlands and south-west England. He also undertakes collective negotiation on behalf of salaried members within the CDS in Wales and produces employment relations advice publications for our website.

Chris Burns, Employment Relations Officer
Employment Relations

Chris primarily provides support and representation to BDA salaried service members in the North of England although he does cover other areas of the UK when required. He is an experienced trade union official who has worked across other industries and sectors before returning the health care setting with the BDA.

David Paul, Employment Relations Advisor
Employment Relations

David mainly advises salaried members in Scotland and Northern Ireland but has travelled as far south as Cornwall and as far north as Shetland to represent, support and advise members. He leads on training within the employment relations team.

Pensions  

We help members understand their pension schemes and options in order to achieve the best possible retirement savings. We also offer guidance on the process that practice owners must follow to comply with legislation on enrolling staff to a workplace pension.

 

Phil McEvoy, Head of Pensions
Pensions Team

Phil has nearly 20 years’ experience in the pensions industry, the majority having been spent representing member interests, particularly in the NHS and other areas of the public sector. He sits on advisory boards for the NHS Pension Schemes across the UK.

Joanne McKeown, Pensions Consultant
Pensions Team

Jo deals largely with queries relating to the NHS pension scheme. She can help with issues around retirement, calculation of NPE and also deals with general queries relating to workplace, state and personal pension arrangements.