Laura Darnley
Laura is a Partner in Ward Hadaway's Employment and Immigration team. She has extensive experience in advising clients in relation to all of their "people" related needs . She specialises in advising on business immigration issues to help clients recruit and retain the best talent from across the world
Laura provides advice on all aspects of the UK’s immigration regime, including right to work compliance, sponsor licensing, Skilled Worker visas and Global Business Mobility visas. She also advises on the requirements for international business travellers inbound to the UK and globally mobile workforces so that clients can ensure they have access to key talent when and where they need it. She has a 100% success rate in relation to sponsor licence and visa applications. Her advice is commercial and pragmatic and ensures that her clients are able to achieve their strategic workforce goals.
Laura regularly advises on the immigration law compliance requirements and regularly assists clients with audits and resolving Home Office challenges/inspections. She also advises on the immigration law implications arising from corporate transactions such as share sales, TUPE transfers and intragroup corporate reorganisations.
Laura’s employment law background means she is able to navigate the complicated overlapping employment and immigration law issues that frequently arise, providing a holistic and sensitive approach to these issues. This has included advice on managing migrant workers, dealing with their employment documentation (such as specific clauses in their employment contracts and fee repayment agreements) and resolving legal disputes such as discrimination, or claims surrounding an employee’s termination.
In relation to Laura’s employment law expertise, she advises employers and senior employees on all aspects of employment law including managing disciplinaries and grievances, defending/bringing employment tribunal disputes, reorganisations and restructures, redundancy exercises (of all sizes), employment contracts and handbooks (including bespoke drafting for senior staff) and the enforceability of post termination restrictions.
Laura’s expertise straddles a number of different sectors but she has particular experience in working with clients in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, technology, manufacturing, recruitment and care sectors.
Practice Areas
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2005
Experience
- Pinsent Masons (2003 - 2010)
- Eversheds (2010 - 2011)
- Addleshaw Goddard (2011 - 2014)
- Turner Parkinson (2014 - 2016)
- HRC Law (2016 - 2019)
- Brabners LLP (2019 - 2023)
- Ward Hadaway LLP (2023 - Present)
Membership
- Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association
Qualifications
- MChem (2001)
- PGDL (2002)
- LPC (2003)
Education
- University of Oxford (2001)
- PGDL, College of Law (2002)
- LPC, College of Law (2003)
4 Contributions by Laura Darnley
PRACTICE NOTES
Right to work compliance and employment law: investigating and managing suspected illegal working, fair procedures, dismissal options, discrimination risks, sponsor licence implications and penalties
Where an employer is found to have employed someone unlawfully in the UK, they may face civil penalties and/or criminal sanctions. For further information, see Practice Notes: Illegal working: dealing with a civil penalty and Illegal working: dealing with a criminal allegation.
Alongside civil and criminal measures, a sponsor licence holder may have its licence revoked if illegal working is established. The employer can also sustain reputational damage and adverse publicity (eg being ‘named and shamed’ by the government), which can harm the business’s prospects of winning tenders or contracts.
To limit these risks, employers must have rigorous processes and procedures to check every employee’s right to work before they start, and conduct repeat checks as required throughout the employment relationship. Employers also need to recognise and address any allegations of illegal working (or potential illegal working) during employment. In doing so, they should remain mindful not only of their obligations under immigration law but also of their employment law duties...
Immigration
PRACTICE NOTES
UK right to work checks: manual, online and digital verification, Employer Checking Service, record-keeping and repeat checks under Home Office guidance (from 26 June 2025)
This Practice Note
This Practice Note explains how employers should complete a ‘right to work check’ properly, outlining the core actions for both digital and in-person checks, the records that must be kept, and how to plan for follow-up checks. It summarises online and manual routes in parallel, highlights documentation retention duties, and advises on scheduling necessary repeat checks across the employment lifecycle. It also addresses checks for British and Irish nationals using Identity Document Validation Technology through a Digital Verification Service. A right to work check must be undertaken before employment starts, to confirm the individual is permitted to perform the role. When completed correctly, the employer gains a statutory excuse against a civil penalty. For more detail, including which categories of workers require checking, see Practice Note: Right to work checks: when and why. This Practice Note describes the process for right to work checks in line with the applicable Home Office guidance that took effect on 26 June 2025. To assess whether a past check was done correctly—namely, whether a statutory excuse was created for a specific employee before that date—it is necessary to consult archived guidance for the relevant timeframes. A list of links to archived guidance is set...
Immigration
PRACTICE NOTES
UK right to work checks: practical guidance on suspected illegal working, unfair dismissal and discrimination risks, civil/criminal penalties, sponsor licence compliance, ECS and repeat check pitfalls
This Practice Note
This Practice Note explores how advisers can steer the competing risks that arise in practice when an employer either omits to complete a compliant right to work check, or comes to doubt an employee’s entitlement to work. Where illegal working is suspected, several interlinked matters must be addressed, including:
employment — employment law shapes the risks and liabilities flowing from an employer’s choice whether to dismiss and what steps to take if illegal working concerns emerge. Potential exposures include unfair dismissal (generally only engaging after two years’ service) and discrimination claims. For more information, see Practice Note: Illegal working: dealing with employees
regulatory — an employer may face a civil penalty for employing someone who lacks the right to work. In addition, for sponsor employers, employing a person without the right to work in the UK places their sponsor licence at risk of possible revocation. See Practice Notes: Illegal workers—civil and criminal sanctions and Illegal working: dealing with a civil penalty
criminal — employing a person who does not have the right to work is a criminal offence...
Immigration
CHECKLISTS
TUPE Transfers (Great Britain): Immigration Due Diligence, Right to Work Checks, Sponsor Licence Obligations and SMS Reporting
This Checklist summarises the immigration issues to be considered on a relevant transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246, and sets out the steps required when participating in a transaction. It additionally highlights the relevant Practice Notes and the associated Precedent materials for reference. Immigration requirements during any transaction where TUPE 2006 does not apply fall outside the scope of this Checklist and are not addressed here. For a general outline of TUPE 2006’s effect and requirements, see: TUPE and asset purchases—overview.
Initial considerations and due diligence
In any scenario that may fall within TUPE 2006, robust, immigration‑specific due diligence is essential, particularly where a transferor employs sponsored migrants within its workforce. Immigration matters should be addressed at the earliest stage so the parties can plan for and comply with necessary deadlines, etc.
Initial enquiries about the immigration status of transferring employees should begin at the start of the transaction process, and care should be taken to verify fully the accuracy of the responses (including making further enquiries where answers are not clear)...
...
Employment
If you expected to see yourself on this page, click here.
