Mark is a HR advisor and paralegal in the Employment team, with more than 20 years experience. He joined the firm in 2015, with a background as a HR manager.

Mark is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), qualifying in 2001, and a volunteer member of the Devon & Cornwall CIPD committee. Mark is a Politics graduate from the University of Exeter and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management, awarded by Thames Valley University.

Mark specialises in providing HR support to clients on specific matters, or regular or project based secondments, either from our office or on-site. This can include assisting clients with internal processes, for example investigations, chairing hearings and appeals, drafting and issuing contracts, leading TUPE consultations or redundancy processes. He also delivers training and gives support to businesses on common HR issues such as holding difficult conversations, absence management, appraisal processes or misconduct.

Mark is also a member of our popular HRExpress service team, dealing with the full range of employment queries and regularly advises clients on disciplinary and grievance issues, redundancies, reorganisations, performance and sickness absence issues, flexible working to name a few.

Mark also undertakes paralegal work to support the team on complex employment cases, including Settlement Agreements, tribunal work (supporting work defending employment tribunal claims for employers and employees seeking employment tribunal compensation), and advising employees on disputes with employers.

Examples of recent work includes:

• Delivering Equal Opportunity / Anti-Harassment & Bullying manager training to various commercial and charity sector organisations
• Providing multiple businesses with support in sensitive disciplinary and performance cases (including remotely)
• Advising a housing association on a complex grievance/disciplinary investigation, hearing and appeal
• Chairing a dismissal appeal and grievance process for a finance business, to free up management time and ensure proceedings are impartial and undertaken with correct process
• Advising several businesses, including in food and drink, and hospitality sectors, on redundancies, leading consultation meetings for clients
• Advising and negotiating several employee exits for businesses, and an NHS organisation
• Undertaking complex disciplinary and grievance investigations for various clients including in care, charity and health sectors
• Advising several businesses on new employment contracts and Staff Handbooks
• Advising various businesses on Covid-related issues such as furlough, testing, urgent restructuring, and vaccination
• Advising an education establishment on a series of sensitive disciplinary matters
• Supporting several businesses with corporate sales / TUPE work
• Advising a consultancy business on a Pay Review process.

Mark is an active member of our Charity and Rural sector teams.

Mark’s personal testimonials:

“Mark Roby has been nothing short of fantastic over the past two years, supporting our HR needs during an uncertain period. As a business owner wading through the barriers we faced during the pandemic, it was such a relief being able to offload all our HR requirements and have the guidance from Stephens Scown readily available. We have renewed our package again this year and will continue to use the firm for the foreseeable.”

Katie Grasso, Fixer Management Services Limited, October 2021

“I have worked with Mark for the past two years. Mark is responsive, practical and has given us valuable advice and support as our business has evolved. I consider Mark to be a valuable part of our team.”

Martyn Hammond, Director, gasworld.com, October 2021

Outside of work, Mark is a Director of Totally Truro (Truro and Newham BIDs – Business Improvement Districts) – the business led initiative supported by government legislation which gives businesses the power to raise funds locally to be spent locally, in this case on improving Truro, Newham & The Port of Truro. Mark is also a Councillor on Truro City Council. He is a keen runner, cyclist, novice drummer and a music and sports fan.