Phil Linnard

Phil advises across all aspects of our employment and incentives practice.

Phil’s employment work focuses on matters related to senior executives of listed and non-listed companies, including sensitive issues involving whistleblowing, investigations and terminations.

His incentives work involves advising on the corporate governance aspects of executive remuneration, as well as the drafting, implementation and operation of equity and cash incentives plans for listed and non-listed companies.

Phil also specialises in the employment and incentives aspects of corporate transactions including public and private mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, demergers, restructurings, outsourcings and insolvency matters.

Phil is ranked as a Notable Practitioner in both the Employment: Employer and Employee Share Schemes & Incentives sections of Chambers UK (2026), and as a Leading Partner in the Employee Share Schemes section of the Legal 500 (2026). Phil is also a member of the Share Plan Lawyers Group and the Employment Lawyers Association.

Phil’s recent work highlights include advising:

• Direct Line Insurance Group plc on the employment and incentives aspects of the recommended cash and share offer by Aviva plc.
• Manchester United Football Club on personnel matters relating to the appointment of senior staff who were critical to the football operations of the Club, including in relation to an employment-related dispute involving another Premier League club.
• Smith & Nephew on implementing the first FTSE 100 ‘hybrid incentive plan’.
• DS Smith plc on the employment and incentives aspects of the all-share offer by International Paper Company.
• Ocado on Unwinding its value creation plan and putting in place a bespoke performance share plan for its executive team, including the founder.
• Redrow plc on the employment and incentives aspects of its combination with Barratt Developments plc.
• Reckitt Benckiser Group plc on a wide-ranging review of its business, which included a highly complex separation process affecting employees in multiple overseas jurisdictions.
• Whitbread plc on the employment aspects of a business reorganisation impacting hundreds of sites and requiring extensive consultation with employees and their representatives.

Quotes

Chambers 2026

“Phil is always calm, knowledgeable and gives us confidence in the advice being received.”

“Phil offers a consistently practical and commercially aware perspective on remuneration matters.”

“Phil has been phenomenal and has that speed of response and knows the answer. He also finds solutions rather than just saying no.”

“He is an exceptional partner who is always responsive and thoughtful about how to support us. He helps me understand the balance of risk and gives strong counsel.”

Legal 500 2026

“Phil's extraordinary ability to integrate employment law into clients’ broader corporate and business strategy makes him a true business partner, not just a legal adviser. Brilliant legal intellect meets razor-sharp clarity. He gets to the core of and solves the most complex of employment law matters at warp speed.”