I feel privileged to be part of a team whose mission is to build kinder, fairer workplaces which realises everyone’s potential – an aspiration I am passionate about. As a Director, Head of Training, as well as delivering sessions myself, I lead a team of expert facilitators who deliver a range of workplace training sessions.
I spent 18 years working as an Employment Lawyer in private practice, including in Magic circle and international firms, as well as time on secondment to a global bank. During this time, I saw first-hand how many, potentially avoidable, people issues arose and how much resource it took to manage them. Often with no real winners but plenty of battle scars at the end. I also saw patterns of behaviour that, if addressed sooner, could have resulted in more positive outcomes for all concerned.
Experience of managing and being managed in high pressured, regulated environments also means I can empathise with the reality for clients and their people. Having worked in international organisations and lived and worked in Japan I can also appreciate how cultural differences can create nuanced challenges for businesses managing staff globally.
I have led the team’s approach on addressing class bias and have drafted and featured in a number of press articles on this. I have also worked with high profile clients on developing whistleblowing and speak up training and featured on the BBC world services programme People fixing the world,
I feel fortunate to be able to use my professional and personal experience to help clients build positive cultural changes in their workplaces and create environments where everyone feels valued and can thrive.
2024 - present: Director, Head of Training at byrne·dean
2020 – 2024: Principal Consultant, byrne·dean
2017 – 2020: Managing Associate, Knowledge Manager, Foot Anstey LLP
2012 – 2017: Senior Associate, PSL, Foot Anstey LLP
2011 – 2012: Senior Associate, Employment Lawyer Foot Anstey LLP
2007 – 2011: Associate, Osborne Clarke (including secondment to Deutsche Bank)
2005 – 2007: Solicitor, Linklaters
2003 – 2005: Trainee, Linklaters
Law LLB, University of Bristol
Monbusho scholarship, Japanese/Law, University of Niigata Japan
LPC, Nottingham Law School
Blogs & Articles by
Helen Dallimore
Harriet Harman Report on sexual harassment: How should law firms respond?
Sexual harassment at work: tick-box training is not enough.
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What should I wear?
P&O: The cost of not consulting
Diginomica: How and why employers should support whistleblowing in an AI era
Helen Dallimore comments on how to start building a culture of trust and psychological safety.
Diginomica: What the Google case reveals about the nature and impact of whistleblowing
Helen Dallimore is interviewed about whistleblowing at work and what holds people back.
Happy hour? A conversation about alcohol and work – culture, risk and belonging
From post-deal drinks to client events and team celebrations, alcohol is woven into workplace culture. Yet when something goes wrong, it’s rarely seen as ‘just a drink’.
With new duties on employers to prevent sexual harassment, and growing attention on workplace risk and inclusion, it’s time to take a more intentional look at how alcohol shapes workplace culture – and the risks it carries.
This short, focused webinar will explore:
• How alcohol contributes to conduct, harassment and reputational risk
• The assumptions we make about what’s normal, social or expected
• How alcohol intersects with inclusion, wellbeing and boundaries
• What to think about when conducting risk assessments and looking at policies
• Practical steps to build positive connection while protecting what matters
Speakers:
Helen Dallimore
Head of Training, Byrne Dean
An experienced facilitator, trainer and former employment lawyer, Helen works with organisations to strengthen leadership capability and embed respectful workplace behaviours. She brings particular expertise in creating inclusive cultures where people feel safe, respected and able to thrive.
Cicilia Wan
Principal Consultant, Byrne Dean
A former employment lawyer and experienced Headof Employee Relations in global financial services, Cicilia has seen first-hand how alcohol canaffect conduct at work. She brings deep expertise in leadership, culture and managing people risk.
Steven McCann
Founder and Director, MCG Consulting
A leading voice in workplace addiction and recovery inclusion, Steven advises organisations on addiction awareness, recovery-informed culture and social mobility. He has spoken at the Bank of England and works regularly with law societies, the Legal Services Board and institutions across law, finance and corporate sectors.
People Management: Should bonuses be linked to office attendance?
Helen Dallimore examines how upskilling managers instead would tackle the real underlying issue.
Helen Dallimore and Ellie Herriot promoted to lead byrne·dean training
Work behaviour and culture specialists byrne·dean are delighted to announce that both Helen Dallimore and Ellie Herriot have been promoted to the role of Director, Head of Training.
Effective immediately, the pair now also join byrne·dean’s wider senior leadership team, and will lead their team of expert facilitators on all aspects of training delivered globally to create kinder, fairer workplaces that help organisations realise their people’s potential. This includes training on conduct & culture, workplace behaviour & respect, speak up, discrimination & harassment, ED&I, mental health & wellbeing, and beyond.
Helen Dallimore joined the company in 2020 as a facilitator, after a career in private practice employment law in large, international and medium sized firms; as well as time spent in house at a global investment bank. Since then, she’s become an essential part of the byrne·dean facilitation team, with deep expertise in workplace respect, inclusion and mitigating people risk, and has recently led on supporting clients with tackling workplace class inequality, and fostering speak up / listen up cultures.
Ellie Herriot joined in 2018, also as a facilitator, after her own career in law and HR that included working in large international law firms and as Legal Counsel at Barclays. Ellie has led on the company’s expertise for FCA regulated firms for many years, and is an expert in helping firms’ senior leaders and wider teams to understand the link between conduct, risk and culture.
Nick McClelland, byrne·dean CEO, commented: “We’ve witnessed the tremendous respective contributions of Helen and Ellie to our training offering, both playing pivotal roles in changing workplace behaviour across the global organisations that we partner with. There are no people better placed to lead this arm of our business, and we’re also delighted to welcome two exceptional women with first hand, in depth knowledge of the wider business into our senior leadership team.”
Helen Dallimore commented: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Head of Training alongside my fantastic colleague Ellie Herriot. Together, we’ll lead our brilliant facilitation team and enable them to continue to deliver excellence for clients, helping them create the positive workplace cultures that employers are having to focus on now more than ever before."
Ellie Herriot commented: “It's an honour to lead such a dedicated team of experts alongside Helen. Together, we’ll continue to build on the trust our clients place in us, delivering training that supports kinder, fairer workplaces and aligns with our broader strategy and resolution offering.”
How does the perception of someone’s ‘class’ impact their experience in your workplace?
Our own Helen Dallimore delivers a keynote speech highlighting tools for reducing and preventing socioeconomic bias in the workplace.
HRO Today: Class inequality becomes a priority
Helen Dallimore reminds us how pivotal socioeconomic background is to whether people get in, and how they get on.
Live byrne·dean training on the BBC
A real session on speaking up at work and whistleblowing is broadcast globally on People Fixing the World.
Social Mobility Foundation: an exclusive screening of ‘Stay Down’
Our own Helen Dallimore joins a panel event to discuss how business leaders can take meaningful, lasting change on class inequality at work.
Quartz: How class washing could be impacting your workplace
Our social mobility champion Helen Dallimore writes a powerful piece on class inequality, and how workplaces can tackle its root causes.
Financial Times: Why class still proves an obstacle to careers
Our own Helen Dallimore speaks to the FT on the real barriers people with working class origins face at work.
Let’s get connected.
Our highly experienced team of workplace behaviour and wellbeing experts are here to help. Drop us a line for world class guidance and advice.
