Employment

Our Discrimination Team

Members of the Employment Group, at all levels of seniority, regularly represent both claimants and respondents in employment discrimination claims.

We recognise that in Employment Tribunal work, where costs are rarely recoverable, it is important to be able to offer experienced counsel at a level that is proportionate to the value of the claim.

As such, many of our junior members have significant Employment Tribunal advocacy experience, both in fighting discrimination trials and dealing with preliminary issues (such as whether a claimant is or is not disabled within the statutory definition). 

Our senior members are regularly appearing in longer or more complex discrimination Employment Tribunal trials and appeals to the EAT and the Court of Appeal.

We have considerable experience (on both sides of such litigation) in cases involving employment discrimination on the grounds of:

• Race
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Religion and belief
• Disability
• Age

We provide expertise and commercial experience at all stages of such litigation, from preliminary pre-issue advice through to mediation (including Employment Tribunal judicial mediation, which we find is increasingly appropriate in substantial discrimination claims now) and to representation at trial and on appeal.

Here are some examples of our work:-

• Durrant v Chief Constable for Avon & Somerset  - Tim Adkin for the appellant, successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court arising from the failure of the trial judge to consider the operation of the two-stage burden of proof in a claim of race discrimination against a police force.

• Jones v Tesco Ltd  – Orlando Holloway represented Tesco in their successful defence of claims of Direct Sex Discrimination and Constructive Unfair Dismissal. The Claimant worked as a female lorry driver in a predominantly male environment and complained of a long history of less favourable treatment and harassment culminating in being given a disciplinary sanction for leaving her lorry by the side of the road at the end of her shift. At the end of a 5 day trial all claims were dismissed.

• Emerton -v- Marcos Bar Ltd  – Iris Ferber for the respondent. A Disability discrimination claim listed for 3 days, with preliminary question of whether Claimant was disabled. Iris Succeeded in getting the claim dismissed on day 1, on the basis that Claimant had failed to prove he was disabled.

• Wieclawski v. London Underground Limited – Rebecca Thomas for the respondent. A Disability discrimination and unfair dismissal claim. Train driver dismissed following safety breach whilst suffering from an acute bereavement reaction. Won at first instance and successfully defended appeal in EAT.  Appeal raised issues of knowledge of disability, reasonable adjustments and adequacy of Judge’s reasons.

• Tiffin v Chief Constable of Surrey Benjamin Uduje was instructed on behalf of the Chief Constable in a 2 weeks multiple discrimination and highly contested claims, which attracted considerable national media attention.

• EP v The Gym Limited - Stefan Liberadzki represented an Employment Tribunal claimant who successfully established “employee” status, despite the fact that the contract described him as “self-employed” and he received no pay under the arrangement. More information can be found here