Oliver Lawrence

Current and past highlights of Oliver’s cases include:

• Appearing led in the Court of Appeal in Planon Limited v Gilligan, examining the enforceability of a non-compete covenant and the relevance of its impact on the employment prospects of the employee (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).
• Acting as sole counsel in High Court litigation representing a national builders’ merchant in its efforts to prevent a rival company poaching its employees (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).
• Appearing as sole counsel in the High Court representing a law firm in a claim for breach of the duty of fidelity involving a ‘minimum term’ employment contract (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants)
• Appearing as sole counsel in the High Court in ATAC Solutions v Crotty, resisting an application for an interim injunction in a claim for breach of restrictive covenants which turned on issues of enforceability and cause of action estoppel (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).
• Appearing as sole counsel in the EAT in Rentokil v Miller, the authority for the proposition that a trial period can be a reasonable adjustment (Disability Discrimination).
• Appearing as sole counsel in the EAT in Dogra v Acetrip Limited (liability). The judgment has since been reported as a leading authority on the test for out of time appeals. The final hearing involved complicated issues of remedy. Oliver acted at all stages of proceedings. (Time Limits)
• Appearing as sole counsel in the EAT in Dogra v Acetrip Limited (remedy), examining issues of remoteness, causation and procedural fairness. The judgment is an authority for the approach to be followed by the ET when departing from a schedule of loss. (Remedy – Remoteness)
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing a specialist tax advice company in a multi-week hearing against claims of automatically unfair dismissal, whistleblowing detriment and direct disability discrimination (Whistleblowing, Equality Act).
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing the Claimant in a multi-week hearing against a provider of fire alarm and detection systems to determine claims of unfair dismissal and whistleblowing detriment (Whistleblowing, Unfair Dismissal).
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing local authorities in 5-day hearings against claims of age discrimination and/or victimisation (Equality Act).
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing the Claimant in an unfair dismissal hearing which focused on the interaction between the TUPE Regulations and ordinary unfair dismissal (TUPE, Unfair Dismissal – Misconduct).
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing an electrical wholesale distributor in an unfair dismissal hearing examining the reasonableness of redundancy criteria. (Unfair Dismissal – Redundancy)
• Successfully appearing in the Employment Tribunal representing a well-known pub chain in an unfair dismissal hearing turning on allegations of racism and sexual obscenity (Unfair Dismissal – Misconduct).
• Successfully represented the Claimant in a claim for unfair dismissal against a car dealership involving questions whether communications were without prejudice and/or covered by s.111A ERA. (Pre-termination Negotiations)