Oliver Lawrence

Frequently instructed in complex tribunal and appellate litigation, Oliver has acted in leading Court of Appeal authority and regularly appears in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the ET. His clients range from household names to senior executives in cases across commercial and statutory employment law.

Oliver routinely acts unled in business protection disputes as part of his commercial employment practice in the High Court, specialising in matters of contractual interpretation, business confidentiality and restraint of trade, in both injunction applications and full trials.

His expertise in statutory employment law covers a broad range of matters including whistleblowing, discrimination, TUPE, unfair dismissal and tribunal procedure. He repeatedly acts in sensitive and factually complex cases, many of which involve allegations of professional negligence, conspiracy or fraud.

Internationally, Oliver’s practice extends to arbitration proceedings resolving claims brought by senior executives against international organisations, as well as cases before international administrative tribunals.

Oliver conducts internal investigations into workplace malpractice and provides organisations with advice on sensitive disciplinary decisions in relation to misconduct and/or breach of regulatory obligations by employees.

Oliver is ranked as a Leading Junior by Legal 500, which describes him as “very charismatic”, with “commanding authority” and the “sufficient gravitas that you want in an advocate”.

Notable Employment cases

• Acting led in the Court of Appeal in Planon Limited v Gilligan, a case concerning the enforceability of a non-compete covenant, the relevance of its impact on the employment prospects of the employee, and the importance of delay (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).

• Acting unled in the High Court in Aspens-Services v Mason, defeating an application for a non-compete injunction brought by a catering company against its former manager. (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).

• Acting in DIFC proceedings for a Dubai-based investment company defending a claim for bonuses and profit share entitlements.

• Acting unled in High Court litigation representing a national builders’ merchant in its efforts to prevent a rival company poaching its employees (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).

• Acting unled 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).

• Acting unled in the High Court in ATAC Solutions v Crotty, resisting an application for a non-compete injunction involving issues of enforceability and cause of action estoppel (Injunctions/Restrictive Covenants).

• Acting unled in the EAT in Kemsley v Cambridgeshire County Council, addressing the extent to which a tribunal judgment can copy and paste one party’s submissions (Procedural Fairness) (press coverage).

• Acting unled in the EAT in Xie v Equipe Japan, successfully appealing a tribunal decision to strike out a claim of race discrimination at the preliminary stage (Equality Act).

• Acting unled in the EAT in Rentokil v Miller, the authority for the proposition that a trial period can be a reasonable adjustment (Disability Discrimination).

• Acting unled in the EAT in Dogra v Acetrip Limited (liability), a leading authority on the test for out of time appeals (Time Limits).

• Acting unled in the EAT in Dogra v Acetrip Limited (remedy), examining issues of remoteness, causation and procedural fairness. The judgment is the authority for the approach to be followed by the ET when departing from a schedule of loss. (Remedy – Remoteness of Loss).

• Acting for an airlines group in multi-week ET hearing defeating claims of victimisation, unfair dismissal and sexual harassment (judgment and press coverage).

• Acting for British Airways in multi-day ET hearing defeating claims of failure to make reasonable adjustments and indirect discrimination (judgment).

• Acting for the Royal Mail in multi-week ET hearing defeating claims of race discrimination, disability discrimination and whistleblowing detriment (judgment).

• Acting for NHS Blood and Transplant in multi-day ET hearing defeating claims of failure to make reasonable adjustments and victimisation (judgment).

• Acting for a care provider in multi-day ET hearing defeating claim of constructive unfair dismissal and discrimination on grounds of religion or belief (judgment).

• Acting for the claimant in ET proceedings against an online retailer bringing claims of discrimination on grounds of gender-critical belief and victimisation.

• Acting for the claimant in a multi-week ET hearing against a provider of fire alarm systems to win claims of unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal (judgment).

• Acting for local authorities in multi-day hearings against claims of age discrimination and victimisation (judgment 1, judgment 2).

• Acting for a school defeating an application for interim relief under s.128 ERA.

• Acting for the claimant in a claim for unfair dismissal against a car dealership to determine whether communications were without prejudice and/or covered by s.111A ERA.

• An investigation into allegations of workplace bullying and harassment for an American insurance company listed on NASDAQ and NYSE.