News & Events
News & Events
This month, Daniel Barnett celebrates a decade as the resident legal expert on LBC Radio. Since May 2010, he has helped over 6,000 members of the public over the course of nearly 500 episodes of the LBC Legal Hour. “It’s one of the most professionally rewarding things I’ve ever done”, Barnett says. “People have problems which keep them awake at night and they don’t know where to turn. Just being able to talk to a lawyer, for free, for a few minutes, can be immensely reassuring and point them in the right direction.” What legal problems do you with? “It can be all sorts; consumer, landlord & tenant, employment, business disputes, and occasionally family law. I don’t take questions on…
News 4 May, 2020
Further to Daniel Barnett’s recent article highlighting a potential problem with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, HMRC has responded directly with some answers. Daniel Barnett recently wrote an article highlighting a problem with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (see here). He also highlighted this directly to HMRC. HMRC has written to Daniel, providing clarity for employers and employees on one of the seemingly inconsistent aspects of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Paragraph 6.7 of The Treasury’s Direction to HMRC, which is the legislative source of HMRC’s power to make payments under the CJRS, states that an employer can only reclaim the employee’s salary, amongst other things, “…if the employer and employee have agreed in writing (which may be in an electronic form such…
Covid-19 23 Apr, 2020
With many businesses struggling during the ‘lockdown’, furlough is now a common term in employment law. Daniel Barnett looks at how this works alongside other forms of leave. The Government’s guidance on whether employees can take annual leave while on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘CJRS’) is incomplete. Employment Barrister Daniel Barnett gives his interpretation of the current situation while we await clarification. The following article deals with a wholly unclear area of law. Daniel answers some frequently asked questions with his views at the time of publication (3rd April 2020) and specific advice should be sought on this fast moving area of law. Can an employee be on furlough and annual leave at the same time? At…
Covid-19 4 Apr, 2020
In response to the continued public concern over CoVid-19, Daniel Barnett, a leading employment barrister at Outer Temple Chambers co-presented a Q&A on the implications of coronavirus on employment law on LBC Radio. The Virus Coronavirus has put Italy in lockdown and dominated the UK Government agenda in recent days. Those infected may only display flu like symptoms. However, it is potentially lethal for those with weaker immune systems and is highly contagious. The ease at which it is spreading across the world has caused panic and many businesses have been severely affected by the number of people being advised to self isolate. Employment Law Q&A Daniel is a leading authority on employment law and was invited to answer a number…
Covid-19 10 Mar, 2020
Daniel Barnett has recently recently written and published “Deconstructing TUPE”. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2016 is the legal mechanism which protects employees when the business they work for transfers to a new owner. Its provisions can be complex and intimidating. The HR processes involved in a TUPE transfer can be detailed, time consuming and emotional for everyone involved This book deconstructs the law and explains the relevant principles in simple and practical terms, including: when TUPE applies the automatic transfer principles what transfers, and when does the transfer take place? Information and consultation TUPE and dismissal changing terms & conditions after a TUPE transfer Daniel Barnett is a leading employment and commercial barrister. With 25 years’ experience…
External Publications 11 Nov, 2019
Daniel Barnett has been appointed to the Advisory Council of BAILII (the British and Irish Legal Information Institute). BAILII is the primary source of online case law throughout the UK and Ireland, providing free access to British and Irish case law and legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports and other law-related British and Irish material. Since its inception in 2000, BAILII provides reliable information resources for private individuals, organisations serving civil society, those in legal education and training, and those involved in and serving the legal system. It prioritises speedy publication of court judgments and has ambitious plans for the future. Last year, BAILII received almost 11.5m visits, totalling 63.4m page views, and added 38,975 judgments and other legal materials. The Sir…
News 6 Nov, 2019
For 35 years, Stephen Simmons had been looking for ways to clear his name after being wrongly sentenced to prison as a criminal. Four years ago, he approached the Criminal Cases Review Commission after ringing Daniel Barnett on LBC radio’s legal advice programme. Daniel Barnett suggested Simmons Google the name of the British Transport Police officer who arrested him for mailbag theft in 1976. What Simmons discovered by following Daniel Barnett’s advice helped him clear his name after decades of being haunted by the conviction. That officer had been convicted years later of mailbag theft and “had fitted him up for the offence”, LBC reports. Simmons’ case has been referred to the court of appeal, where he has had his conviction quashed. According…
News 1 Feb, 2018
Starting from Monday 20th November 2017, Employment tribunal fees charged between July 2013 and July 2017 are to be repaid to claimants and employers, subject to applications for refunds. According to People Management, the official magazine of the CIPD, the refund scheme is now open and applications are being processed. The decision, which is an important step in modern history, was made after the Supreme Court found that the employment tribunal fee regime was unlawful by obstructing access to justice. The fee may be charged again in the future, but tribunals need to be ensured that they remain accessible, People Management shows. Daniel Barnett says: “I’m hearing of increases of between 50 per cent and 100 per cent in different regions”. He adds that…
News 21 Nov, 2017
Law Society Publishing have published the 7th edition of the Employment Law Handbook, by Daniel Barnett, Gus Baker and Stephen Butler. The new edition has been substantially rewritten to provide a practical and thorough consideration of all difficult employment law issues, with a special focus on the problems HR professionals and employment lawyers may encounter as we approach 2020. New developments covered include: worker status, including gig economy workers holiday pay calculations developments in unfair dismissal and discrimination law Acas early conciliation the abolition of the fees regime. Please click here to buy your copy.
News 10 Oct, 2017
Daniel Barnett helped Stephen Simmons, a man wrongly jailed for theft, to clear his name after four decades of being haunted by the conviction. Simmons was sentenced to eight months in prison, losing his job, his flat, and his family’s trust, after DS Derek Ridgewell of the British Transport Police arrested him for mailbag theft in 1976. Simmons, and two friends who were also arrested, had been told by the duty solicitor that ‘if we called the police liars the judge would send us to prison for a very long time.’ The Guardian describes how, four years ago, Simmons was listening to Daniel Barnett answer legal questions on LBC radio and rang in to ask for advice on clearing his name.…
News 30 Aug, 2017
Daniel Barnett acts for Lidl in its dispute with the GMB union over whether a group of 1.2% of its workers constituted an appropriate bargaining unit for compulsory trade union recognition. The law states that, when deciding applications for compulsory union recognition, the Central Arbitration Committee must take into account “the need for the unit to be compatible with effective management”, and specifically requires the CAC to take into account “the desirability of avoiding small fragmented bargaining units within an undertaking”. In the Court of Appeal last month, Lord Justice Underhill explained that “small fragmented bargaining units” in this context does not mean “a small island of union recognition in a sea of non-recognition”, but instead “fragmentation between bargaining units…
News 14 Jun, 2017
Daniel Barnett has been appointed a judge for the prestigious Personnel Today Awards 2017. He has specific responsibility for the ‘Employment Law Firm of the Year’ category and will be one of a panel of three, judging dozens of entries from employment law teams in solicitors’ offices up and down the UK. Daniel Barnett is a leading employment and commercial barrister. With over 20 years’ experience representing business, he has acted for international airlines, FTSE-250 companies, NHS Trusts, many hundreds of SMEs and a Royal Family.
News 6 Jun, 2017
