News & Events
News & Events
The Times has named Naomi Cunningham ‘Lawyer of the Week’ after she acted for social worker Rachel Meade in an employment tribunal claim against both her employer, Westminster City Council, and her Regulator, Social Work England. Ms Meade had been sanctioned by Social Work England and then suspended on a charge of gross misconduct by the Council after a Facebook friend presented a dossier of her “gender-critical” posts to her regulator. The tribunal found that the regulator had “allowed its processes to be subverted to punish and supress the Claimant’s lawful political speech”. Both the regulator and the Council must now train their staff in freedom of belief and expression in the workplace. Read Naomi’s full interview, available to The…
News 9 May, 2024
Courtney Step-Marsden successful in EAT appeal regarding the liability of individually named respondents under Section 110 Equality Act 2010. Naming individual employees as respondents to employment tribunal proceedings is a common issue, particularly in circumstances where the employer is not seeking to run the defence as outlined in s,109(4) Equality Act 2010. However, the recent judgment of Baldwin v Cleves School reminds us that, on a correct construction of s.109 and s.110, an employment tribunal does not have discretion to find that the named respondents are not liable for their own acts of discrimination. The EAT has recently handed down judgment in Baldwin v Cleves School and ors [2024] EAT 66 in which Courtney Step-Marsden, instructed by Elizabeth McGlone and…
News 7 May, 2024
We are delighted to welcome Salomé Lemasson to Outer Temple Chambers as a professional associate within the Business Crime, Regulation and Sanctions team. Salomé is qualified to practise in France and Germany, admitted to the Paris Bar (2014) and Berlin Bar (2020). Prior to setting up independent practice in 2023, she worked for law firms in Paris and Berlin (Gibson Dunn, Hogan Lovells, and AL & Associés). Her practice focuses on representing top tier companies and high net worth individuals in sensitive, high-stake matters involving international sanctions, fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Salomé is particularly active in the field of sanctions, and regularly assists and represents individuals, organizations, and major international conglomerates in this area of law. In addition, Salomé…
News 2 May, 2024
Outer Temple’s Courtney Step-Marsden and Gerard Airey of Kilgannon & Partners LLP were successful in statutory redundancy pay claim for the Claimant against Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. Courtney Step-Marsden was instructed in this case which reinforces the importance of suitability in alternative employment offers during redundancy. Courtney Step-Marsden and Gerard Airey were successful in the claim and achieved a significant victory for the Claimant against Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. The Claimant was employed by Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, initially as a general manager (grade 8c role). He then engaged in a number of secondments over a period of 9 years in which he was working as a Programme Director (‘PD’) a grade…
News 28 Mar, 2024
Employment and discrimination barrister, Oliver Lawrence, successfully acted for the Respondent in the case of Rentokil Initial UK v Mr M Miller, a case which looks at reasonable adjustments within the workplace. The judgment is now available. The EAT has established that a trial period can be a reasonable adjustment in Miller v Rentokil, a case in which an employer dismissed a disabled employee instead of placing him in an alternative role on a trial basis. The proposition had previously been doubted by the EAT in Environment Agency v Rowan .The Claimant worked as a field-based pest controller. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis he could no longer work in this role, mainly because of his consequent difficulties working at heights…
News 18 Mar, 2024
Employment Law expert, Andrew Short KC will be speaking at the Discrimination Law in 2024 Conference on Friday, 23rd February 2024. Michael Rubenstein Conferences Ltd is a small independent conference company which organises several high-level conferences a year on aspects of employment and discrimination law. Discrimination Law in 2024, presented by Michael Rubenstein Conferences Ltd and The Trade Union Congress will highlight the authoritative review of the most dynamic area of employment law. The conference will take place from 09:15 to 16:30. Andrew Short KC will be speaking on the topic of ‘Equal Pay: Latest Developments’ at 09:45. Book your place This conference will be virtual. To view the full agenda and book your place, click here. Find out more…
News 6 Feb, 2024
Naomi Cunningham appeared in the Edinburgh employment tribunal for a counsellor complaining against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre of discrimination, harassment and constructive dismissal on grounds of her protected ‘sex-realist’ belief. Naomi represented Roz Adams, who was accused of being ‘transphobic’ after she consulted a ‘non-binary’ colleague, AB, about how she could reassure a client assigned to AB that AB was not a man. Managers insisted that it was contrary to policy to disclose the sex of any worker to a service user, although service users could be told that no men were included in its staff or volunteer team. The Centre’s CEO is Mridul Wadhwa, a transwoman. Ms Adams left the centre after the disciplinary hearing concluded that she was…
News 26 Jan, 2024
Event Date: 18 Apr, 2024
Outer Temple Chambers’ employment specialists, Andrew Allen KC and Lydia Seymour will be speaking at the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) event taking place on Thursday 18th of April 2024. Details on how to register for the virtual event can be found below. The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) is an apolitical organisation representing the views and interests of just over 6,000 specialist, qualified employment lawyers in the UK. Members are drawn from all branches of the legal profession and include barristers and solicitors who act for employers and employees, trade unions, the voluntary sector, industry and the judiciary. Our members have regular involvement with ELA. Employment specialist, Peter Linstead, is part of the ELA training committee. About the event Andrew Allen…
Rachel Meade was sanctioned by Social Work England and suspended by Westminster City Council in 2021 for private social media posts that included gender-critical beliefs. Employment barrister, Naomi Cunningham, successfully represented Rachel in an Employment Tribunal. Social worker Rachel Meade has successfully sued her employer, Westminster City Council (WCC), and professional regulatory body, Social Work England (SWE), in an employment tribunal for discrimination on the basis of her protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. Between 2018 and 2020, Meade had shared posts about upholding women’s rights from various organisations, during the then reform consultation for the Gender Recognition Act 2004, with many of her posts being links to national newspaper stories and articles by advocacy groups such as Fair…
News 9 Jan, 2024
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (‘EAT’) has handed down judgment in Ms Elaina Cohen v Mr Khalid Mahmood MP in which the successful claimant was represented by Martina Murphy. The Claimant had been successful before the Employment Tribunal in her claim for unfair dismissal and one complaint of whistleblowing detriment. The claimant had made an error in the citation of the ACAS number on the ET1 and missed the primary time limit. The Tribunal held it was not reasonably practicable for the Claimant to have presented her claim in time. Mr Mahmood MP appealed against the decision extending time. Employment Appeal Tribunal Mr Mahmood MP’s appeal In dismissing Mr Mahmood MP’s appeal, the EAT confirmed that the real issue in such…
News 27 Nov, 2023
Naomi Cunningham will be speaking at the DLA Practitioners Group Meeting on “Religion/Belief Discrimination” on Tuesday 14th November 2023. Join Outer Temple’s Naomi Cunningham at the Discrimination Lawyers Association Practitioners Group Meeting as she speaks on “Religion/Belief Discrimination”. The topic of discussion will be “Higgs v Farmer’s School – the last word on religion or belief discrimination?” Book your place This event will be held at Outer Temple Chambers, 222 Strand, London, WC2R 1BA on Tuesday 14th November 2023. Places are limited and booking is required. The event is free for DLA members. Non-members pay a fee of £10 or can click here to become a member. To book a place and register for the event, click here. Agenda Registration…
Events 9 Nov, 2023
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to welcome leading clinical negligence and personal injury Junior, Lorna Badham, to the team. Lorna Badham joins the team in London, bringing with her a wealth of experience in personal injury, clinical negligence and employment law. Lorna is ranked as a Tier 1 barrister by Legal 500 UK for her personal injury work, describing her as “adept at running difficult cases and doing so with compassion [and is] commercially and tactically intelligent.” She has particular specialisms in international illness and accidents and cosmetic negligence claims, and will also be working with the increasingly sought-after Travel Law team. She has been instructed in claims arising out of accidents on planes, cruise ships, oil rigs, luxury and/or…
News 24 Oct, 2023
