News & Events
News & Events
We are delighted to announce that employment law and discrimination barrister, Charlotte Tosti, has joined the Employment Law team at Outer Temple Chambers. Since joining the Bar in 2024, Charlotte’s employment practice already spans the full range of employment and discrimination matters in the employment tribunal and county courts. She is regularly instructed in the employment tribunal for both claimants and respondents across a wide range of claims including worker status; unfair dismissal; whistleblowing; disability, race and gender reassignment discrimination, and equal pay. To complement her practice, she has experience of, and offers services in, inquests, personal injury, clinical negligence and public law. As a native speaker, she also accepts instructions in the Italian language. Before coming to the Bar, Charlotte worked in Parliament as a…
News 1 Jun, 2026
Employment Tribunal rules in favour of agoraphobic claimant on basis of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in Dudding v Gravesham Borough Council. Chevan Ilangaratne acted for the Claimant, Marina Dudding, who had been working for the Respondent, Gravesham Borough Council, since 2001. The Background Ms Dudding’s most recent post was as ‘Allocations Officer’ within the Housing Options Service. From 2021 onwards, Ms Dudding had worked from home following recommendations made in a stress-risk assessment. Ms Dudding was later reviewed by Occupational Health in May 2023, which concluded that she had displayed symptoms of Agoraphobia, as well as having Depression and Anxiety. From October 2023, the Respondent removed her hybrid working arrangements, and insisted on her coming into the office full-time.…
News 1 Jun, 2026
Victoria Brown, instructed by Roxanne Cullinan of DAC Beachcroft LLP, acted successfully for the appellant employer in the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision of DHL Services Limited v Ignatowicz [2026] EAT 74. The appeal concerned an employee who was summarily dismissed following a number of social media posts. Initially, the claimant posted the contents of a grievance on Facebook, accompanied by commentary describing the “capitalist dictatorship” as “evil” and calling for its destruction. The employer also took issue with further posts during the claimant’s employment, and comments during the litigation, including comparisons between the conduct of the employer’s managers and the Nazis. Following a finding of unfair dismissal, the Employment Tribunal reduced the compensatory award by 10% for contributory conduct. That…
News 29 May, 2026
Naomi Cunningham and Charlotte Elves have been published in Counsel Magazine in article titled ‘Sharing The Advocacy’. In this article, Naomi and Charlotte suggest that giving junior counsel a speaking role should be seen not only as a development opportunity but as something that can genuinely benefit the client. Drawing on their personal experience working together in lengthy employment tribunal hearings, they suggest that sharing advocacy can improve focus, reduce fatigue, and strengthen the overall quality of representation. The article explains that advocacy is often already shared behind the scenes, with juniors helping to draft submissions and prepare cross-examination even when they do not speak in court. Naomi and Charlotte describe how role-playing a witness examination in advance helped refine…
External Publications, News 13 Apr, 2026
Outer Temple Chambers is pleased to share that Courtney Step-Marsden has returned from maternity leave. Courtney will continue to practice on her core areas including Employment Law, Court of Protection, Education, Private Client, Regulatory and Commercial work. She looks forward to working with her current and new clients on her return. The team at Outer Temple Chambers is pleased to welcome Courtney back to practice, and we also wish her a very warm welcome back to Chambers. Find out more Courtney Step-Marsden’s core practice includes Employment Law, Court of Protection, Education, Private Client, Regulatory and Commercial work. Much of Courtney’s practice stems around disabilities, which is a particular interest of hers. In the Employment Tribunal, she has extensive experience representing claimants and respondents in discrimination proceedings, often with a particular focus on the…
News 7 Apr, 2026
Event Date: 19 Mar, 2026
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to invite you to the first seminar of our Employment Lawyers Talks Series on Thursday 19th March 2026 at our office in London. This series is aimed at Lawyers of Under 10 Years Post-Qualification Experience. We are pleased to announce the first seminar of this series, “Three Days to go: Preparing for an Injunction Application” on Thursday 19th March 2026. In this seminar, our employment law specialists Oliver Lawrence and Sapan Maini-Thompson, introduced by Peter Linstead will cover the practical steps both Claimants and Defendants need to consider in the run-up to an injunction application. The session will be interactive and feature discussion of scenarios based on real cases. Agenda Registration – 5:30pmEvent – 6:00pmNetworking…
In Darlington v Islington LBC [2026] EAT 11, the EAT (Lord Fairley P.) dismissed an appeal concerning the interpretation and effect of a COT3 settlement agreement. Alex represented the successful Respondent. The Claimant had been employed at a mainstream school, during which time she was employed by the local authority. Whilst working at the school she made disclosures which she alleged to be protected disclosures. Having left her employment, she applied for another job in an Early Years Centre run by the same local authority. A provisional offer of employment was withdrawn following receipt of a reference from the school she had previously worked at. A settlement was reached (prior to any claim being presented) via a COT3, leading to…
News 6 Feb, 2026
Employment Law specialists Gus Baker and Chevan Ilangaratne will be speaking at ELA’s annual refresher course ‘What’s New in Employment Law- 2026’ on Thursday 28 January. 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. Since its inception in 1992, ELA has become the voice of authority in employment law. It promotes the best practice of employment law. This year’s refresher course ‘What’s New in Employment Law- 2026’ is aimed at those who have been out of practice for a period over the past year, or who are looking for a round-up of developments in 2025. The course flags up cases and other developments which…
News 27 Jan, 2026
We are delighted to announce that Charlotte Elves has been included in The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100’ list for 2026. Every year, The Lawyer compiles a list of members that that they feel have made an impact on the legal world and have excelled in their field. Their ‘Hot 100’ rates on excellence and relevance. It covers “an incredibly diverse mix of legal professionals; scrappers from the rough and tumble of criminal law; sophisticated corporate dealmakers; intellectuals and silver-tongued advocates from barristers’ profession; the in-house counsel with the ear of their CEOs; associates rising to greatness; and even the occasional professional with no legal qualifications at all who is nevertheless showing the industry how to better itself. But whatever world they come from,…
News 26 Jan, 2026
We would like to congratulate Patrick Tomison on receiving the Highly Commended award in the ‘Junior Counsel of the Year’ category at the IEL Awards 2025. Outer Temple Chambers attended the International Employment Lawyer Awards on Wednesday, 19 November at the Savoy in London to celebrate the world’s best employment and labour law specialists across 27 team and individual categories. We were delighted to see Patrick collect the Highly Commended award as ‘Junior Counsel of the Year’ after a stellar year both domestically and in the Middle East. His part in defending GSB Capital Limited in a landmark team move case before the DIFC Courts was a particular highlight, and the Judgment in that matter can be seen here. This case was a contributing factor in…
News 21 Nov, 2025
Employment barrister, Courtney Step-Marsden successfully represented the Appellant in the EAT in Yoosefinejad v East Space Ltd [2025] EAT 150. The Appellant began working for the Respondent in April 2023 as Operations Director, under a written contract that set an eight-week notice period for termination by either party, except in cases of gross misconduct. The company dismissed the Appellant in June 2023, within his three-month probationary period, paying him only until the end of that month, believing that the Appellant was only owed one week’s notice because he was still within his probationary period. Mr Yoosefinejad brought a wrongful dismissal claim, seeking payment for his full contractual notice period of eight weeks. The Employment Tribunal dismissed his claim. Although the Respondent had…
News 11 Nov, 2025
The Court of Appeal has today handed down judgment in the case of Abel Estate Agent Ltd & Ors v Elizabeth Reynolds [2025] EWCA Civ 1357, clarifying the consequences of failure to comply with ACAS Early Conciliation. Outer Temple Chambers’ Employment Law Team acted on both sides in the Court of Appeal in the case of Abel Estate Agent Ltd & Ors v Reynolds. Gus Baker and Jessica Franklin, instructed by Kilgannon & Partners LLP, represented the appellants/respondents. On the other side were Will Young and Chevan Ilangaratne, who were instructed pro bono through Advocate to represent the respondent/claimant. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that section 18A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 sets a strict precondition for the presentation of Employment Tribunal claims. Where a claimant has not invoked the ACAS…
News 27 Oct, 2025
