Experience

James regularly appears in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal and has experience of all major areas of employment law, including unfair dismissal, redundancy, TUPE, unpaid wages, and discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation and age. He has undertaken both contentious and non-contentious work for both employers and employees, frequently representing clients in high-value cases and preparing cases to be taken to Tribunal by experienced barristers.

James has taken cases through every stage of the litigation process from drafting pleadings, preparing bundles and producing witness statements to negotiation through ACAS, judicial mediation and Tribunal representation. His non-contentious work includes the drafting of contracts, company handbooks and other policy documents and updating them to ensure that they keep up with rapid legal developments. He is skilled at negotiating exit packages for employees to prevent litigation and advises on the tax treatment of tribunal awards and settlements.

James is popular and well-regarded and has a strong relationship with a number of clients. He is highly skilled at legal research and specialises in cases that raise difficult points of law, particularly TUPE and disability discrimination. He is also very experienced at dealing with cases involving immigration issues, having studied for an elective in immigration law as part of the Legal Practice Course.

James was Chairman of the Free Representation Unit management committee for 2009/10 and has been consulted by the government regarding employment law matters.

Recent/Notable Cases

• Tapere v South London & Maudsley NHS Trust [2009] IRLR 972 – on the effect of a TUPE transfer on a mobility clause when the transferee is based in another area.

• Okinedo v Northwest Guarding UKEAT/0510/07/LA – concerning the circumstances in which an application which is wrongly refused can be reopened later in the proceedings.

• Bourne v ECT Bus CIC UKEAT/0288/08/CEA – on the weight a tribunal must give to the findings of a joint expert in deciding whether a person is disabled under the DDA.

• Recently advised Blackstone Chambers about a whistle-blowing claim brought by an employee earning £150,000 a year, which was successfully defended.

• Successfully struck out a pregnancy discrimination claim where he was able to persuade a Tribunal that the grievance letter produced by the Claimant at the hearing had not been sent.

• Defended a satellite television channel against a claim of unfair dismissal and sex discrimination brought by a high-profile journalist.

Publications

• Employment Law Advocates – Latest Employment News Blog
• Daniel Barnett – Employment Law Bulletins

Professional Memberships

• Free Representation Unit

Professional Background and Education

• BPP Law School, Legal Practice Course, Distinction
• BPP Law School, Graduate Diploma in Law, Commendation
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Researcher
• London Guildhall University, Conversion Diploma in Psychology
• Cambridge University, MA (Hons) History