Barrister Profile

Profile

Principal areas of practice are Employment, Commercial and Education. 

Areas of Practice

Employment

Extensive experience of litigation and advice in all areas of employment law including discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy, breach of contract, restrictive covenants, equal pay, parental rights, flexible working, TUPE, trade unions, agency workers, whistleblowing, health and safety, Working Time, holiday pay, bonus schemes, compromise agreements, jurisdictional questions and disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Sarah regularly appears in Employment Tribunals throughout the UK and has represented clients in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and High Court. Sarah is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Preferred Counsel Panel.

Claimant cases include:

Communication Workers Union v Royal Mail Group ET, EAT [2009] ICR 357 and CA [2010] ICR 83 (junior Counsel in the leading case on the duty to inform and consult on TUPE transfers);

Amicus v CT Packaging Ltd ET (successfully represented the union and 41 individual Claimants in claims for a protective award following failure to consult on collective redundancies and unfair dismissal);

Manning v Safetell Limited & Nick Medlam ET (successfully represented the Claimant in a 12-day pregnancy discrimination claim where the ET found 24 acts of discrimination and made an injury to feelings award of £30,000);

Houlden v Foxhall Plant and Tool Hire ET (successfully represented the Claimant in a 5-day sexual harassment and constructive dismissal claim where the ET awarded compensation in respect of personal injury in the JSB bracket for moderately severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder);

Brash-Hall v Getty Images Ltd [2006] EWCA 531 (successful written application for permission to appeal and extension of time on appeal relating to compensation for sex discrimination).

Respondent cases include:

Reed Executive Plc v Smith HC (obtained an injunction preventing a former employee soliciting clients and using confidential information);

NSM Music Ltd v Leefe EAT/0663/05/CK (successful appeal relating to failure to consider Polkey reduction and causation of loss).

Henderson v Metronet ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 5-day race, sex and age discrimination, constructive unfair dismissal and breach of contract claim);

Stott v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (successfully represented the Respondent in a 3-day disability discrimination claim relating to attendance management);

Ayliffe v Gsus UK Limited ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 3-day pregnancy-related sex discrimination claim);

Odefisayo v Harrods ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 2-day race discrimination, constructive dismissal and breach of contract claim);

Joshi v London Borough of Islington ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 3-day race discrimination claim brought by an agency worker);

Aliseni v The Huntercombe Group ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 4-day unfair dismissal claim);

Pead v London Borough of Lambeth ET (successfully represented the Respondent in a 2-day unfair dismissal claim).

Advisory work includes:

Advising an employment agency on an 8-day multi-party race discrimination case (all claims withdrawn);

Advising a female manager employed by a multinational company on a 7-day equal pay and sex discrimination claim (settled);

Advising a junior doctor on a 7-day whistleblowing and constructive dismissal claim (settled);

Advising an employee on a disability discrimination and unfair dismissal claim after she was made redundant when receiving treatment for breast cancer (settled).

Grievance and Disciplinary work:

Instructed by a multinational company to carry out an investigation into a grievance raised by a Director including complaints of detriments as a result of making public interest disclosures, constructive dismissal and breach of contract.

Commercial
Sarah advises and acts in the professional negligence field, particularly in cases involving solicitors' negligence.  Experience of breach of contract, debt recovery, insurance and reinsurance claims in the County Court and High Court.  

Education
Sarah represents and advises schools and school employees in employment, contractual and other statutory and common law disputes.

To read Sarah’s recent article for the New Law Journal on indirect discrimination, “The Cornrow Row”, click here.

Additional Information

Judicial Clerkship for two months with His Honour Judge TS Ellis, III, Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, VA (2005)

Paralegal for the Victoria Climbie Independent Statutory Inquiry (2002)

Seminars & Lectures

"Employment Tribunal Procedure" (with Alice Mayhew) - Lewis Silkin

"Using the New Tribunal Rules to your Advantage" (with Ben Lynch) - Stephenson Harwood and  Denton Wilde Sapte

"Automatically Unfair Dismissal and Detriments Short of Dismissal" - Lewis Silkin

"Advocacy for Employment Lawyers" (with Peter Edwards) - ELA Workshop

"Assault Claims" (with Rob Weir QC and Rachel Avery) - Thompsons

"Reform of the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930" (with Alison Padfield) - Mills & Reeve

Professional Membership

ELBA, Bar Pro Bono Unit, Free Representation Unit (Employment).

Education

Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law (Very Competent), 2001-2002
LLM, University of Virginia School of Law, 2000-2001
MA Jurisprudence, Oriel College, Oxford University, 1997-2000

Prizes and Scholarships

Pegasus Scholarship (American Inns of Court)
Lord Denning Scholarship, Hardwicke Entrance Award and Cholmeley Studentship (Lincoln's Inn)
Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Academic Year Scholarship