Employment law

Given that most of the population has a job, it is inevitable that employment law and lawyers will impact on the lives of many people. Employment law deals with all aspects of the employment relationship between worker and employer as well as disputes between trade unions and employers. The employment relationship is governed by contract and statute, and leads to claims of the sort set out below.

An employment law barrister's work

Most employment law cases fall into one of two categories. The first is breach of contract, where the allegation is that a term of the employment contract has been broken or where the employee has been sacked without getting the contractual notice to which they were entitled. The second area relates to employment rights set out under statute – for example, there is a statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed as well as protection against discrimination on the grounds of factors such as race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and religion. These statutory claims are normally fought out in the employment tribunal whereas the contractual claims are more often heard in the High Court or county court.

In the early years barristers tend to find themselves doing unfair dismissal cases in employment tribunals that last for one to two days and on average spend about three to four days a week in court. Some aspects of employment law come at you quickly. If a trade union is facing an injunction application by an employer looking to prevent its workforce from going on strike, there’s no time for quiet contemplation of the legal issues: you’ve got to get on with it right away. Whilst the adrenaline levels are consequently high, your social life will suffer from the unpredictability of the workflow.

The best aspect of working as an employment barrister is the variety and unexpected nature of the work. You get to see all sides of the human character; however, this can also be the worst side of the work if you find yourself arguing a case for a client whose behaviour you would, on a personal level, struggle to defend.

Recent developments in employment law

Age discrimination legislation came into effect in October 2006 and is expected to provide a huge shake up for employers. Amongst other changes, the ‘pale, stale, male’ finally has a basis for complaint when his services are disposed of as he hits middle age.

Is employment law recession-proof?

If anything, employment law tends to be one of those areas of practice that benefits from a recession. Not only do more people lose their jobs, but given the difficulty of then finding another one, the temptation to put in a claim is greater. When claims are submitted, claimants will, as far as possible, try to include ones in relation to which compensation is uncapped (eg discrimination or whistle-blowing) rather than simple unfair dismissal claims where the maximum that can be recovered is in the region of £65,000.

What skills do employment law barristers need?

• Dedication, enthusiasm and a willingness to work long hours.
• An ability to communicate with a range of people, including shop- floor workers, trade union officials and managing directors of bluechip companies.
• The ability to learn fast: with every new case comes the challenge of learning about somebody’s job and the organisation in which they work.

Employment law pupillages

The demands on pupils are set very much by their pupil supervisors; however, tasks are likely to range from photocopying cases for use at court the next day to researching esoteric aspects of the law and producing a note setting out their views.

Types of law practised

• Contract.
• Employment.

Bruce Carr is a barrister at Devereux Chambers. He studied international relations at LSE and was called to the Bar in 1986.