3PB

Employment and Discrimination.

Overview

Simon Tibbitts is an employment law specialist. He provides advice and representation to a diverse array of clients, from individual employees, small charities and business owners right through to large multi-national organisations in a variety of sectors including retail, transport and banking.

Simon has extensive experience acting for government organisations, particularly the MOD and NHS. He regularly appears in employment tribunals and courts nationwide and has appeared several times in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Simon was re-appointed to the Attorney General’s Regional Panel B of Counsel in March 2023. As someone with a strong desire to utilise his experience and expertise in innovative ways, Simon regularly undertakes mediations, accepts direct access instructions and has conducted internal whistleblowing investigations and disciplinary hearings for client businesses and the public sector.

Simon regularly provides training and always seeks to use interactive methods, such as panel session debates, breakfast forums or group workshops.

Employment and discrimination

Simon Tibbitts specialises solely in employment law and has done so for over 14 years. Whilst he takes  instruction and has experience in all areas of employment law, his practice tends to now focus on the more complex and serious  discrimination and whistleblowing complaints (often media sensitive) which necessitate meticulous preparation and attention to detail – features which Simon is renowned for.

In addition, Simon has in recent years specialised in advising and representing on high value employment disputes where career long loss and complicated pension and tax calculations are involved.

Simon can receive instructions on a direct access basis and in addition to the more classic functions of a barrister he has been involved with mediations and chaired internal investigations and disciplinary hearings. He regularly  provides advice on internal policies and procedures and assists with the conduct of grievance and disciplinary hearings, typically from the early stages of a potential claim so as to ensure that the risk of a claim being brought is minimised from the outset.

Simon is a keen public speaker and is always looking for fresh and innovative ideas and ways in which to provide training to clients. He regularly provides training on all areas of employment law to in-house legal departments, HR professionals and law firms. If so desired a more specialist and bespoke training package can be provided which is tailored to the pertinent issues appropriate to each individual client and the sector within which they operate.

His knowledge and experience spans the entire spectrum of employment law disputes including but not exclusively:

• All forms of Discrimination
• Protected disclosures (whistleblowing)
• All aspects of unfair dismissal including constructive unfair dismissal
• Redundancy
• Wrongful dismissal
• All other contractual claims (unlawful deduction of wages etc.)
• Holiday pay

Seminars have included:

• Schedules of loss where more complex issues are involved such as career long losses and ‘grossing up’ for tax purposes
• Conducting disciplinary and grievance hearings
• Zero-Hours contracts
• Tips and tactics for recovering costs and tribunal fees
• Collective Redundancies
• Age Discrimination – from birth to death
• Bonus Payments and Maternity Leave

Recent EAT cases

• Luvualu & Ors v. Zenith Contractors Ltd UKEAT/0154/14/DM
• Holman v Devon County Council UKEAT/0127/15/BA

Examples of Recent Work

• Advised and represented Nadine Lee at an 8-day liability hearing involving claims of equal pay, sex discrimination and victimisation. Widely reported in the media due to NL’s high earnings (circa £1m per annum) [Claims succeeded].
• Advised and represented at several 4-day staged remedy hearings (over last few years) a GP medical practice in respect of a GP’s claim for career long loss [Settlement achieved].
• Acting for MOD in 2-week trial in respect of numerous claims of disability discrimination, trade union detriment, victimisation and unfair dismissal and involving res judicata / abuse of process legal argument. [All claims dismissed].
• Acting for the Respondent in a media sensitive 6-day whistleblowing (biosafety containment) case related to the Foot and Mouth virus [All claims dismissed].
• Instructed for a Respondent employer in a 4-week trial involving 5 claimants involving multiple strands of discrimination, whistleblowing and unfair dismissal claims [Favourable settlement achieved following 2-day Judicial Mediation].

Year of call 2006, Inner Temple.