Sophie Garner

Employment

Sophie represents clients in the full range of employment related litigation, and appears before employment tribunals, as well as the county court (discrimination), High Court (restraint of trade, confidential information and JR), and before regulatory bodies (professional misconduct). Sophie has an active appellate practice and regularly appears at the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Given her experience and expertise Sophie’s practice in employment law is broad, with her regular caseload including complex claims of discrimination, equal pay, all forms of dismissal, whistleblowing, TUPE and labour disputes. Sophie is frequently instructed in complex, multi-day cases and is also experienced in non-employment discrimination claims e.g. discrimination in the provision of goods and services or within clubs and associations. Examples of the variety of claims in this area she has worked on include advising on religious discrimination within prisons; a claim of sex discrimination against a sporting club; advising and assisting users of a service provided by religious place of worship on an issue of sex discrimination; and a High Court contractual claim concerning the provision of services being withheld on the grounds of belief.

Sophie also deals with complex issues combining elements from employment, contract and commercial law in the High Court such as restraint of trade and judicial review, and dealing with a dispute between the trustees of a high profile independent school. In these cases, Sophie uses her experience as a qualified governance professional to disentangle the corporate governance disputes which are frequently the hallmark of conflicts between directors/trustees and senior executives. Sophie is also accredited under the public access scheme representing both claimants and respondents.

As Treasury Counsel, Sophie is regularly instructed on high profile or sensitive disputes for central government departments.

Sophie has a balanced claimant and respondent practice, and her “extremely thorough” and “responsive” approach means that she can take a robust and practical approach to the litigation to consistently achieve the best outcome for clients.

A sample of Sophie’s reported cases, over the past decade includes:

• Mr Justin Sanjay Chatterjee v Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust UKEAT/0047/19/BA, [2019] 9 WLUK 556 – Sophie represented the appellant: dealing with causation in a protected disclosure claim;
• Herry v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2017] ICR 610 – Sophie represented the Respondent in this appeal brought by an ET claimant against a £110,000 order for costs against him, the case included guidance given on whether his mental health condition amounted to a disability;
• Greco v Ms D Greco v General Physics UK Ltd [2016] UKEAT/0114/16/DM – Sophie successfully defended this appeal against the ET’s decision to dismiss a claim of sex discrimination. Grounds of appeal related to adequacy of reasons and bias and the enforceability of s.111A (pre-termination discussions);
• Pnaiser v NHS England and Coventry City Council [2016] IRLR 170 – This disability discrimination claim focused on s.15 ‘discrimination because of something arising from disability’. The case involved guidance given on the burden of proof at each stage of the s.15 analysis;
• Governing Body of St Michael’s Church of England Junior and Infant School v Smith [2014] UKEAT/0165/14/KN – Sophie successfully represented the appellant in this appeal on the grounds of apparent bias against the ET’s finding that the Claimant had been unfairly dismissed;
• Simpson v Intralinks [2012] I.L.Pr. 34; [2012] Eq. L.R. 732 (EAT) This claim involved an employee who brought a claim in UK Tribunal under a German contract of employment. The EAT considered the allocation of jurisdiction under conflict of laws in cases with overseas employees, where sex discrimination and equal pay claims made; and
• Owens v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2011] I.C.R. 453 (CA) – determination by the Court of Appeal of whether a counsellor working in education qualified as a teacher under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

A sample of Sophie’s extensive experience in further typical cases in which she is represented includes:

• Representing a consultant against an NHS Trust on a claim of whistleblowing at a 10-day hearing;
• Advising and representing a local authority in a long running (five year) series of claims by a litigant in person involving a number of substantive hearings (the longest being 34 days) involving claims of race and disability discrimination;
• Advising a charity in relation to discrimination by a religious place of worship or whether the provisions of Schedule 23 to the Equality Act 2010 applied;
• Advising and representing a woman expelled from a sporting club following her well-founded accusations that the club’s constitution was in breach of the Equality Act;
• Representing a head teacher, based at a Muslim school, on a 10-day hearing before the TRA and a subsequent five-day ET hearing;
• Representing parents who alleged discrimination by a school against their disabled child;
• Representing two trustees of a charity incorporated by Royal Charter in injunctive proceedings in the High Court, when an attempt was made to remove them from their positions;
• Successfully representing an IT sales company through interlocutory relief applications and resolution of dispute following breach by two employees of pre and post termination restrictions;
• Successfully represented a corporate accountant in a claim of sex (pregnancy) discrimination and detriment in relation to a request to work flexibly, this included a fully contested remedy hearing;
• Representing an international sales representative of a large organisation supplying the automotive trade as to the applicability of his restrictive covenants in the High Court; and
• Advising on a complex TUPE matter involving allegations of fragmentation of assets amongst numerous subsidiaries in order to defeat the application of the regulations. Despite numerous setbacks and delaying tactics on the part of the putative transferee, Sophie helped to achieve a successful settlement.

A leading practitioner in the employment law arena, Sophie also regularly provides lectures, seminars and written articles on employment law, procedure, discrimination and equality, inclusion & diversity.

Investigation and Mediation

In addition to being the perfect complement to her employment practice, Sophie uses skills from her legal practice, and combines this with her corporate governance experience, to provide services as an ‘independent person’ for major organisations. Few practitioners understand as many of the particular corporate governance complexities and technicalities of corporate and organisational operation as well as Sophie. An associate of the Chartered Governance Institute, professionally qualified company secretary, and hosting decades of experience as a voluntary charity trustee and director, Sophie is considered one of the ‘go to’ practitioners for employment related and corporate governance issues. As an example of her continued commitment, Sophie is currently Trustee of MWNUK, Trustee of a multi-academy trust, and is Chair/Trustee of a small charity promoting community cohesion at a local level.

Sophie’s work in this area falls into two main functions:

Investigations: including conducting independent investigations and/or decision making in disciplinary and grievance investigations; and sensitive issue investigations including harassment and discrimination. Her investigation work also encompasses disputes that affect organizational governance. Examples this work include:

• A grievance involving allegations of serious sexual harassment/ assault by a teacher
• A full governance review for a national gardening charity involving a dispute between a trustee/director and the CEO
• A collective grievance brought against a head teacher by 39 staff

Commercial and Workplace Mediation: including workplace mediation; mediation of ongoing or current claims; boardroom disputes; grievances and harassment between employees; sensitive discrimination allegations; and the breakdown of directors’ or senior executive working relationships. Examples of her work include:

• A workplace mediation involving the CEO of substantial West Midlands based charity
• A mediation between a senior manager and a former employer on the settlement of a high court employment dispute
• A mediation of an employment claim involving allegations of racial and sexual harassment of a sensitive nature

Sophie qualified as a mediator in 2000 with CEDR and then with ADR Group in 2009. Latterly, Sophie qualified with Globis, a specialist workplace mediation organization, in 2011. She also has a wider background, from her first decade in practice, of commercial, property and administrative law. This means she is at ease dealing with even the most protracted and complicated of commercial disputes. As with her employment practice, Sophie lectures regularly in-house and externally on investigations and mediation and issues.

Other Information and Reported Cases

Working with Sophie

Professional clients rely, and regularly comment, upon Sophie’s thorough and meticulous case preparation. Sophie’s extensive experience means that understands the relevant law and procedure intimately and can wield it to great effect for her clients. Whether it is in cross-examination, written or oral advocacy, guidance on case strategy or in a business support role, clients will receive a tailored service each and every time.

Given that the majority of her work includes complex and sensitive matters, clients regularly report their appreciation for Sophie’s down to earth and practical approach. Sophie credits her success to a simple, effective philosophy: she aims to bring a measure of balance and proportionality to any process she is involved with to ensure the best possible outcome for the parties involved.

Reported Cases

Mr Justin Sanjay Chatterjee v Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust UKEAT/0047/19/BA, [2019] 9 WLUK 556 – represented the appellant in this appeal dealing with causation in a protected disclosure claim.

Herry v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2017] ICR 610 – represented the Respondent in this appeal brought by an ET claimant against a £110,000 order for costs against him, and guidance given on the issue of whether his mental health condition amounted to a disability.

Greco v Ms D Greco v General Physics UK Ltd (2016) UKEAT/0114/16/DM – Successfully defended this appeal against the ET’s decision to dismiss a claim of sex discrimination. Grounds of appeal related to adequacy of reasons and bias and the enforceability of s.111A (pre-termination discussions) – see article here.

Pnaiser v NHS England and Coventry City Council [2016] IRLR 170 – Disability discrimination – s.15 ‘discrimination because of something arising from disability’. Guidance given on the burden of proof at each stage of the s.15 analysis.

Governing Body of St Michael’s Church of England Junior and Infant School v Smith (2014) UKEAT/0165/14/KN – appeal on the grounds of apparent bias against the ET’s finding that the Claimant had been unfairly dismissed. Appeal successful.

Simpson v Intralinks [2012] I.L.Pr. 34; [2012] Eq. L.R. 732 (EAT) – Employee brought claim in UK Tribunal under German contract of employment. EAT considered the allocation of jurisdiction under conflict of laws in cases with overseas employees, where sex discrimination and equal pay claims made.

Owens v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2011] I.C.R. 453 (CA) – determination by the Court of Appeal of whether a counsellor working in education qualified as a teacher under the Teachers Pension Scheme.

Education

Awards and Appointments

Testimonials

“Sophie has a calm and reassuring nature and is able to get to grips with technical points.” Chambers & Partners 2025

“Sophie is extremely intelligent.” Chambers & Partners 2025

“Sophie has excellent client care skills and is on top of tricky legal issues.” Chambers & Partners 2025

“Sophie is a very experienced barrister who is fantastic with clients. She is one of the leading experts on discrimination law and as a result of her experience and expertise you always have confidence in the legal and tactical advice that she provides. She is a battle-hardened advocate who is articulate, quick thinking and very effective in a tribunal.” Legal 500 2025

“Sophie is brilliant with clients. She will always put in 100% effort when working on a case and has first-class knowledge of employment law. She provides excellent legal advice.” Legal 500 2024

“Sophie ensures that she takes the time to completely understand the facts and legal issues affecting a client’s case. She builds a rapport with the client easily and is a very capable and strong advocate.” Chambers & Partners 2024

News

Two accolades in 24 hours for Sophie Garner

Fernandes v DWP – test in relation to time limits in failure to make reasonable adjustments claims clarified