Introduction
Alex is an employment barrister. He acts for claimants and respondents in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, with a trial practice built on discrimination, whistleblowing and contested dismissal. He has appeared in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and has argued appeals in the EAT in each of the last three years.
His respondent clients include manufacturers, construction companies, a high-street bank, national retailers, academy trusts and law firms. Claimant instructions come from solicitors, from a trade union and directly from members of the public under the Public Access scheme.
Before coming to the Bar Alex worked at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD, and as an advocacy adviser to the AIDS Law Unit of the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek, Namibia. He holds a Cambridge PhD and speaks French and Italian fluently.
Employment
Alex’s work covers all forms of discrimination, whistleblowing, unfair and wrongful dismissal, TUPE, holiday pay and working time, and contractual claims.
He practised in personal injury during pupillage and for two years after it before specialising in employment, and deals with personal injury heads of loss where they arise within employment claims.
Reported and notable cases:
- Hare Wines Ltd v Kaur [2019] EWCA Civ 216; UKEAT/0131/17. Resisted the employer’s appeals in the EAT and, pro bono, in the Court of Appeal against a finding that the claimant’s dismissal was automatically unfair under TUPE. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal without calling on him, holding that the law recognises no separate category of “purely personal reasons” outside regulation 7.
- Reilly v Teaching Regulation Agency [2020] EWHC 1188 (Admin). Represented a head teacher on a statutory appeal against a prohibition order, on the fairness of proceeding in her absence and the approach to findings of dishonesty.
- Manshausen v IMI Precision Engineering Ltd (Birmingham ET, 2024). Won on liability for the claimant, a senior executive dismissed after sickness absence for cancer treatment: unfair dismissal and victimisation upheld, the tribunal finding the redundancy a sham.
- Austin v Kingspan Ltd (Birmingham ET, 2023). Five-day hearing for the claimant. Unfair dismissal and discrimination arising from disability upheld; £33,008 awarded.
- Burton v Nuffield Health (London South ET, 2021). Three-day hearing for the claimant. Claims of direct disability discrimination, discrimination arising from disability and harassment upheld in part. Reported in the national press.
- Brown v Bhatia Best Ltd (Nottingham ET, 2019). Pregnancy discrimination claim for a paralegal against a Nottingham law firm, which settled for £50,000 damages and £30,000 costs (reported in Legal Futures).
- Jhuti v Lloyds Bank plc (Reading ET, 2020). Defended the bank against disability discrimination claims; all claims dismissed.
Recent work, described without party names:
- For a rail employee, won unfair and wrongful dismissal and an order for reinstatement (2023), then resisted the employer’s appeal in the EAT (heard October 2026; judgment reserved).
- For a respondent employer, established at a preliminary hearing that the claimant was not disabled at the dates of the acts complained of (2026).
- For a manufacturer, defended claims of about £44,000 arising from the summary dismissal of a senior operator after a crane incident. The claims were dismissed (2025) and reconsideration refused (2026).
- For a construction company, cross-examined the claimant on the first day of a whistleblowing and automatic unfair dismissal hearing; the claims were withdrawn the next day without payment (2025).
- For two employees of a national retailer, instructed through their trade union, won constructive unfair dismissal claims after a six-day hearing. The tribunal found that imposing unmanageable new roles was a repudiatory breach (2022).
Commercial Dispute Resolution
Alex’s employment work regularly involves breach of contract and TUPE. Earlier in his practice he acted in possession claims, commercial lease disputes and winding-up petitions.
Working with Alex
Clients regularly comment that Alex ‘gives his all’ to cases and is a committed, dedicated specialist to call upon. Alex is known for his measured and reasonable approach, which means that he can balance the competing pressures in even the most protracted and exhaustively pursued cases to open up avenues to pragmatic and sensible results. Alex’s professional clients particularly value his ability to stay objective and to accurately forecast a result early on in a dispute; he anticipates how a case will be perceived by a judge. In court or tribunal; his cross-examination efficiently exploits the weaknesses in the other side’s case.
Aside from his expertise on the advocacy and advisory side, Alex also brings a wealth of commercial awareness to his clients, in part due to his extensive experience in practice and in part due to a rounded, international background prior to becoming a barrister. Alex’s clients comment that his perspective and pragmatism often unlock even the most difficult of issues and problems. As a consequence of that international background, Alex is fluent in French and Italian and a lifelong student of several other languages, both Asian and European. He is able to use this multicultural awareness and facility in communication to augment his practice, where needed.
Education
- PhD, Modern Languages (French and Italian), University of Cambridge (Clare Hall)
- MPhil, European Literature, University of Cambridge
- BA, English Language and Literature, University College London
- Graduate Diploma in Law, University of Law
- BPTC, City Law School
Appointments and Memberships
Employment Lawyers Association
The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
International Employment Lawyers Association
Testimonials
“Please pass our thanks on to Alex – he really did an excellent job of representing us and sounded like he knew all about tool setting and overhead crane use!” Partner, regional law firm, December 2025
“We needed the right advocate to bring it all together for the final hearing.” Partner, London employment firm, September 2024
“Extremely great result and we are pleased that our decision to pushback paid off.” Associate, national law firm, October 2026
“We’re incredibly grateful for your advice and guidance on this.” Commercial solicitor, writing for a family member who instructed Alex under the Public Access scheme, October 2026
Languages
English; French and Italian (fluent).
