Introduction
Sarah Harty practices in all areas of employment law. She has experience of a wide range of both respondent and claimant work and has represented clients in multi-day trials. She has acted for wide range of clients, spanning large high street retailers, small businesses, councils, government agencies and individual claimants. In addition to tribunal advocacy she has also undertaken advisory work on complex legal questions.
Sarah has a keen awareness of the strategic and commercial interests of clients engaged in litigation. She came to the Bar after a successful first career in the public sector, culminating in Assistant Director posts in three London boroughs. She has also managed procurement for a multi-academy trust and worked for HM Treasury. Informed by her first career, Sarah has a wealth of practical knowledge and a pragmatic approach to litigation.
Sarah is a keen cook and also enjoys country works and European travel. She speaks fluent German.
Employment
Sarah practices in all areas of employment law. She is tireless in getting to grips with all aspects of a case and approaches issues with pragmatism and commercial awareness as well as legal knowledge. She has represented clients in multi-day hearings as well as numerous preliminary hearings, both private and substantive. She has also drafted pleadings and opinions.
Examples of Sarah’s work include:
- Final hearing (2022): Successfully representing a claimant in a constructive dismissal case relating to a re-restructure in a large public sector agency.
- Final hearing (2023): Successfully arguing for a respondent that no damages were payable in a complex breach of contract case where the employer was found to have been in breach of the claimants’ contracts of employment.
- Final hearing (2023): Successfully representing a claimant in his claims for unlawful deductions, breach of contract and holiday pay.
- Final hearing (2021): Successfully representing a respondent company in a case relating to redundancy unfair dismissal.
- Substantive preliminary hearing (2023): Representing a large supermarket, achieved strike out for a sex discrimination claim and the refusal of amendment applications for constructive unfair dismissal and direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief.
- Drafting pleadings (2022): Drafted a Grounds of Response for a large retail organisation defending an equal pay claim. The claimant withdrew her claims shortly afterwards.
- Advisory work (2022): Drafted an opinion for a claimant in a complex case involving multiple potential discrimination claims against a large public sector organisation.
Whilst a pupil at a top London employment set, Sarah also drafted a Notice of Appeal in a recruitment discrimination case.
High Court Employment Work
As a pupil at a top London employment set in 2019-2020, Sarah undertook a wide variety of drafting work for her supervisors. Examples include:
- A skeleton argument for a Case Management Conference
- An amended Particulars of Claim to include a new cause of action (conspiracy) in a restrictive covenant case
- A Particulars of Claim for a restrictive covenant case
- A Request for Further Information in a team moves case
- A defence in a restrictive covenant case
Sports Law
Sarah also has an interest in Sports Law. Examples of her work include representing a sports club in a breach of contract case in a final hearing in 2022.
As a pupil at a top London employment set, Sarah undertook the following work for and with her supervisor:
- Assisting with an investigation for a sports club (2020)
- Drafting an opinion in a breach of contract case in relation to a football club (2020)
- Advising on an insurance claim in relation to a football club (2020)
- Assisting with closing submissions in relation to a sports arbitration (2020).
Education
BPTC: BPP London – Very Competent (2019)
GDL (London Metropolitan University) – Distinction (2018)
GDL Prize for Outstanding Achievement (2018)
Gray’s Inn Scholarship (Albion Richardson Award, 2018)
Won the Lady Oliver Cup (London Metropolitan mooting competition – June 2017)
MSC European Politics (London University, 2002)
Modern History (Oxford University); Dixon Prize for Finals Results, Michel Scholarship and Major Benefactor’s Prize
Diploma in German Translation
CIPFA accountancy qualification (1999)
