My experience
I am a partner and head up our Employment team. My main areas of expertise are in:
- discrimination issues;
- settlement agreements, including settlement agreements for senior executives often involving shareholder and restrictive covenant issues;
- employment tribunal claims, including complex discrimination claims;
- the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006; and
- restrictive covenant and confidentiality issues.
I work closely with my clients, getting to know their businesses, so that I can provide commercially orientated practical advice, taking account of the particular needs and circumstances of each client. I am an excellent strategist, ensuring that from the beginning of a matter or case I have agreed a clear way forward with my client.
I am responsive to the needs of my clients, ensuring a prompt response to queries. I am also flexible in my approach, including in relation to fees.
Specialist Sectors
I have particular expertise in both the Education and Sports sectors. In regard to Education, I am chair of governors at HSDC College, where I also sit on the HR Committee, Finance and Estates Committee, Estates Strategy Committee, Curriculum, Quality & Learning Committee, Search & Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
As for Sport, I sit as a chair on the judicial panels for UK Athletics, the Lawn Tennis Association, the British Equestrian Federation, together with being a Legal Member on the National Panel for Sports Resolutions.
I am a member of the management committee of the Employment Lawyers Association. I am also the Employment Lawyers Association’s representative on the Law Society Council.
Work highlights/reported Decisions:
- Represented clients in respect of a number of substantial tribunal cases, including discrimination cases (including cases resulting in a 12 day, and a 20 day, tribunal hearing)
and TUPE cases (including one resulting in a 9 day case on whether TUPE applied). - Represented clients in numerous cases before the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
Notable cases include:
- Esso Petroleum Limited v Jarvis, EAT, 2002 – employment status of agency workers
- Vaughan v London Borough of Lewisham, EAT, 2013 – costs awards
I am recognised in the Best Lawyers UK 2024 edition for employment law.
Insights from Clive Dobbin
Articles
Podcasts
The Employment Tribunal: What happens on the day - Part 2
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The Employment Tribunal: What happens on the day - Part 2
Welcome to part two of our two-part series on Employment Tribunals. In this podcast Employment experts Clive Dobbin, David Roath and Tabytha Cunningham answer your key questions about what happens on the day of a Tribunal. They chat through everything from how to give a witness statement to what to wear.
For more information on how our team can help you: https://parissmith.co.uk/your-business/employment-law/tribunal-representation/
Show notes
00:50
What is the set up for a typical Employment hearing?
David talks about how processes been pushed forward by the pandemic and what are the options for a virtual hearing. Do you get a choice which option you can have?
02:50
What should you know before the hearing to prepare? Tabytha explains what technology you should test if you are remote and some tips for making this process seamless.
If you have an in-person hearing, what happens when you arrive and who will be there? Be prepared for lots of waiting around.
04:25
What preliminary matters will there be on the day? Tabytha talks through how this works and what is common.
05:10
Who decides the outcome of a case? This depends totally on the claim. Simple cases like unfair dismissal will be heard by one Judge In more complex cases like discrimination, there will be a panel of three people. Our experts explain how to they work together to decide and who has the final say.
07:35
Giving evidence - how is this done and how should you address the Judge?
Our experts also explain how are different people are addressed and the common terms you might hear such as ‘claimant’, what you should wear, what to bring with you, where to stand when giving evidence and what swearing an oath means in practice.
09:45
What happens at cross examination? This is when the other side will ask questions about your witness statement. Our experts give some tips about what to expect and how to answer.
11:40
Our Employment team give top tips for preparing to be a witness and discuss the importance of the witness statements.
The key is that you should remind yourself what is said in the statement before the hearing as they often written a long time before the hearing.
13:40
Submitting additional documents – what is the process when you want to submit extra information?
15:35
Cross examination can be nerve-wracking. Our team give tips for giving evidence and cross examination, and cover the importance of preparation and overcoming nerves
20:35
Coming to a decision – what is the process and how long does this take?
21:50
What happens if you are unhappy with the decision and what are the grounds for appeal?
Videos
Data Subject Access Requests - 5 Top Tips for Employers
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Data Subject Access Requests - 5 Top Tips for Employers
