Lucy is ranked by Chambers UK Legal Directory as a Leader in the field of Employment, and recommended by the Legal 500 Directory and Chambers (please see quotes below)
Lucy featured as one of The Lawyer's "Hot 100 Lawyers" for 2007, and The Times' "Lawyer of the Week" in February 2008
Qualification and experience
• First Class BA (Hons) in English, Bristol University 1994
• Called to the Bar in 1997
• Joined BWB employment team in December 1999
• Qualified as Solicitor in 2002
• Partner in 2005
• Particular interest and expertise in issues of status, discrimination, maternity and Working Time
• Executive Committee Member of the Industrial Law Society
• Member of ELA
• Member of the Equal Opportunities Review advisory panel
Examples of work undertaken
• Representation at Employment Tribunals in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Recent tribunal work includes:
• Defeating a claim for holiday pay for the seven and a half years a worker had spent on PHI - click here for news item
• Establishing that a Christian ethos-based organisation was entitled not to employ a Muslim as a finance administrator under the Genuine Occupational Requirement defence (Muhanmmed v Leprosy Mission International, see Equal Opportunities Review, March 2010) - click here for news item
• Successfully arguing against a claim of constructive dismissal and bullying brought by the Scottish Director of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
• Establishing that an hourly paid lecturer could not claim parity with permanent lecturers under the Fixed Term
• Employees (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations 2002
• Successful defence of numerous claims concerning status by atypical workers including volunteers, agency workers and casuals
• Successful defence of numerous multi-day unfair dismissal, whistle-blowing and discrimination claims
• Successful arguments on complex cases concerning National Minimum Wage and Working Time entitlements
• Frequently advocating in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, including:
• Virgo Fidelis School v Boyle IRLR [2004] 268 (appropriate level of compensation for a whistle-blower)
• South East Sheffield CAB v Grayson IRLR [2004] 253 (volunteer status – discrimination)
• Melhuish v Redbridge CAB IRLR [2005] 419 (volunteer status - unfair dismissal)
• Randall v Southampton City College IRLR [2006] 18 (disability discrimination- the scope of the duty of reasonable adjustments)
• Conducting the case of Coleman v Attridge Law (reported twice in the EAT and once in the European Court of Justice) IRLR [2007] 88, IRLR [2008] 722, and IRLR [2009], establishing the scope of protection for those associated with a disabled person (e.g. carers) under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. For further information on this case, please click here.
• Conducting the case of X v Mid Sussex CAB [2010] IRLR 722, in which the EAT ruled that volunteers were not covered by the term "occupation" in the European Framework Directive for the purpose of protection from disability discrimination. Judgment from the Court of Appeal is awaiting.
• Conducting the case of Masih v Awaz, where a reference has been made to the European Court of Justice by the Glasgow Employment Tribunal about the scope of protection from religious discrimination under the European Framework Directive
Recent advisory work has included
• Advice on implications of the Equality Act, both for employers and service-providers
• Advice to numerous clients on treatment of holiday pay entitlements for sick workers
• Advising on service contracts/severance agreements for senior executives
• Advice to Which? Magazine on various service provision race discrimination issues
• Advice on self-employed contracts and associated tax issues
• Advising on numerous issues around collective consultation and industrial action
• Advice on child protection and other vulnerability issues in relation to the recruitment/retention of "risk" employees
Publications/Lectures etc
• Author of "Working Time and Holidays - a Practical Legal Guide" (Oxford University Press November 2009)
• Author of articles for numerous publications including The Times, Croners, Personnel Today, the People Bulletin and Charity Finance
• Frequent lecturer at conferences, including speaking annually at the Lexis Nexis "Hot Issues in Employment Law" conference and speaking at an evening meeting of the Industrial Law Society in February 2010 on "Working Time - Some Answers and More Questions"
• Frequently quoted on employment law issues in the press (eg. The Times, The Lawyer, The Law Society Gazette and The Guardian) and interviewed on the radio (eg Radio 4, Radio 5, BBC London) and TV (BBC and ITV - most recently speaking about the Equality Act for BBC News 24 on 1/10/10 and ITN's London Tonight on 25/4/10 and commenting on the High Court injunction by Network Rail on BBC News at 10 on 1/4/10)
• Panellist on Radio 4's Money Box Live on topics including carers' rights, maternity and paternity provisions and the entitlements of adoptive parents.
Pro bono work
• Honorary Legal Advisor at South West London Law Centres
• Former trustee and Honorary Legal Advisor of Women’s Environmental Network
