Maurice has over 25 years’ advocacy experience, having called to the Bar in Scotland 1995. He has been dual qualified since March 2019 when he also called to the Bar of England and Wales. Employment Law is one of his key areas of practice.

Here Maurice outlines recent developments in redundancy cases. He begins by outlining the social context, revealing trends in redundancy and the influence of the pandemic on increasing redundancy. He goes on to outline the legal definition of redundancy under the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the court interpretation of redundancy. He also gives examples of “sham” redundancies that have arisen during his career, illustrating how to question and identify ingenuine redundancy.

Key Word/Topics:

• Redundancy Trends
• ONS Labour Force Survey
• Section 139 of The Employment Rights Act 1996
• Safeway Stores v Burrell [1997] IRLR 200​
• Murray v Foyle Meats Ltd [1999] IRLR 562​
• James Cook & Co. v Tipper [1990] ICR 716, but see​
• Jones v BT Facilities Services Ltd, EAT decision of 28/7/20
• Collective Redundancies
• Warning and Consultation
• Williams v Compair Maxam [1982] IRLR 83​
• Gwynedd Council v Barratt [2020] IRLR 847​
• ACAS Guidance​: 10 Step Plan for Employers to Follow

More about Maurice

Maurice is ranked in Chambers and Partners UK Bar Directory 2022 for Planning and Environmental Law, as he was in for 2021 also.  He is also ranked as a leading junior counsel for Employment Law in the 2022 edition of the Legal 500.

In the previous edition of Chambers and Partners UK Bar Directory, he was described as “very user-friendly” and “very experienced.” (Chambers UK, 2021)

He is also ranked as a leading Junior for Employment and Property, Planning & Construction in the latest edition of the Legal 500, where he is described as “Very engaging and a proper team player.” (Legal 500, 2022)

Maurice is a door tenant at 33 Bedford Row.