Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Benjamin Gray

Benjamin Gray

Call: 2011

Barrister

"His strengths include his meticulous attention to detail. He is extremely thorough and prepares for all eventualities that may emerge in the course of litigation, and his level of preparedness is reassuring for clients and instructing solicitors."

Legal 500 2022

Benjamin Gray

"His strengths include his meticulous attention to detail. He is extremely thorough and prepares for all eventualities that may emerge in the course of litigation, and his level of preparedness is reassuring for clients and instructing solicitors."

Legal 500 2022

Contact

Benjamin Gray is an experienced specialist in employment, commercial and public law cases. He appears regularly across a range of courts and tribunals both at first instance and on appeal.

His clients include prominent plcs, central Government departments and high net worth individuals. His caseload ranges from employee misconduct and internal investigations through discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, and unfair dismissal. His wider practice includes TUPE disputes, restrictive covenants and employee competition, injunctions, fraud and committal proceedings.

Benjamin’s wider work, including as a Government panellist, gives him experience and understanding of crossover issues in employment, commercial and public law litigation, including overlapping criminal and regulatory investigations and proceedings.

Benjamin is experienced in dealing with cases involving political or reputational sensitivity, and has worked in a variety of litigation involving or linked to campaign groups and issues.

He has extensive advocacy and witness handling experience, including cross examining individuals, including on career-ending allegations, ranging from senior executives through to vulnerable witnesses. He is experienced at using intermediaries and other special measures. He has a thorough knowledge of mental capacity legislation and is experienced at acting for and against protected parties.

He is a member of the Attorney General’s London B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown, a Recorder and a Deputy District Judge.

 

Recent Work

Rackham v Judicial Appointments Commission – acting for the JAC in a claim alleging indirect discrimination and a failure to make reasonable adjustments by an applicant for judicial office with autism. The case involved considerable use of an intermediary.

Acting for the British Army in a case alleging racial bias in the promotion process for Non-Commissioned Officers. This detailed analysis and submission on the way the Army’s promotion processes work. The case also involved whether as a matter of law a witness giving evidence from the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus needed diplomatic permission to do so.

Numerous cases dealing with allegations of antisemitism in the workplace or universities. These include:

  • Acting for three Jewish employees who raised concerns about antisemitism in the workplace and were subjected to a retaliatory grievance. The case resulted in a settlement on favourable terms including a substantial internal review
  • The “David Miller” case, acting for several Jewish students who brought litigation alleging that a then-professor at Bristol University had unlawfully harassed them through his remarks about the “Zionist movement” on campus and in public life.
  • Acting for a Respondent in a claim brought against it by a former employee who alleged that a belief that “Zionism is racism” is protected by law post-Forstater.

Cases involving litigants without mental capacity to litigate:

  • Acting for an individual with a learning disability who lacked capacity to litigate. She had been sued by her carer alleging that she was her employer. The case considered whether the Claimant had capacity to contract and whether, despite the paperwork, the identity of the real employer was her mother.
  • Acting for a Respondent in a claim brought against it by a Claimant who lost capacity to litigate and whose solicitors withdrew. Benjamin distilled the EAT and Court of Appeal authorities in this area and provided both his client and the Tribunal with a suitable means of navigating the rules whilst ensuring his client’s interests were advanced.

Advising an employer on how to conduct an internal investigation into allegations of fraud, including compliance with PACE and avoiding prejudicing or undermining a parallel criminal investigation.

Successfully defending a claim by an ex-employee that she had been unfairly dismissed because of the Covid 19 She was stranded overseas at the outset of lockdown and was still overseas at the time of dismissal. The case considered whether she had made reasonable efforts to return home in that period.

Defending a law firm against a claim that PQE requirements are unjustified age discrimination.

Acting for two employees in a long-running High Court misuse of confidential information and restrictive covenants case.

Wisdom v Secretary of State for Justice – acting for the Probation Service over whether Area Managers’ standby periods amounted to working time.

Adegbulugbe v Food Standards Agency (EAT, unrep): whether Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights modified the EAT’s approach to granting extensions of time to appeal.

Cole v Elders Voice [2021] ICR 601: Whether a COT3 agreement can be set aside due to misrepresentation, and exceptions to Without Prejudice privilege. Griffiths J said Benjamin’s ‘appearance has been in the finest traditions of the Bar, and has been of incalculable assistance in ensuring that the appeal is disposed of correctly and fairly.’

Acting for a Kurdish journalist alleging mistreatment by a prominent Arab news organisation.

Advising an employer on the ongoing management of a disabled employee where relationships risked breaking down irretrievably

Advising the Board of Deputies of British Jews on its Commission on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community

Commercial

Insolvency

Employment and Discrimination

Public Law, Immigration and Human Rights

Arbitration

Investigations, Safeguarding, Disciplinary and Regulatory

Qualifications and Memberships

Related News

Shortlist Updated