Kieran Wilson

Kieran has specialised in employment law for almost a decade. He practises across the full spectrum of employment matters, with particular expertise in discrimination (including equal pay), whistleblowing, and matters with an international dimension.

He appears at all stages of proceedings, including drafting pleadings, as well as advising on strategy prior to cases reaching litigation or while litigation is ongoing. Kieran is particularly sought after in multi-day discrimination and whistleblowing matters, and cases giving rise to complex preliminary issues. Kieran appears regularly in the EAT and has also appeared in the Court of Appeal. See the “Cases” tab for further details of Kieran’s instructions.

Kieran is the author of a practice note with LexisPSL on judicial mediation in the Employment Tribunal. He is regularly instructed to appear at judicial mediations.

In addition to Kieran’s contentious practice, he is adept at advising on knotty legal issues arising from various aspect of employment, for example in relation to worker status.

Originally from Edinburgh, Kieran welcomes instructions to appear in the Employment Tribunals in Scotland as well as in England and Wales. He has experience at both preliminary hearing and full merits hearing stages in proceedings in Scotland.

Select cases

• Appeared for a financial services organisation in a seven-day trial of claims brought by a senior executive, including for detriment and dismissal related to taking adoption leave, discrimination (sexual orientation, sex, and age), and victimisation.
• Acting for a major supermarket retailer in its defence to equal pay claims brought by over 60,000 store workers. Kieran is instructed as part of a team of counsel acting for the company in advancing its material factor defence.
• Instructed by a business founder in claims arising from being sidelined from the business following the acquisition of the business by a private equity firm.
• Quraishi v. Waterstones Booksellers Limited – Successfully defended claims of race and religious discrimination dating back five years and a claim of victimisation relating to the Claimant’s dismissal.
• Instructed on behalf of a global professional services firm in claims for whistleblowing, sex discrimination, and equal pay brought by a former Managing Director.
• Representing a senior executive in the finance industry in a claim for unfair dismissal and age discrimination arising from a redundancy process.
• Myers v. Hilton UK Hotels Ltd – Acting for the Respondent in claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination related to a redundancy exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Appeared on behalf of a global pharmaceuticals company in a nine-day trial concerning claims of harassment and victimisation.
• Instructed by a Russell Group university in defending claims brought by a former academic for unfair dismissal and victimisation.
• Turner v. East Barnet School – Acting for a school in relation to a claim for indirect religious discrimination relating to paid time off for religious holidays.
• Instructed by a hospitality-sector client in a claim of gender reassignment discrimination and victimisation in a dispute concerning gendered uniforms.

Preliminary issues

• Saiyid v. Oxford University Press – Representing Oxford University Press at a preliminary hearing concerning territorial jurisdiction in a claim brought by the former head of its operations in Pakistan.
• Appearing for the Claimant (a teacher) in an application for interim relief in the Employment Tribunal in a claim for automatically unfair dismissal for making protected disclosures.
• Patel v. EPAM Systems (Switzerland) GmbH – Acting for the Respondent at a preliminary hearing concerned with territorial jurisdiction, international jurisdiction, and limitation issues.
• Acting for the end-user client in a claim brought by an agency worker at a preliminary hearing concerning employment status.

Appeals

• Haycocks v. ADP RPO UK Limited [2024] EWCA Civ 1291 – Court of Appeal case concerning redundancy consultation obligations in small-scale redundancies (led by Charlene Ashiru).
• Marangakis v. Iceland Foods Limited [2022] EAT 161 – Acted for the successful employer in a case concerning “vanishing dismissals” following a successful internal appeal.
• Lycatel Services Limited v. Schneider [2023] EAT 81 – An appeal against an Employment Tribunal’s refusal to stay a claim for a bonus of c. £8 million in favour of High Court proceedings issued by the employer (led by Daniel Tatton Brown KC).
• Appearing for a claimant in an appeal in the County Court concerned with enforcement proceedings in relation to an Employment Tribunal award.

Kieran is frequently instructed in business protection matters and civil proceedings concerning issues arising on termination of employment. He is adept at advising on the enforceability of restrictive covenants, claims for breach of duty arising from competitive activity during or after employment, and bonus entitlements upon termination of employment.

He is co-author (with Alexander Robson) of a chapter of Bloomsbury Professional’s Termination of Employment on the protection of business interests on termination of employment.

• Instructed in a team-move injunction (including an application for springboard relief) by an energy company against former directors, 11 former employees, and a competing business which had been set up by the ex-Operations Director (led by Dale Martin KC).
• Acting for an estate agent in threatened injunctive proceedings following their departure from a large high-street agency. The case concerned the enforceability of area covenants and their application in the context of e-commerce.
• Advising a PR firm during the immediate aftermath of a senior employee’s departure where questions of breach of restrictive covenants, directors’ duties, and breach of confidence were in issue. The parties reached a settlement shortly after service of draft Particulars of Claim.
• Advising as to the enforceability of restrictive covenants in the talent management sector.
• Advising a former senior employee of a luxury fashion brand in relation to entitlements under various long-term incentive plans

Kieran is experienced at acting in cases involving partnerships and LLPs, particularly where the issues cross-over with statutory employment and business protection matters.

• Instructed by a global law firm defending allegations of sex-related and sexual harassment made against a senior partner.
• Acting for a firm of accountants in relation to claims against a former partner for poaching clients, in breach of a retirement deed under a partnership agreement.
• Advising a partnership in relation to disability-related performance concerns of a partner.