Mark Humphreys

Mark is instructed in all aspects of Employment, Discrimination and Whistleblowing Law, for claims brought in the Employment Tribunal. Whilst he has mainly been instructed by Respondents, he has acted on behalf of both Respondents and Claimants.

Applications for Interim Relief in the Employment Tribunal

Mark has extensive experience of  defending, and making applications for Interim Relief brought in the Employment Tribunal under s.128 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Instructions for these hearings have included:

• Acting for a financial services company, successfully defending an application for Interim Relief brought by their former General Counsel.
• Acting for Respondent-employers in defending applications from former employees, including an international marine services company.
• Acting for Claimants making applications against their former employer, including in the education sector.

Mark’s experience with these applications has also included claims for constructive unfair dismissal (an unusual form of Interim Relief application), and applying for costs having successfully defended an application.

In each case Mark will advise on the merits of making or defending the application, and how it fits in with the wider case strategy, in addition to preparing all the necessary documents for the hearing and representing his client before the Tribunal.

Preliminary Hearings

Mark is regularly instructed to deal with all matters that fall to be determined at Preliminary Hearings in the Employment Tribunal. Mark’s instructions have included:

• Determining the issue of Disability Status.
• Determining the issue of Employee or Worker Status.
• Determining issues relating to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction including the effect of delay in bringing claims.
• Making and defending applications for Restricted Reporting Orders under Rule 49.
• Successfully defending applications for Interim Relief brought under s.128.
• Making and defending applications to Strike Out or to seek Deposit Orders.
• Making and defending applications for Specific Disclosure.
• Making and defending applications for Amendments and Requests for Further Information.
• Settling Lists of Issues, preparing Hearing Agendas and drafting Case Management Orders, including orders for the provision of expert evidence.

Trials on Liability

Mark has successfully represented clients in trials alleging Discrimination (including claims brought under s.13 (direct discrimination), s.19 (indirect discrimination)), Disability Discrimination (including claims brought under s.15 (discrimination arising from disability) and s.20-21 (claims alleging a failure to make reasonable adjustments)), Victimisation, Harassment, Whistleblowing (including claims brought under s.47B (detriment) and s.103A (dismissal), Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination (including claims brought under s.18 and under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations), Unfair Dismissal (including ‘ordinary’ claims under s.98 and automatic unfair dismissal claims under s.99, s.100, s.103A and s.104), Equal Pay, Holiday Pay, breaches of the Working Time Regulations and Breach of Contract. These instructions included:

• Successfully representing clients in trials engaging each of the statutory proivisions cited above, involving multi-day and multi-week trials, and several witnesses, including in on-line hearings.
• Successfully representing clients in claims against Litigants in Person.
• Successfully defending claims of Sex and Disability Discrimination, Whistleblowing, Harassment and Unfair Dismissal in a 14-Day Trial. The Tribunal, dismissed all the claims, found that the Claimant had been dishonest in a number of respects and made a costs order against them.
• Successfully defending claims for Whistleblowing, Harassment, Victimisation and Disability Discrimination against a Litigant in Person in a 31-Day Trial, with all Claims being dismissed.
• Successfully defending claims of Disability Discrimination, Whistleblowing, Victimisation and Harassment in a 10-Day Trial.
• Successfully representing clients in cases with multiple Respondents.
• Successfully representing clients in cases involving claims by applicants for work brought under s.39 and by contract workers brought under s.41.

Trials on Remedy

Mark is regularly instructed to appear in Remedy Trials in the Employment Tribunal. Issues which Mark has dealt with in these hearings have included:

• Issues of causation in assessing losses arising from an unlawful act, and just as importantly, losses which haven’t and so should fall outside any Award.
• Issues around the mitigation of losses, and in particular a successful Claimant’s obligation to take reasonable steps to mitigate their losses. In such cases, cross-examination and identifying the opportunities that were available to a successful claimant will be crucial.
• Issues around Bonuses and dealing with the counterfactual scenario of what a successful claimant would have received had they remained in employment.
• Drafting Schedules of Loss and Counter-Schedules.
• Assessing awards for Injury to Feelings.
• Assessing the impact on an Award of self-employment post termination.
• Calculating adjustments to Awards including for interest and grossing up.
• Assessing the application of Polkey and Contributory Fault principles to Awards.

As a former Chartered Accountant Mark is particularly well placed to deal with the financial aspects of litigation and presenting his client’s case on these issues to the Tribunal.

Further Tribunal Litigation Work

In addition to appearing in hearings, Mark is regularly instructed to deal with all other aspects of Tribunal litigation. These include:

• Drafting Pleadings: Mark has extensive experience of drafting Grounds of Resistance and Grounds of Claim in cases involving all types of claim which can be brought in the Employment Tribunal. Mark has particular experience in drafting Grounds of Resistance to Discrimination claims (including the range of statutory forms of Discrimination, Victimisation and Harassment), Whistleblowing (under both s.47B and s.103A), and unfair dismissal claims, being those which most regularly appear in the Tribunal.
• Drafting Applications: In addition to drafting pleadings Mark regularly drafts Applications, including for particular orders and for Costs.
• Opinions: Preparing opinions on all aspects of Tribunal litigation. This has included preparing opinions for clients addressing the merits of claims, the merits of a preliminary issue such as disability or employment status, whether certain documents were privileged, issues of remedy and the expected level of an Award, and whether to make, or accept, an offer of settlement.
• Mediation: Mark has direct experience of both Judicial and commercial mediation (i.e. outside the Tribunal mediation process). Mark is regularly instructed to attend mediations on behalf of his clients, advise on whether to pursue such a route and if so at what potential level.
• Advising Generally: As part of his instructions Mark would advise generally on the conduct of a case, strategy and tactics.

• Successfully representing clients in trials engaging each of the statutory proivisions cited above, involving multi-day and multi-week trials, and several witnesses, including in on-line hearings.
• Successfully representing clients in claims against Litigants in Person.
• Successfully defending claims of Sex and Disability Discrimination, Whistleblowing, Harassment and Unfair Dismissal in a 14-Day Trial. The Tribunal, dismissed all the claims, found that the Claimant had been dishonest in a number of respects and made a costs order against them.
• Successfully defending claims for Whistleblowing, Harassment, Victimisation and Disability Discrimination against a Litigant in Person in a 31-Day Trial, with all Claims being dismissed.
• Successfully defending claims of Disability Discrimination, Whistleblowing, Victimisation and Harassment in a 10-Day Trial.
• Successfully representing clients in cases with multiple Respondents.
• Successfully representing clients in cases involving claims by applicants for work brought under s.39 and by contract workers brought under s.41.
• Issues of causation in assessing losses arising from an unlawful act, and just as importantly, losses which haven’t and so should fall outside any Award.
• Issues around the mitigation of losses, and in particular a successful Claimant’s obligation to take reasonable steps to mitigate their losses. In such cases, cross-examination and identifying the opportunities that were available to a successful claimant will be crucial.
• Issues around Bonuses and dealing with the counterfactual scenario of what a successful claimant would have received had they remained in employment.
• Drafting Schedules of Loss and Counter-Schedules.
• Assessing awards for Injury to Feelings.
• Assessing the impact on an Award of self-employment post termination.
• Calculating adjustments to Awards including for interest and grossing up.
• Assessing the application of Polkey and Contributory Fault principles to Awards.
• Determining the issue of Disability Status.
• Determining the issue of Employee or Worker Status.
• Determining issues relating to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction including the effect of delay in bringing claims.
• Making and defending applications for Restricted Reporting Orders under Rule 49.
• Successfully defending applications for Interim Relief brought under s.128.
• Making and defending applications to Strike Out or to seek Deposit Orders.
• Making and defending applications for Specific Disclosure.
• Making and defending applications for Amendments and Requests for Further Information.
• Settling Lists of Issues, preparing Hearing Agendas and drafting Case Management Orders, including orders for the provision of expert evidence.
• Acting for a financial services company, successfully defending an application for Interim Relief brought by their former General Counsel.
• Acting for Respondent-employers in defending applications from former employees, including an international marine services company.
• Acting for Claimants making applications against their former employer, including in the education sector.
• Drafting Pleadings: Mark has extensive experience of drafting Grounds of Resistance and Grounds of Claim in cases involving all types of claim which can be brought in the Employment Tribunal. Mark has particular experience in drafting Grounds of Resistance to Discrimination claims (including the range of statutory forms of Discrimination, Victimisation and Harassment), Whistleblowing (under both s.47B and s.103A), and unfair dismissal claims, being those which most regularly appear in the Tribunal.
• Drafting Applications: In addition to drafting pleadings Mark regularly drafts Applications, including for particular orders and for Costs.
• Opinions: Preparing opinions on all aspects of Tribunal litigation. This has included preparing opinions for clients addressing the merits of claims, the merits of a preliminary issue such as disability or employment status, whether certain documents were privileged, issues of remedy and the expected level of an Award, and whether to make, or accept, an offer of settlement.
• Mediation: Mark has direct experience of both Judicial and commercial mediation (i.e. outside the Tribunal mediation process). Mark is regularly instructed to attend mediations on behalf of his clients, advise on whether to pursue such a route and if so at what potential level.
• Advising Generally: As part of his instructions Mark would advise generally on the conduct of a case, strategy and tactics.

Mark accepts instructions to complete Investigations for clients, and to act as a Grievance, Disciplinary or Appeal officer.

He is ideally placed to complete this work given his Employment Tribunal practice, which regularly involves claims with an investigatory or disciplinary element, and background as a former Chartered Accountant and Statutory Director of several companies.

Mark has been instructed to complete a number of such processes. These have included acting as an Investigator or Disciplinary officer in relation to disciplinary allegations against employees of a professional service firm, a bank, a charity and a commercial entity. He has also been instructed as a Grievance Officer and an Appeal Officer, by commercial entities and a professional services firm.