Anna specialises in employment and discrimination, clinical negligence and personal injury law. Before her appointment as King’s Counsel in 2024, she was recognised as a leading junior in all her areas of practice. In 2023, she was chosen by Chambers and Partners as Employment Junior of the Year, and was shortlisted in the same category in the inaugural International Employment Lawyer awards. She was also shortlisted for Clinical Negligence Junior of the Year by the Legal 500, and was a finalist for Clinical Negligence Lawyer of the year at the Personal Injury Awards

Employment and Discrimination

Anna is frequently instructed on high profile cases dealing with difficult and novel points of law, and is commended by solicitors for her client manner. She acts for both employees and employers, and her regular client base includes well-known claimant solicitors, trade unions, NHS Trusts, universities, financial institutions and multinational companies.

Anna has experience of all kinds of employment litigation. She represents clients in the EAT and the Court of Appeal, and has acted in numerous lengthy, high profile employment tribunal claims. Anna also has extensive civil court experience, obtained in part through her parallel clinical negligence and personal injury practice, and is regularly instructed in County and High Court claims dealing with employment and discrimination matters.

Equal pay, sex, pregnancy and maternity discrimination are areas in which Anna has particular expertise. As well as acting in several high profile multiple equal pay claims against public and private employers, she is regularly instructed by both employers and employees in high value individual claims, and has a wealth of experience and tactical knowledge in this difficult area. In January 2017, she was appointed as a member of the Fawcett Society's Sex Discrimination Law Review Panel, which produced a report advising on the future of sex discrimination law in the UK, and in particular the implications of Brexit. The report's recommendations were welcomed by the Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Maria Miller. Anna has spoken on many occasions on the burden of proof in discrimination claims at the ERA seminar ‘Applying EU Anti-Discrimination Law' in Trier.

Away from equal pay and sex discrimination, Anna has recent experience of claims involving disability discrimination, age discrimination, gender reassignment, whistle blowing, the minimum wage and issues around employment status. She has built on her work in mass equal pay claims with recent instructions in disability and age discrimination multiples. Her personal injury expertise advantages her in preparing complex schedules of loss, particularly where there are claims for psychiatric injury and long-term earnings and pension loss. As a co-author of ‘Employment Law and Human Rights' (OUP, 2018) Anna also has detailed knowledge of human rights issues arising in the workplace.

Anna's civil court practice encompasses contractual and Protection from Harassment Act 1997 claims in the employment context, as well as goods and services discrimination. Anna has a particular interest in civil claims involving modern slavery, which cut across all of her practice areas. In 2018, she recovered almost £250,000 in damages for failure to pay the minimum wage, harassment and personal injury on behalf of a victim of trafficking.

Anna is frequently instructed to conduct internal investigations and to advise on disciplinary/ grievance processes by employers. Anna has also represented individuals in internal employment processes before the litigation stage is reached.

Anna has been recognised as a leading employment barrister by Chambers UK, the Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal for many years.

Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury

Anna undertakes the full range of clinical negligence and personal injury work. Her parallel employment and discrimination practice means that she has unusually extensive advocacy experience for a barrister in this area.

Anna's clinical negligence practice focuses on complex spinal injury and cauda equina cases, but she has experience of acting in a wide range of claims involving negligent cancer treatment; delay in treating severe brain injury; delayed diagnosis of conditions including cancer, endocarditis, HIV and spinal tumours and infection; negligent spinal hip and bariatric surgery; negligent consenting procedures and claims arising from the development of severe pressure sores. She also has experience of fatal accident claims in the context of clinical negligence. Anna’s caseload consists almost exclusively of multi-million pound High Court claims. In the past year, she has established liability in two high value spinal injury claims following High Court trials.

Anna has a particular interest in complex causation issues. In 2016, she successfully established causation on conventional principles where non-negligent surgery, which had been performed three months earlier than it should have been owing to a negligent failure to follow a conservative management plan, resulted in nerve root injury (Crossman v St George's Healthcare NHS Trust (HC)).

Anna is recommended as a leading barrister in clinical negligence by Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500.

Anna has experience of all kinds of personal injury litigation, including road traffic and highway accidents, employer's liability and occupational disease, occupier's liability, fatal accidents and Protection from Harassment Act claims. Her employment law practice makes her particularly suited to "crossover" personal injury claims such as those arising from modern slavery and harassment at work.

Anna is skilled in producing complex and detailed schedules of loss, and applies her employment law knowledge to ensure clients are fully compensated for earnings losses and care claims.

Legal 500 2024: (Employment) “Anna is a superb and respected advocate. Her advocacy is assured, erudite and lucid – she is better prepared than many silks. Great on her feet.” (Clinical Negligence) “Anna is extremely bright, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of her cases. She is responsive, her pleadings are well drafted, and she has an excellent manner with both clients and experts.”

Chambers & Partners 2024: (Employment) “Anna Beale is a strong advocate with excellent experience before the tribunals and courts representing employers and individuals in complex discrimination and whistle-blowing cases. She also has experience dealing with equal pay disputes.” "Anna picks up salient points with ease, bringing fresh insight and perspective. She clearly considers the potential successes and pitfalls of litigation and offers appropriate next steps and points of consideration." "She is really impressive. Her written submissions are totally brilliant and she is a really good advocate. She is very responsive and practical in her advice as well as exuding calm." "Anna is an exceptional junior who is strong on tactics and able to lead a case with great composure."

(Clinical Negligence) “Anna Beale is a well-regarded barrister with experience handling a wide range of complex clinical negligence matters. She is well versed in birth, brain, spinal and delayed diagnosis claims, and receives high praise for her ability to handle cases involving complex questions surrounding causation.” "She's a great advocate, excellent in trial and always available via email and telephone." "Anna is just a joy to work with: wonderful with clients, a great team player, a fine lawyer and an exceptionally skilled advocate." “She's tenacious and brilliant on her feet."

Legal 500 2023: (Employment) “Anna is a tenacious advocate, and possesses an unrivalled instinct when it comes to the points that will land with both a judge and the other side in negotiations - a first-choice counsel for the more complex cases where intellectual firepower is required.” (Clinical Negligence) “Anna is a delight to work with. She is exceptional with clients, incredibly intelligent and able to navigate her way around tricky cases with ease.”

Chambers & Partners 2023: "Anna is empathetic and down-to-earth with clients." "Anna is hard-working and fearsomely bright." "She is approachable, responsive, thorough, technically excellent, and easy to work with." "She is very user-friendly; she is responsive and has a great manner with clients." "Anna is an extremely intelligent barrister and a great advocate."

Chambers & Partners 2022: (Employment) "She knows the law inside out, including developing aspects of law." "She has shown technical excellence combined with approachability." "She has a good eye for detail, she is responsive and she is easy to engage with." (Clinical Negligence)"She is hard-working, exceptional with clients and very intelligent." "She has great attention to detail and leaves no stone unturned." "An impressive junior who handles issues with high intelligence and speed."

Legal 500 2022: (Employment) "Excellent – a great eye for detail, masters issues quickly, responsive, and easy to engage with." (Clinical Negligence) "Extremely hardworking, methodical and with a keen eye for detail. A junior who is empathetic with seriously injured and vulnerable clients."

Chambers & Partners 2021: "She's absolutely fantastic: meticulously prepared, incredibly efficient and helpful, and always thinking about the strategy." "She's super bright and really easy to work with. Just brilliant."

Legal 500 2021: "At the junior end, Anna Beale is highlighted for her 'star quality' and 'not being afraid to "take it" to counsel many years her senior – and win'." “Always happy to hop on client calls, explains complex issues in lay terms, and is highly rated technically.” “A compelling advocate who can readily put clients at their ease and win their trust.”

Chambers & Partners 2020: "She is extremely quick and knows every case like the back of her hand." "An extremely intelligent barrister who also has a fantastic bedside manner."

Legal 500 2020: “An extremely intelligent standout barrister, who is fantastic with clients and a real pleasure to work with.” “A junior whose work ethic is second-to-none.”

Chambers & Partners 2019: "Strong tribunal advocate representing employers and individuals in complex discrimination and whistle-blowing cases. She also has experience dealing with equal pay disputes. She has appeared in tribunals and at appellate level." "A real all-rounder. She is really good with clients and she really cares about the cases." "Fantastic. Very bright and very reliable."

Legal 500 2019: "An excellent barrister to work with and is technically excellent."

Chambers & Partners 2018: "A really good all-rounder. Sharp and good with the legal side but also good with clients." "Her work is thorough and technically very good. She is also very pragmatic and commercial."

Who's Who Legal 2018: "Anna Beale is highly regarded in the field of employment and discrimination law and is praised for her expert handling of complex litigation. She is frequently instructed by corporations, trade unions and government bodies for her deep experience in the field."

Legal 500 2017: "Technically and strategically excellent."

Chambers & Partners 2017: "Strong tribunal advocate representing employers and individuals in complex discrimination and whistle-blowing cases. Clients attest that she is an extremely hard worker who can quickly turn around large pieces of work.... She really engages with the client and will go the extra mile - she will not give up for a client. She is very positive and determined.”

Ranked as one of ten most highly regarded junior employment counsel in Who's Who Legal 2017: "Anna is very impressive, very pragmatic and commercial. She is responsive to enquiries, and very easy and pleasant to deal with. She has good client-handling skills, even under serious pressure."

Legal 500 2016: "A flawless barrister, who is acutely aware of client needs."

Chambers & Partners 2016: "She has a particularly strong reputation for handling technically complex disputes, and is known for her skill in dealing with sensitive clients....She is incredibly bright and very good with clients; the whole package.”

Legal 500 2015: "She wins the totally unwinnable cases and works so hard for her clients."

Chambers & Partners 2015: "Well respected for her work on cutting-edge discrimination cases”.... “personable and intelligent, she has a practical attitude and can really progress a case.”

Legal 500 2014: "Impressive attention to detail."

Chambers & Partners 2014: "She is a specialist in the discrimination field” who “has a tremendous ability to simplify complex legal issues and convey them to the layman.”

Legal 500 2013: "Instils utmost confidence in clients."

Chambers & Partners 2012: "Sharp as a pin and very crisp in court...instructing solicitors agree she is 'a delight to work with'."

Legal 500 2012: "First-rate judgment and sensitivity."

Elias LJ, JP Morgan Europe Ltd v Chweidan [2011] EWCA Civ 648; [2012] ICR 268: "...a forceful and attractive argument..."

Chambers & Partners 2011: “Meticulous preparation and savvy tactical insight.”

Chambers and Partners Employment Junior of the Year 2023

Shortlisted by the Legal 500 for Clinical Negligence Junior of the Year 2023

Shortlisted for Employment Junior of the Year in the International Employment Lawyer Awards 2023

Finalist for Clinical Negligence Lawyer of the Year at the Personal Injury Awards 2023

Co-Chair, Industrial Law Society (2023 - )

Appointed as a member of the Fawcett Society's Sex Discrimination Law Review Panel in January 2017.

Member of ELA, ELBA, the Institute of Employment Rights, HRLA, AvMA and PIBA.

• Co-author with Robin Allen KC, Rachel Crasnow KC, Claire McCann and Rachel Barrett of 'Employment Law and Human Rights' (OUP, 3rd Edition, 2018)

• Panel member and contributor to the Fawcett Society's Sex Discrimination Law Review (January 2018)

• Contributor to 'Blackstone's Guide to the Equality Act 2010' (ed Wadham, Robinson, Ruebain and Uppal, OUP, 3rd Edition, 2016).

• Editor (with Declan O'Dempsey, Catherine Casserley and Sally Robertson) of 'Discrimination in Employment: A Claims Handbook' (LAG, 2013).

• Contributor to 'Family Rights at Work' (ed Allen and Crasnow, Jordans, 2012).

• Co-author with Declan O'Dempsey of 'Age and Employment' (Publications Office of the European Union, 2011).

• Co-author with Robin Allen KC and Rachel Crasnow of 'Employment Law and Human Rights' (OUP, 2nd Edition, 2007).

BA Jurisprudence (Oxon): 1st class

EMPLOYMENT AND DISCRIMINATION

• Meaker v Cyxtera Technology (UK) Ltd [2023] EAT 17; [2023] IRLR 365: established (i) that the effective date of termination is the date of repudiatory breach of contract even where that breach was not accepted by the claimant at common law; and (ii) that a letter headed “without prejudice” and referring to a mutual termination that did not occur may nevertheless constitute an unambiguous unilateral termination of employment.

• Cowie v Scottish Fire and Rescue Service [2022] ICR 1693: a policy which required employees who were unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19 to use their accrued time off in lieu and annual leave before becoming entitled to paid special leave did not constitute unfavourable treatment under s.15 Equality Act or disadvantage for the purposes of an indirect sex discrimination claim.

• DPP Law Ltd v Greenberg [2021] EWCA Civ 672: [2021] IRLR 1016; leading case on the correct approach to be taken by the EAT in considering appeals from the ET.

• Ajayi v Abu & Abu [2017] EWHC Civ 3098 (QB); [2018] IRLR 1028: recovered almost £250,000 in damages for failure to pay the minimum wage, harassment and personal injury on behalf of a victim of trafficking, deploying an unusual argument on fraudulent concealment to extend the minimum wage claim back beyond 6 years.

• Ajayi v Abu & Abu [2017] EWHC Civ 1946 (QB); [2017] IRLR 1113: first case on the meaning of "deductions" in respect of living accommodation and meals in the context of the "family worker" exception to the requirement to pay the minimum wage.

• JP Morgan Europe Ltd v Chweidan [2011] EWCA Civ 648; [2012] ICR 268 (CA): considered the relationship between direct and disability-related discrimination under the DDA 1995.

• BP Plc v Elstone [2010] ICR 879; [2011] 1 All ER 718 (EAT): determined the novel point that the whistleblowing legislation applies when a worker is subjected to detriment by reason of a disclosure made whilst in a previous employment.

• Williams and Jermin v DfT (ET, 2011): ground-breaking equal pay test case comparing claimants employed by the DVLA with male comparators in the Driving Standards Agency.

• Hartley v Northumbria NHS Trust (ET, 2008 – 2009): national equal pay test case challenging the NHS job evaluation scheme, Agenda for Change.

• Davies v Farnborough College [2008] IRLR 14 (EAT): concerning the proper interpretation of the statutory dismissal procedure in a redundancy situation.

• Wong v Igen Ltd [2005] 1 ICR 931 (CA): leading case on the revised discrimination burden of proof provisions.

CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE / PERSONAL INJURY

• Chapman v Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 1871 (KB): the Claimant’s offer to settle for 90% of the full value of her claim was found to be a valid Part 36 offer, to which Part 36 consequences should apply, in circumstances where the Claimant succeeded on only one of the alternative bases for her claim at trial.

• Chapman v Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust [2023] EWHC 1290 (KB): established breach of duty and causation against a pain management consultant in respect of failures in two consultations, which ultimately resulted in paralysis 9 years later.

• Crossman v St George's Healthcare NHS Trust [2016] EWHC 2878; (2017) 154 B.M.L.R. 204: successfully established causation on conventional principles where non-negligent surgery, which had been performed three months earlier than it should have been owing to a negligent failure to follow a conservative management plan, resulted in nerve root injury.

• Masterman-Lister v Jewell and Home Counties Dairies [2003] 1 WLR 1511 (CA): leading case on capacity to litigate.