Emma has a busy trial, appellate, drafting and advisory practice, spanning the full range of statutory and commercial employment and discrimination law matters, from whistleblowing, equal pay and employment status to restrictive covenants and contractual disputes. Emma acts in multi-day and multi-week hearings and is instructed by individuals, trade unions and a range of employers, including global companies, financial institutions, public sector organisations and charities.

Recent appellate cases include:

• Mr B Kristensen v Portman Healthcare Ltd [2026] EAT 127 (led by Rad Kohanzad, Old Square Chambers, 2 days) – partially successful Category A appeal before Lord Fairley P. The EAT considered the construction of s.98(1) and s.98(4) ERA and held that suspension is always an act “extending over a period” for the purposes of time limits.

• Ms Emmah Muchererah v Rushcliffe Independent Hospitals (Kegworth) Ltd [2026] EAT 134 (sole counsel) – appeal before HHJ Auerbach, challenging premises about the claimant’s evidence relied upon by the ET. The EAT restated how high the bar is for perversity challenges, including to the tribunal's reasoning process.

• Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Ms Moriarty [2026] EAT 48 (sole counsel for the respondent) – appeal successfully resisted. The EAT held that when considering whether there has been a Henderson v Henderson abuse of process, a tribunal may consider that the issues have never been litigated and related issues will need to be tried anyway (§32–33). Emma successfully obtained a pro bono costs order against the appellant.

• Mr A Whitaker v 1. White Rose Academies Trust 2. Luminate Education Group [2026] EAT 43 (sole counsel) – appeal before HHJ Auerbach on worker status under s.43K(1)(a) ERA (Sharpe, McTigue, Day, Highways). Considered when a tribunal should raise and consider an issue that has not been pleaded (Moustache, Langston) and when new points may be argued on appeal (Rance).

• Mr G Allison v Apleona UK Ltd / EA-2025-000069-OO (sole counsel) – successful appeal on time-limits. Lord Fairley P held that granting an amendment does not rewrite the pleadings, so an allegation already in the original claim was in time.

• Mrs Adele Perkins v Marston (Holdings) Ltd [2025] EAT 170; [2026] IRLR 182 (sole counsel against a led team, 2 days) – partially successful appeal and partially resisted cross appeal. The EAT clarified the correct approach to the material factor defence under s.69 EqA, including establishing potential indirect discrimination under s.69(2) EqA.

• Mr Naveed Bari v London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth [2025] EAT 54 (sole counsel) – successful case management appeal. HHJ Auerbach gave guidance on requests for information and how they differ from applications for specific disclosure (§33-47).

• Mr Charlie Forrest v Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL UK Branch [2025] EAT 81; [2025] IRLR 656 (led by Olivia-Faith Dobbie; assisted with skeleton only) – successful strike-out appeal. Failing to consider whether a fair trial is possible is an error of law when deciding whether to strike out a claim for non-compliance with a case management order; strike-out without first trying an unless order will rarely be appropriate (§34, §36, §42). Press coverage: Employment Law UK

• Dr Nigel MacLennan v The British Psychological Society (Protect and The Charity Commission intervening) [2024] EAT 166; [2025] IRLR 4 (led by Chris Milsom, 2 days) – partially successful landmark appeal on whistleblowing protection for charity trustees. HHJ Tayler held that disclosures made before employment begins can be protected (§29-33 / §111) and clarified the approach to breaches of Articles 10 / 14 ECHR (§55-60 / §103-105). Press coverage: The Times, The Third Sector, Psychreg, Civil Society, UK fundraising, Law 360.

• Mr M Birkett v Integral UK Ltd [2024] EAT 107 (sole counsel) – successful redundancy unfair dismissal appeal. The tribunal made inadequate findings on the search for alternative roles and on the fairness of recruitment for the post for which the Claimant interviewed.

Examples of other work in this area include:

Employment Tribunals

• Ms Z Gazerani v Paypoint Network Limited: 3311915/2023 – successfully represented the Respondent in a 7-day final hearing of claims of race discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal.

• Co-drafted the grounds of appeal and skeleton argument for an appeal to the Court of Appeal concerning s.43K(1)(a) ERA employment status, led by Chris Milsom.

• Represented the Claimant in an interim relief hearing for a claim of automatic unfair dismissal for whistleblowing.

• Mrs J Rajesh v Tesco Stores Ltd: 6002500/2024 – successfully represented the Respondent in a multi-day final hearing of claims of victimisation and unfair dismissal.

• E Riley v St Pancras Hotel Services Ltd: 6005372/2024 – successfully represented the Respondent in a multi-day final hearing of claims of unfair and wrongful dismissal.

• Represented the Claimant in a remitted 4-day hearing (MacLennan v BPS) on employment status and the application of Article 14 ECHR, led by Chris Milsom.

• Advised on employment status for a group claim, under s.230(3)(b) ERA, s.43K ERA, s.83 / s.41 EqA, the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, and the Part-time Worker Regulations 2000.

• Successfully negotiated settlement, whether directly or via judicial mediation, including for:

  • a 7-figure sum and favourable terms for the Claimant in a complex claim with a protracted litigation history;

  • a high 5-figure sum for the Claimant in complex claims of whistleblowing unfair dismissal, detriment (including the “detriment-of-dismissal”) and ordinary unfair dismissal, against multiple respondents;

  • favourable terms for a Claimant carer, including important non-financial terms and a favourable position regarding confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses.

Civil courts / commercial

• Drafted pre-action correspondence for claims of breaches of restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-team move, non-employ and non-solicit clauses), breach of contract, and goods and services’ discrimination and harassment.

• Advised on merits and/or quantum for claims of conversion, action for money had and received, action for debt, action for knowing receipt, constructive trust (transfer of property) and restitution for unjust enrichment.

• Drafted contractual terms regarding parental leave for a collective labour agreement between a global company and a major union.

• Represented the Defendant at a Costs and Cast Management Conference for an equal pay claim brought in the county court.

• Successfully negotiated settlement on favourable terms for the Defendant in a goods and services’ discrimination claim and the Claimant in a breach of contract claim.

In Emma’s previous work as a senior legal adviser for whistleblowing charity Protect, she advised clients on their whistleblowing rights, assisted with legal interventions and trained employers on whistleblowing law, best practice and investigations (predominantly in the financial, health and social care sectors).

During her legal studies, Emma volunteered for the Free Representation Unit and Hackney Migrant Centre. She also collaborated with Protect and Can’t Buy My Silence UK to produce films making the law on whistleblowing and NDAs more accessible.

Prior to coming to the bar, Emma worked for more than a decade as a professional actress, musician, and musical director, including shows at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and in the West End, at regional theatres across the UK, Europe and the USA, and for Paramount Pictures, Channel 5 and BBC Radio 3.

Emma has been instructed by claimants on clinical negligence and personal injury matters. During pupillage at Cloisters, Emma received training on dealing with complex spinal injury and cauda equina cases, public and employer’s liability claims, and drafting schedules of loss for high-value catastrophic injury claims.

Experience includes:

• Represented the Claimant motorcyclist in a fast-track personal injury trial, succeeding on liability (a 75/25 split in the Claimant’s favour) and recovering costs in full.

• Represented the Claimant in a stage 3 hearing for an employer’s liability claim.

• Provided written quantum advice for a case involving a burn injury to a child, for consideration by the court at an infant approval hearing.

• Assisted William-Latimer Sayer KC in successfully resisting a late application to adduce expert evidence in a complex, high value clinical negligence claim, producing a comprehensive research note on the applicable law.

Qualifications

Bar Course, City Law School (Distinction, 86%), 2023

GDL, University of Law (Distinction, 87%), 2021

MA Theatre, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, 2012

BA English Language and Literature (European), University of Leeds (First Class), 2010

Awards

Lawworks Pro Bono Connect Award 2024

Gray’s Inn Bedingfield Scholarship (Bar Course merit-based / top award), 2022

City Law School Bar Vocational Studies Scholarship, 2022

University of Law Career-changer Scholarship (GDL merit-based / full-fee), 2020

Semi-finalist, University of Law GDL Moot, 2021

Employment prenups: advance settlement agreements, ELA Briefing, September/October 2026 [coauthor: Caspar Glyn KC, Cloisters]

Emma updated Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Precedents of Pleadings 20th edition (2025): chapter 64 “The Human Rights Act 1998” and chapter 65 “References to the Court of Justice of the European Union”

Employment lawyers are well placed to bring and defend discrimination claims against service providers, ELA Briefing, February 2025 [coauthors: Peter Frost and Sian McKinley, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer]

Could a purposive approach provide whistleblowing protection for charity trustees?, ELA Briefing, December 2024 [coauthor: Chris Milsom, Cloisters]

Pro bono in pupillage, Counsel Magazine, September 2024.

To 47B or not to 47B? Whistleblowing claims following Wicked Vision, ELA Briefing, June 2024.

Balancing protection of reputation with freedom of expression: does the Defamation Act 2013 reverse the ‘chilling effect’ previous defamation law had on freedom of expression?, Gray’s Inn Student Law Journal, 2022.

Emma’s explainer videos on whistleblowing for Protect can be found at the following links:

• Protected Disclosures and Whistleblowing

• Whistleblowing: A Practical Guide

• 43J: Protection against NDAs

ILS (Executive Committee Member)

ELA

ELBA

ALBA

FRU