Emma has a diverse employment, equality and discrimination, human rights and commercial law practice, acting on behalf of workers and employers in the civil courts and employment tribunals and appeal tribunals, across the full spectrum of relevant matters (including whistleblowing, victimisation, harassment, discrimination, unfair dismissal, equal pay, TUPE, employment status, parental leave, holiday pay, contract, restrictive covenants and redundancy collective consultation procedures).

Recent appellate cases include:

• Mrs Adele Perkins v Marston (Holdings) Ltd [2025] EAT 170 (sole counsel against a led team) – successfully represented the Claimant/Appellant in a 2-day appeal and cross appeal. The issue of whether two of the Respondent's three material factors were potentially indirectly discriminatory has been remitted to a fresh tribunal, alongside justification. The EAT clarified the correct approach to the material factor defence under s.69 of the Equality Act 2010, with a particular focus on establishing potential indirect discrimination under s.69(2).

• Mr Naveed Bari v London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth [2025] EAT 54 (sole counsel) – successfully represented the Claimant/Appellant in his EAT appeal against a case management decision. Allowing all grounds of appeal, HHJ Auerbach gave helpful guidance on applications for specific disclosure and requests for information and the conceptual difference between the two (§33-47).

• Mr Charlie Forrest v Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL UK Branch [2025] EAT 81 (led by Olivia-Faith Dobbie) – successfully represented the Claimant/Appellant (assistance with drafting skeleton only) in his appeal against strike out of his claims. Authority that it is an error of law not to consider whether a fair trial is possible when deciding whether to strike out a claim for non-compliance with a case management order §36; further, strike out in such circumstances will rarely be appropriate without “at least trying the effect of an unless order” (§34 / §42). Press coverage: Employment Law UK

• Dr Nigel MacLennan v The British Psychological Society (Protect and The Charity Commission intervening) [2024] EAT 166 (led by Chris Milsom) – successfully represented the Claimant/Appellant in a landmark appeal, opening the door for whistleblowing protection for charity trustees. HHJ Tayler: (i) clarified the correct approach to determining breaches of Articles 14 / 10 ECHR (§55-60 / §103-105) and (ii) established that whistleblowing protection may flow from “pre-work” disclosures, where the requisite employment status has been achieved by the time of detriment (§29-33 / §111). 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) – successfully represented the Claimant/Appellant in his appeal against findings that his dismissal for redundancy was fair. The EAT found that the ET had erred in law by making inadequate factual findings and giving inadequate reasons as to whether reasonable steps were taken to find the Claimant alternative employment and ensure that the recruitment process was fair for the post for which he interviewed.

Recent first instance litigation / other instructions include:

Employment Tribunals

• Represented the claimant in a remitted 4-day hearing (MacLennan v BPS) on employment status – co-drafted the skeleton argument and made oral submissions on Article 14 ECHR issues, including “analogous situation”.

• 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.

• 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.

• Acted for the Claimant (an NHS doctor) at a hearing on employment status, to determine whether the Claimant was an employee working under: (i) an implied contract for the end user in a tripartite arrangement; and/or (ii) a fixed-term contract, succeeding in the latter argument.

• 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 Respondent in a claim for redundancy unfair dismissal.

• Acted in preliminary hearings on time limits, employment status, amendment, strike out, deposit orders, specific disclosure and reconsideration.

• Drafted particulars of claim for claims including whistleblowing detriment and dismissal; victimisation; discrimination arising from disability; failure to make reasonable adjustments; harassment related to disability; redundancy unfair dismissal; failure to collectively consult under s.188 TULRCA; unfair dismissal and constructive unfair dismissal.

• Drafted grounds of response to claims including whistleblowing detriment and dismissal; breach of contract; victimisation; sex, race and disability discrimination; parental leave; unlawful deduction from wages; holiday pay; unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal.

• Advised on merits / quantum and/or drafted lists of issues for claims including whistleblowing detriment and dismissal; victimisation; equal pay; harassment related to sex; direct and indirect sex discrimination; breach of TUPE regulations, references/determinations under ss.11-12 ERA 1996; failure to make reasonable adjustments; discrimination arising from disability; harassment related to disability; failure to pay national minimum wage; breach of working time regulations; working time detriment; health and safety dismissal and constructive dismissal.

• 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;

  • favourable terms for a Claimant driver in a health and safety dismissal claim;

  • a figure significantly above a Claimant’s valuation of their unfair dismissal claim.

Civil courts / commercial

• Drafted letters of response to claims including breaches of restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-team move, non-employ and non-solicit clauses) and goods and services’ direct discrimination and harassment.

• Drafted a letter before action for a breach of contract claim regarding unpaid invoices for services provided.

• Advised on merits and/or quantum for claims including goods and services’ direct discrimination and harassment; 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.

• Successfully negotiated settlement on favourable terms for a Defendant in a goods and services’ direct discrimination and harassment claim.

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

• Successfully represented the Defendant in a hearing to determine strike out on grounds of employment status

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

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

Could a purposive approach provide whistleblowing protection for charity trustees?, ELA Briefing, December 2024

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

FRU