Employment barristers for the Cambridge Employment Tribunal.
Counsel for unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing and equal pay claims at the Cambridge Employment Tribunal, instructed by claimants, respondents and their solicitors.
Employment Barristers for Cambridge clients
Cambridge is a principal employment tribunal venue for Cambridgeshire and the East of England. The tribunal sits at Cambridge Employment Tribunal, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BF, and claims from across the wider catchment are either listed there or heard remotely by video.
Clerk and Counsel is a clerking agency, not a chambers. We place independent employment barristers on tribunal work for claimants and respondents, from single preliminary hearings through to multi week discrimination and whistleblowing trials. Where Public Access is appropriate, counsel can be instructed directly on a fixed fee without a solicitor on the record.
Typical Cambridge instructions involve unfair dismissal claims, discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010, equal pay litigation, TUPE claims arising from outsourcing and restructuring, holiday pay and working time disputes, and whistleblowing claims in regulated sectors.
For preliminary hearings, interim relief applications and short notice case management orders, counsel can usually be engaged within seventy two hours of conflict checks clearing. Full merits hearings are booked to the tribunal timetable, and we confirm availability before you commit to a listing.
We tell you at the outset whether a matter is suitable for counsel alone or whether a solicitor should also be instructed to handle disclosure, witness statements and correspondence. That judgement is made before any fee is agreed.
Areas of work in Cambridge
Unfair and constructive dismissal
Ordinary and automatically unfair dismissal, redundancy selection challenges, and constructive dismissal claims arising across the Cambridgeshire and the East of England employer base.
Discrimination and harassment
Sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief and sexual orientation claims under the Equality Act 2010, including reasonable adjustments, victimisation and harassment allegations.
Equal pay claims
Job evaluation disputes, comparator arguments and material factor defences, including multi claimant equal pay work for local authorities and NHS trusts in Cambridgeshire and the East of England.
Whistleblowing and detriment
Public interest disclosure claims and interim relief applications, particularly in life sciences and technology employers, the university sector and NHS teaching trusts across Cambridgeshire.
TUPE and collective consultation
Service provision changes, outsourcing programmes, information and consultation failures, and protective award claims under section 188.
Restrictive covenants and confidential information
High Court injunctions to restrain team moves, breach of covenant claims and misuse of confidential information taken to a competitor.
Trade union and collective issues
Recognition disputes, detriment for union activities, time off for union duties and collective bargaining questions.
Employment Appeal Tribunal work
Grounds of appeal, permission hearings and full appeals in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, with onward appeals to the Court of Appeal where the point warrants it.
Where these cases are heard
The Cambridge Employment Tribunal is located at Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BF. It hears the bulk of employment claims arising in Cambridgeshire and the East of England and takes overflow work from neighbouring tribunal regions when listing pressure requires it.
Preliminary and case management hearings are routinely conducted remotely by video, and some full merits hearings proceed on a hybrid basis where the parties and the tribunal agree. Counsel is comfortable appearing in either format.
Employment Appeal Tribunal work is heard at the Rolls Building in London, with remote attendance available in most appeals. Onward appeals go to the Court of Appeal, and a small number of employment cases each year reach the Supreme Court.
Related High Court work, including injunctions to enforce restrictive covenants and claims for misuse of confidential information, is issued in the appropriate district registry or in London depending on where the parties are based and how urgent the application is.
What drives this work in Cambridge
Cambridge employment work reflects the local economy, which includes life sciences and biotechnology on the research campuses, technology and software businesses in the Cambridge cluster, the university and its colleges, and major NHS teaching trusts. The mix of claims we see follows that employer profile closely.
Whistleblowing and detriment claims continue to rise in life sciences and technology employers, the university sector and NHS teaching trusts across Cambridgeshire, and equal pay, holiday pay and working time claims remain live areas for larger public sector and manufacturing employers in the region.
Public Access enquiries from Cambridge tend to come from employees dismissed after long service, senior managers negotiating exits and settlement agreements, and smaller employers responding to claims without in house employment expertise. We are direct about when a matter can be handled by counsel alone and when it cannot.
Respondent work often comes through solicitors and HR consultancies who need advocacy cover for a listed hearing, an urgent strike out or deposit order application, or a second opinion on prospects before a judicial mediation or settlement discussion.
What instructing counsel costs
Fees are agreed in writing before any work begins. Written advice on merits and quantum for a Cambridge employment claim typically runs between five hundred and one thousand five hundred pounds plus VAT, depending on the volume of documents.
Drafting a claim form, response, schedule of loss or list of issues is usually in the range of seven hundred to two thousand two hundred pounds plus VAT. Preliminary and case management hearings run from around six hundred pounds plus VAT.
Full merits hearings at the Cambridge Employment Tribunal typically start at around one thousand two hundred pounds plus VAT per day for junior counsel and rise to around three thousand pounds plus VAT per day for senior specialist counsel, with refreshers for each further day.
Where a case settles or a hearing is vacated, we tell you at the point of instruction what the cancellation position is, so there are no surprises later.
If you have a Cambridge employment matter that needs counsel, send us a short summary and the key dates. We will come back with a shortlist, an indicative fixed fee where Public Access fits, and confirmation of conflict check timing.
Every barrister we place is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Clerk&Counsel is a clerking agency and does not provide legal services itself.
Employment Barristers in Cambridge, common questions
Where is the Cambridge Employment Tribunal?
Cambridge Employment Tribunal, Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BF. It hears employment claims arising across Cambridgeshire and the East of England.
Can I instruct a Cambridge employment barrister on Public Access?
Yes, where the case is suitable. Counsel can advise, draft and appear at the tribunal without a solicitor on the record, and we say at the outset if a solicitor is needed as well.
What do Cambridge tribunal hearings cost?
Preliminary hearings start from around six hundred pounds plus VAT. Full merits hearings run from about one thousand two hundred pounds plus VAT per day for junior counsel.
Do you act for employers as well as employees?
Yes. We place counsel for claimants and respondents in similar volumes, including private sector employers, NHS trusts, local authorities and trade unions.
How quickly can counsel be booked?
Urgent applications are usually covered within twenty four to seventy two hours once conflict checks clear. Merits hearings are booked to the tribunal timetable.
Do you cover Employment Appeal Tribunal appeals?
Yes, including drafting grounds of appeal, permission hearings and full appeals, attended remotely or in person in London.