Sarah Wilkinson

Sarah's practice is predominantly in employment law. She acts and advises in a very broad range of cases including all forms of discrimination, unfair dismissal, protection from harassment, unlawful deductions from wages, equal pay, fixed term workers regulations, part time workers regulations and whistleblowing. She acts for both claimants and respondents and has a particular interest in cases involving discrimination or financial services (or both).

• Acted for a prominent television production company defending claims of sex discrimination and discrimination for a pregnancy-related reason. Case settled (2010)
• Advised in case involving constructive dismissal, allegations of breach of directors' duties, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and parallel high court proceedings, (2010).
• Mulugueta v Xerox Ltd (2009)
  Acted for the respondents in this three week trial, defeating a race discrimination claim for which the claimant had funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and had claimed £8 million.
• Parmar v Eli Lilly & Co Ltd (2009)
  At a pre-hearing review involving two expert medical reports and video surveillance evidence, obtained a judgment for the respondents that the claimant was not suffering from a disability within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
• Acted for respondents in disability claim where claimant was represented by RNIB. Case settled, (2009).
• Maynard v Canalside Housing Association (2009)
  Acted for respondents in two day trial involving unfair dismissal and race discrimination.
• Acted for the claimant in a high value whistleblowing and collective redundancy claim against a leading American investment bank. Case settled, (2008).
• Libby Assassi v University of Sussex (2008)
  Acted for respondents in case involving interpretation of fixed term workers regulations.
• Force One Utilities Ltd v Mr. K. Hatfield  UKEAT/0048/08 (2008)
  Acted pro bono as junior to Tom Croxford (also of Blackstone Chambers) in successfully defending this appeal against the tribunal’s decision to strike out the Response because the claimant had been intimidated by one of the Respondent’s witnesses.
• Miss T Agu v ROC UK Limited UKEAT/0325/07/LA (2008)
  Acted pro bono and won appeal against the alleged failure of the tribunal to apply properly the burden of proof in a sex discrimination case.

• Reichell v Frost v Sullivan Ltd (2008)
  Acted on behalf of the respondents in successfully defending this constructive unfair dismissal and whistleblowing claim.
• Sarah spent much of the early part of 2007 as junior to Tom Croxford preparing for and commencing a 25 day employment claim on behalf of Jean-Michel Hannoun, a former senior manager of the hedge fund manager GLG Partners. Mr Hannoun ran GLG's credit fund between 2002 and his departure in 2006. The case settled on confidential terms four days after commencement.
• In 2007, Sarah also acted as junior to Tom Croxford in a high value sex discrimination case on behalf of a venture capital house.
• In November 2007, she provided advocacy training for the Employment Lawyers Association.
• As sole counsel, she has advised a press organisation in relation to a high value sex discrimination and unfair dismissal claim.
• Colin Wellicome v Service Underwriting Management Limited (2007)
  Acted on behalf of the respondents in successfully defending claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination. Subsequently obtained an £8,000 costs award against the claimant who had commenced proceedings after he was dismissed for admitting to gross misconduct.
• McNally v Commissioner for Metropolitan Police (2007)
  Acted for the claimant in preliminary hearings in claim for sex, race and disability discrimination.
• Nzeribe v World Duty Free (2007)
  Acted for the respondents in race discrimination and unfair dismissal case.
• Langley and Carter v Burlo [2007] ICR 390
  In November 2006, Sarah acted alone in the Court of Appeal successfully resisting an appeal relating to the interpretation of section 123 ERA 1996.

Sarah was appointed to the Attorney-General’s C Panel of counsel in March 2008.

She has advised on a wide range of matters with Michael Beloff QC including professional codes of conduct and environmental waste management. She has a particular interest in civil aviation.

• She has acted with Michael Beloff QC in two judicial reviews on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority. The first involved the transit of hazardous materials through Prestwick airport during the Israeli-Lebanese conflict; R (Islamic Human Rights Commission) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and others [2006] EWHC 2465 Admin. The second, which Gemma White (also of Blackstone Chambers) took over during Sarah's maternity leave, involved the setting of price caps at Stansted Airport, R (on the application of easyJet Airline Co. Ltd) v Civil Aviation Authority [2009] EWHC 1422 (Admin).
• She was instructed as junior to Javan Herberg (also of Blackstone Chambers) for the defendant in a case involving the compatibility of dispute resolution procedures in GP contracts with Article 6 ECHR in R (on the application of Primary Health Investment Properties Ltd) v Secretary of State for Health) [2009] EWHC 519 (Admin).
• Hoyte v Information Commissioner EA/2007/0101
  In early 2008, Sarah successfully defended a claim in the Information Tribunal on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority.

• Ogunbemile v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2008)
  Successfully acted for Home Secretary in deportation case involving Article 8 ECHR and mental health issues in the Immigration Appeals Tribunal.
• R(Brown) v (1) Department for Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2) Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and (3) The Royal Mail Group Ltd (2008)
  One of the junior counsel to Michael Fordham QC in this commercial judicial review.
• On constitutional issues, she was instructed with Jeffrey Jowell QC in a series of judicial review actions in Malawi, considering the alleged constructive resignation of the Vice President.
  

Sarah advises in commercial cases for both claimants and defendants on a very wide range of issues including sale of goods, supply of services, unfair contract terms, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, conversion and restitutionary remedies in a wide range of commercial settings. She has acted as sole counsel in multi-track trials and has appeared in summary judgment applications, applications for permission to appeal, a winding-up petition and in a petition for bankruptcy.

• Acting for a product manufacturer claimant in a sale of goods dispute about chemical composition and description of goods supplied.
• Acted for an educational services provider in enforcing restrictive covenants against franchisees.
• Acted for a private individual in recovering a debt under a contract for services involving issues of rectification.
• Wigan Athletic Football Club v Greater Manchester Police [2007] EWHC 3095 (Ch)
  Junior counsel to Adam Lewis QC of Blackstone Chambers in Wigan Athletic’s challenge to statutory charges levied by Greater Manchester Police in a case which spanned both private and public law issues in a two-week trial in the Chancery Division followed by a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal [2008] EWCA Civ 1449 [2009] 1 WLR 1580.
• Subsequently, Sarah has advised another festival organiser on the impact of the Wigan judgment on policing costs.
• Sarah has advised and acted in two high value civil fraud cases as junior to Tony Peto QC of Blackstone Chambers obtaining freezing injunctions and search orders in relation to breach of fiduciary duty, deceit, breach of contract and conversion.
• McShane v Polynesian Adventure Tours Ltd (2009)
  Acted for the applicants in an application to the High Court to grant Letters of Request from a Hawaiian court
• Daffyd Ellis v Alfred McAlpine (2009)
  Acted for defendant in claim for commission.
• Universal Leasing v The Wedding Planner (2008)
  Acted for the claimants in the Birmingham District Registry of the High Court in this claim for a debt under a lease purchase agreement and breach of guarantee

Financial Services:

Sarah was heavily involved in a large investigation for the Financial Services Authority for two years working as a member of a team with other members of chambers.

Professional regulation:

Sarah acted for a headteacher facing disciplinary proceedings before the General Teaching Council for unacceptable professional conduct, instructed by the National Association of Headteachers.

• Lombard North Central Plc v Mercer (2006)
  Acted for the claimants in this two day multi-track trial for a debt under a lease purchase agreement and breach of guarantee
• Lombard North Central Plc v Lewis (2006)
  Acted for the claimants in this three day multi-track trial for a debt under a lease purchase agreement and breach of guarantee which also involved issues relating to sale of goods and unfair contract terms.

Publications:

• With Robert Howe QC, Diya Sen Gupta and Simon Pritchard, chapter 3 'Confidentiality' in Employee Competition (2nd ed., forthcoming OUP 2011).
• With other authors in chambers and from Baker & Mackenzie LLP, Tolley's Discrimination in Employment Law Handbook (2008).
• With Tom Beazley QC and Javan Herberg, ‘Financial Services Investigations’ in Montgomery & Omerod (eds.) Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure (OUP, 2008).
• With Gemma White and Robert Weekes, Pre-Action Procedure and (alone) Procedural Table for Judicial Review Claims in Lang (ed.), Administrative Court: Practice and Procedure (Sweet and Maxwell, 2006).
• Sarah edited the UK case section of Sweet & Maxwell’s ‘Human Rights Alerter’ from 2005-2008.
• Focus on Article 1 ECHR in Judicial Review (December 2004)
• The concept of the state in Britain, 1880-1939 in Modernism: a concise companion (ed.) David Bradshaw (Blackwell, 2003)

Other experience:

Sarah is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Before coming to the Bar, she completed a doctorate entitled ‘Perceptions of Public Opinion. British Foreign Policy Decisions about Nazi Germany’ in 2000 and taught British and European twentieth century history at the universities of Oxford and Reading. She continues to research aspects of twentieth century British history, particularly diplomatic history. She is also currently writing about the concept of subconscious discrimination.

She has undertaken employment work for the Free Representation Unit and currently undertakes pro bono work for the Bar Pro Bono Unit. She also worked as a volunteer for Oxford Citizens Advice Bureau, where she represented clients before district judges in possession and bankruptcy proceedings.

She participated in the Gray’s Inn mooting tour of US universities in 2003.