Harriet Fear Davies

Call 2007
Email harrietfear.davies@3pb.co.uk
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Employment

Employment law forms a significant part of Harriet’s practice, she regularly appears on behalf of Claimants and Respondents in Employment Tribunals, and advises in employment-related matters. Clients praise Harriet’s attention to detail and high levels of preparation, as well as her effective cross-examination skills. Harriet has previous experience as a manager, including handling disciplinary and capability issues, redundancy selection and negotiations with trade unions. She puts that experience to good use in her work as a barrister, being well aware of the challenges faced by employers and employees in the workplace.

Harriet successfully resisted an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a disability discrimination case concerning the duty to make reasonable adjustments when a disabled employee was physically unable to do the job for which they were originally employed: Hamed v British Midland Airways Ltd [2011] All ER (D) 236 (Jan). She has since had the opportunity to apply those principles in other cases.

Naturally Harriet regularly appears and advises in cases concerning unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal and discrimination. Other areas in which she has recent experience include:

• Holiday pay in the context of employees who have been off sick;
• Whether an employee was subject to a contract of apprenticeship (considering the principles in Dunk v George Waller & Son Ltd [1970] 2 QB 163);
• Whistleblowing;
• Claims under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997;
• TUPE;
• Entitlement to bonus payments;
• Restrictive covenants;
• Acting in a high profile sexual harrasment claim;
• Subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Given Harriet’s regulatory experience, she is well placed to advise and act in cases concerning regulated professionals, and recently successfully defended a claim brought by a pharmacist against his employers. Her interest in sports law also makes her a good choice for employment matters concerning clubs; for example she advised five green keepers in relation to settlement terms in their claim against the golf club at which they worked.

Harriet also has, unusually, experience of Reinstatement Committee proceedings, which concern the statutory duty on employers to re-engage military reservists after their return from active duty, as provided for by the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

Whilst a pupil, Harriet assisted her supervisor Tom Croxford in a number of significant and particularly high value cases including proceedings in the Court of Appeal in MSHK (formerly Ministry of Sound Holdings Ltd) v Cook [2009] IRLR 838.