John Bowers QC of Littleton Chambers

Profile

 

Introduction

John Bowers QC of Littleton Chambers is one of the UK’s premier employment barristers. John took silk in 1998 and has been with Littleton chambers, widely regarded as the Country’s preeminent employment set, since 1985..

John has enjoyed a superb year at the Bar, most noticeably in the areas of Equal Pay, Whistleblowing and TUPE, acting mainly for Respondents, where he has been involved in some of the highest profile cases and has provided ongoing advice work that will have a significant impact on the future development of these areas.

John has the seventh largest number of reported cases in Industrial Relations Law Reports (since the outset of that report) and the third highest in respect of those still practising.

As a senior member of Littleton, John has played a major part in the development of chambers over the last year. 2007 saw the arrival of two leading juniors as part of the Set’s expansion drive in its Employment practice. Chris Quinn joined the team from Cloisters; Damian Brown from Old Square. Additionally, Littleton recruited a new Chief Executive in 2007, Gerard Hickie, from one of Europe’s leading consumer brand companies, to help take chambers to the next stage in its development.

Littleton was also recognised nationally in 2007 for spearheading the mediation trend through the establishment of its alternative dispute resolution company, Littleton Dispute Resolution.

We believe that John’s track-record, his contribution to the development of his Set, and his results over the last year merit his being recognised as the Barrister of the Year by The Lawyer magazine.

Equal Pay

John’s most notable contribution over the last year has been in the area of Equal Pay in the Public Sector. He currently advises 15 Local authorities – believed to be more than any other comparable barrister – in claims with a potential value in the region of up to £50 million. Some 15,000 claims on behalf of local government workers have been processed by the Newcastle employment tribunal region and John has been involved in the lions’-share of these cases.

John is also heavily involved in the NHS Equal Pay cases and is acting in the lead test case under the NHS Agenda for Change, which may affect every NHS employee (apart from doctors). The NHS Equal pay cases are believed to be the largest Tribunal litigation ever (by numbers of Claimants and potential value of claims) and the largest piece of discrimination litigation (by number and value) in Europe.

To have several mass equal pay cases going on at the same time poses particular logistical problems for the tribunals both in accommodating all the claims (including equal value experts) and in dealing with a large number of appeals proceeding at different paces. Indeed, the outgoing chair of the EOC recently suggested that tribunals were not fit for purpose in this respect and that there should be some form of moratorium on new claims.

Whistleblowing

John was involved in one of most significant Whistleblowing cases of 2007 - Kuzel v Roche Products - the first case on the burden of proof in Whistleblowing cases. Acting for the respondent, John argued that the burden of proof rested with the employee in Whistleblowing dismissal cases, whereas the employee argued that the burden of proof lay with the employer. The outcome of the case, which has now been referred to the Court of Appeal, will be highly significant in this specialist area of employment law.

Additionally, John has advised on and negotiated a number of settlements in this area including in mediations, the details of which are highly confidential.

TUPE

John has advised many local authorities and private sector clients on outsourcing over the last year especially on issues arising out of the House of Lords and European Court of Justice case of Celtec v Astley in which he was involved in 2006.

Other Achievements

John is a frequent lecturer on employment law and has written 15 books including Bowers on Employment Law, now in its Seventh Edition, The Law of Industrial Action and Trade Union Recognition and Whistleblowing. He [co-wrote] Blackstones Employment Law Practice 2006 and 2007 and is a frequent contributor to the Industrial Law Journal legal trade press and national media on employment law issues. He is unusual in that he combines academic and popular writing.

A CEDR trained mediator, John was the coordinator of the Workplace Mediation Project which looks into the use of mediation in sexual harassment cases.

John is a former Chair of the Employment Law Bar Association, former member of the Standards Board for England, and now sits as a Recorder on the Midlands Circuit and a Bencher of Middle Temple. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Hull.

Additionally, John often acts as a Designated Independent Person which gives him the authority to decide on whether Local Authority Chief Executive or other senior officers can be lawfully dismissed.

Top Trials for 2008 Questionnaire

Case One

Name: Abbas v Gate Gourmet

Sollicitors: Clarkelgal

Counsel: John Bowers

Trial Date: 25 Feb for 6 weeks

Judge: Reading Employment Tribunal

Case Two

Name: Mathews v Kent Fire Authority

Sollicitors: Beechcrofts

Counsel: John Bowers QC

Trial Date:concludes 7 & 8 Jan; biggest ever ET claim 11k employees; remitted from House of Lords

Judge: Croydon Employment Tribunal

Case Three

Name: Hartley v Northumbria Health Care; national test case for NHS equal pay litigation

Sollicitors: Eversheds

Counsel: John Bowers QC

Trial Date: June/July 2008

Judge: Newcastle Employment Tribunal

Case Four

Name: Kuzel v Roche Products (whistlbwlowing burden of proof)

Sollicitors: Clarkslegal

Counsel: John Bowers QC/Jeremy Lewis

Trial Date: Judgment awaited from Ct Appeal

Judge: Mummery LJ

Case Five

Name: Anderson v South Tyneside MBC (e mail service on EAT)

Sollicitors: South Tyneside MBC

Counsel: John Bowers QC

Trial Date: 7.2.08

Judge: Employment Appeal Tribunal