Employment, Licensing and Criminal

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Employment

Employment

Chambers are able to act in all cases dealt with in Employment Tribunals including those which proceed upwards to appeal on behalf of both employers and employees. Counsel can advise on Unfair and Wrongful dismissal, sex and race discrimination, part time worker pension cases and redundancy matters.

Counsels’ work will normally involve producing written advices, drafting grounds of application to tribunals, respondents responses, notices of appeal and skeleton arguments.

Where cases are not settled by mediation or otherwise, Counsel will appear at case management conferences, preliminary or final hearings, and appeals.

Licensing

Chambers has a good record in all forms of licensing cases, in particular, in respect of liquor and entertainment regulations following the passing into law of the Licensing Act 2003 in 2004.  The results of the changes made under the Act have not produced the results predicted by the Government and the present situation is that there are a large number of applications to reduce opening hours or even withdraw licences altogether.  We are able to provide expert advice and act for both licensees and local authorities faced with such applications.

While the liquor law is possibly the most obvious area of licensing in the public eye at present, we are able to provide an expert service in respect of the many other situations in which licences are required.  Vehicles, fishing and dogs are two other licensed areas familiar to the general public but “child carers” and waste disposal companies are also strictly controlled by regulations that require licences. We are able to provide a full service in respect of all these licensed areas and the many others not expressly mentioned above.

Criminal

Chambers provides a specialist service in respect of the following activities where breaches of the regulations are criminal acts, often with possible imprisonment penalties.

Local Authority regulation/enforcement of:

  • pollution,
  • waste disposal,
  • animal control,
  • food hygiene, etc. 

 

Central government regulation/enforcement of environmental agencies, including:

  • DEFRA,
  • Food Standards Agency,
  • Water Authorities
  • Environmental Health
  • The various animal protection and similar agencies.  


Chambers also advises in and conducts cases involving both criminal and civil allegations against police authorities and police officers.

In addition Chambers has experienced senior counsel with the capacity to accept certain general criminal cases dependent on venue, length and nature.

 

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