Michael received the accolade of Employment Silk of the Year at the Chambers UK Bar Awards last week.
Michael has been involved in a number of landmark cases over the last 18 months. He appeared in the Court of Appeal in Grifiths v. DWP, an important test case on the correct approach to apply for substantial disadvantage in a disibility discrimintaion claim under the Equality Act. The case was part-funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission due to its importance.
Michael also represented the claimaint in Employment Tribunal, returning from the European Court of Justice, in Lock v. British Gas. Again, this was a very important case on whether comission ought to be included in workers' holiday pay. It is currently on the way to Employment Appeal Tribunal, and has already resulted in significant amendments to laws regarding what workers must receive during annual leave.
On receiving the prestigious award Michael commented;
I'm delighted to have won this award, and thankful not to have lost the trophy later in the evening! I'm very fortunate to have worked with some brilliant juniors on the cases which led to this achievement - Mark Whitcombe Simon Cheetham and others. Looking forwards, I hope the work I've been involved with will help teaching students employment law, giving them a flavour of some of the issues which arise in practice.
The University of Bristol Law School welcomed Michael in October this year, after more than twenty years in practice and writing on labour law. The School published a Q&A with Michael to give staff and students insight into Michael and his distinguished career.