Matthew White (Head of Practice Group)
Call 1997 (Gray’s Inn)
Appointments Junior Counsel to the Crown (2002)
Qualifications MA (Oxon)
Professional Memberships Employment Law Bar Association; Personal Injury Bar Association
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Employment Law
Matthew spent his first years of practice in chambers in London. He moved to Bristol at the end of 1999 and has practised at St John’s Chambers since then.
He was appointed to the Provincial Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown in 2002 and has subsequently undertaken a volume of respondent employment tribunal work for public bodies.
Matthew’s expertise covers all types of employment law including tribunal and internal disciplinary, grievance and procedural work. He regularly accepts instructions from both employers and employees. His unfair/wrongful dismissal and restrictive covenant practice is claimant biased (c.75% claimant work, typically managers and highly paid employees) whereas his discrimination practice is respondent biased (c.75% respondent).
Matthew was appointed head of the St John’s Chambers Employment Law Practice Group in February 2007.
Example cases/issues dealt with
- Unfair and wrongful dismissal claims for managing directors (with Employment Tribunal and County Court parts to the claims).
- Injunctions/ restrictive covenants/ restraint of trade.
- Five-day race discrimination claim in which a black man claimed to have been discriminated against by his colleagues using racist names.
- Five-day race discrimination claim in which a black man claimed to have been discriminated against following his unsuccessful application for appointment as a magistrate.
- Two-day unfair dismissal claim following claimant being found drunk and disorderly out of work and out of working hours.
- Five-day age discrimination claim.
- Three-day disability discrimination (deafness) claim.
- Three-day pregnancy related sex discrimination/ unfair dismissal claim.
- Unfair dismissal claim following viewing of pornography on the internet.
- Equal Pay Act claims.
- National Minimum Wage and Agricultural Wages legislation.
- Working Time Regulations claims.
- The law concerning the taxation of Tribunal awards.
- Discrete costs applications (including a recent costs award of over £28,000 made in favour of Matthew’s clients).
- County Court claims involving harassment and stress (Majrowski, the Protection from Harassment Act and common law negligence).
- Employment Tribunal/ County Court jurisdictional issues.
- As an off-shoot of employment work Matthew has had cause to deal with Civil Penalty Notices under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.
Matthew practises in personal injury litigation and is happy to advise claimants and defendants on cross-over issues in appropriate claims (including choice of jurisdiction and abuse of process arguments).
Direct Access
Matthew is qualified to undertake Direct Access work in appropriate cases, for further information, please visit our Direct Access page.
Articles
- An article by Matthew on choice of jurisdiction and avoiding cross-jurisdiction pitfalls appeared in the Bristol Law Society’s “Bristol Briefing” in April 2007. That article can be reviewed by clicking here.
Matthew also practices in Personal Injury and Construction Law.
Recommendations
Legal 500 2009
- St John’s Chambers’ Matthew White has established a solid junior practice in employment matters.
