Ryan Ross

Ryan maintains a broad employment practice, acting for both Claimants and Respondents.

He has recent experience of claims for unfair and constructive dismissal; redundancy; discrimination, harassment and victimisation; unlawful deduction of wages and breach of contract; and detriments arising from health and safety breaches, particularly in the context of Covid-19.

Ryan is regularly instructed at the early stages of proceedings to assist with drafting and providing advice on merits. He has considerable appellant experience relative to his year of call, having appeared twice in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in his first year of tenancy at Farrar’s Building.

Ryan increasingly acts for, or in cases involving, regulated professionals, particularly in the legal and banking sector. His recent/ongoing caseload includes:

• acting for a solicitor in a two-day discrimination claim brought by a former secretary;
• advising a lawyer on merits and quantum in a discrimination claim against her former employer;
• advising a former employee in respect of her discrimination claim against a high-street bank;
• drafting and advisory assistance to a HR professional claiming sex discrimination and whistleblowing detriment;
• acting for an accountant in a claim for pregnancy discrimination and victimisation;
• advising a former employee in his claim for redundancy against a high-street bank;
• advising a care home on potential unfair dismissal/discrimination claims in respect of employees’ vaccination status;
• successfully representing Claimants in PHs (including one multi-day hearing) on employee status;
• advising a paramedic in a claim for disability discrimination against a professional regulator; and
• advising a school-worker on appealing a vague/defective tribunal order in respect of a finding of unfair and wrongful dismissal.

Ryan gained a broad exposure to employment law during his 12-month pupillage, which included a high-profile claim for philosophical belief discrimination; advice on the provision of PPE in care homes in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic; and a claim for health and safety detriment brought against a foreign embassy.

Ryan has an interest in all aspects of regulatory and disciplinary law.

In 2022, he completed a secondment at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, acting for the regulator in numerous IOT and SOR hearings. He continues to be instructed by the NMC, including in multi-day substantive hearings.

Elsewhere, he has acted for clients in various regulatory and disciplinary proceedings. Recent instructions include acting for a family in an inquest and advising a paramedic in a discrimination claim against his regulator.

During his 12-month pupillage, Ryan gained exposure to HSE and disciplinary proceedings, including before the HCPC, GMC and High Court.

Ryan is a member of the Attorney General’s Junior Junior Scheme and he is regularly instructed by GLD to provide drafting assistance, typically in the context of judicial review applications to the Upper Tribunal/High Court.

Recent instructions include:

• drafting Summary Grounds in respect of a JR against the SSHD for refusing to provide the Appellant with a British passport. Permission to bring the JR was refused and the SSHD was awarded her costs;
• drafting Summary Grounds in respect of a JR against the SSHD for failing to provide the Appellant (who was on immigration bail) with suitable accommodation; and
• drafting Summary Grounds in respect of an Article 6 JR against the SSHD for ordering the Appellant’s removal from the UK.

This experience builds upon Ryan’s 12-month pupillage, where he provided research assistance on:

• R (on the application of Gourlay) v Parole Board [2020] UKSC 50 (on the ordering of costs against inferior courts/tribunals).
• A and B v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and Another [2021] UKSC 27 (on the application of Art 14 to claims against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority by victims of trafficking).
• IWGB v Secretary of State for Pensions and Another [2020] EWHC 3050 (a judicial review on the compliance of the Health and Safety at Work Act with EU law).

Ryan maintains an interest in public law more broadly. He was the winner of the Lee Essay Prize in 2019 for an article on parliamentary sovereignty, and in July 2020 wrote for Counsel Magazine on the challenges facing any future inquiry into Covid-19 (see here).

In April 2022, Ryan joined the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry as Junior Junior Counsel.

Ryan is frequently instructed in fast-track trials on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants. He has experience of resisting allegations of fundamental dishonesty, and he has provided advice on procedure and tactics in the context of a wide range of personal injury claims, including RTAs and EL/PL claims.

Recent instructions have included:

• acting for Defendants in various LVI fast-track trials where, following cross-examination of the Claimant, the claim was dismissed for causation not being established.
• representing the claimant in a fast-track trial arising from a slipping accident at a school;
• advising and providing drafting assistance to a claimant following an accident at work; and
• successfully defending the defendant’s driver in a fast-track trial on liability.

Ryan has a growing practice in commercial and related areas of law.

He has experience of representing clients in claims for breach of contract and debt recovery. Ryan has also acted for creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, and he is currently instructed for a lender in an ongoing dispute about the ownership of a property.

Ryan welcome instructions in this area, particularly in respect of property/environmental disputes.

During his 12-month pupillage, Ryan gained exposure to a group-action nuisance claim against a large industrial manufacturer and advised in his own right on a potential claim for nuisance in a neighbour dispute.