Ben Jones

Ben advises and represents parties in matters spanning the range of statutory employment disputes. He frequently appears in multi-week trials dealing with legally complex, factually intensive, and high value disputes.

Ben is in demand for his meticulous preparation and incisive cross-examination. He is instructed not only for his ability to secure positive outcomes in difficult cases, but also for his reassuring, straight forward, and user-friendly manner with clients and witnesses.

Ben also appears regularly at appellate level. He has successfully brought and resisted various appeals in the EAT and has been led in high profile and widely reported decisions of the Court of Appeal (including Burn v Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWCA Civ 1791, [2022] ICR 492, [2022] I.R.L.R. 306, (2022) 184 B.M.L.R. 108 and Coletta v Bath Hill Court [2019] EWCA Civ 1707, [2020] 3 All E.R. 59, [2020] I.C.R. 703, [2020] I.R.L.R. 124).

Before coming to the Bar, Ben also worked on labour law as an academic lawyer. In this mode, he attended various international conferences to present papers on UK employment law and he continues to contribute to publications in the field.

Ben regularly accepts instructions to conduct all forms of internal processes in the workplace.

His recent experience includes:

• Investigating various grievances brought by senior/director level employees (both as sole/lead investigator and as a member of a multi-investigator team);
• Investigating allegations of misconduct (including various forms of alleged discrimination/harassment) by staff in public, private and third sector organisations;
• Investigating allegations by members of the public in respect of the provision of goods and services (including making recommendations for further action in respect of involved staff and also identifying institutional issues);
• Conducting appeal processes in respect of decisions made by internal decision makers;
• Investigating union rule book complaints; and
• Acting in MHPS proceedings (at consultant level) on both sides (as well as acting, led, in MHPS-related High Court proceedings).

Ben has conducted such processes for publicly listed firms, SMEs, charities, a regulator, universities, private schools, and unions.

Ben has experience of matters progressing before various regulators (from initial investigations, through interim-orders hearings, to final disposal).

He appeared in the leading case on the scope of the right of appeal to the High Court against the sanction of erasure (Sastry and Okpara v GMC [2021] EWCA Civ 623, Times Law Reports 21 May 2021, led by Nicola Newbegin).

As noted under ‘internal processes’, above, as well as having acted on behalf of senior medical practitioners and NHS Trusts in employment proceedings, Ben has also been instructed in internal disciplinary proceedings by Trust management. Ben has hands-on experience of cases involving overlapping processes (including counter-fraud and criminal investigations alongside internal disciplinary and other employment disputes).

Ben also has a history of engagement with medical practitioners stretching long before his call to the bar (through his academic research on, and volunteering work in relation to, the regulation of stem-cell research).

Ben has been instructed in various appeals by professionals who have been included on a barring list by the DBS. He appeared (led by Betsan Criddle KC) in the then leading decision on the nature and extent of the Upper Tribunal’s jurisdiction to correct errors of fact (PF v DBS [2020] UKUT 256 (AAC)).

Ben has a broad grounding in civil employment disputes. He advises on the enforceability of restrictive covenants, protection of confidential information/database rights, and any form of contractual dispute arising out of working relationships.

He has been led in urgent/complex injunctive proceedings before the High Court and is experienced in advising (unled) on civil litigation procedure (including costs budgeting) as well as on issues arising around multi-process disputes (such as those involving overlapping contractual, statutory employment, criminal, and/or regulatory dimensions).

• Burn v Alder Hey Children’s NHS Trust
• Court of Appeal to consider the scope of disclosure required during MHPS investigations
• Ben Jones successful in pair of EAT decisions clarifying Tribunal procedure and evidence rules in disability cases
• Sastry & Okpara v GMC [2021] EWCA Civ 623
• Two Old Square Chambers cases listed in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2021