Lord Hendy is the The Legal 500’s Employment Silk of the Year and other award-givers have placed him amongst the runners up in that category over a number of years. He has many reported cases in these fields at all levels both individual and collective. He acted for the NUM in all the civil cases during the miners’ strike in 1984-5 and in resisting the pit closure programme of 1993.
He acted for the BA cabin crew in their dispute in 2010. He is certainly best known for his work in collective labour law and amongst his cases over the last few years have been:
…in the ECtHR:
- ASLEF v. UK [2007] IRLR 361 – Trade union freedom, expulsion of fascists;
- RMT v. UK (Appn No. 31045/10, 8 April 2014) – Right to strike (esp secondary action), legitimacy of restrictions on striking.
…in the House of Lords/Supreme Court:
- Derbyshire v. St Helen’s BC [2007] ICR 841; [2007] 3 All ER 81; [2007] IRLR 540 – Victimisation in discrimination in attempt to settle equal pay claim.
…in the Court of Appeal:
- British Airways v UNITE the Union [2010] ICR 1316; IRLR 809 – strike injunction – notice of ballot result to members;
- Malone v British Airways [2011] IRLR 32; [2011] ICR 125; [2010] EWCA Civ 1225 – claim for damages and injunction for changes to crew levels on aircraft – whether collective agreements incorporated and enforceable;
- RMT v Serco Ltd; ASLEF v London & B’ham Rly [2011] EWCA Civ 226; [2011] 3 All E.R. 913; [2011] I.C.R. 848; [2011] I.R.L.R. 399 – strike injunction – de minimis errors;
- Quashie v Stringfellows Restaurants Ltd [2013] IRLR 99; [2012] EWCA Civ 1735 , [2013] NLJR 21, (2013) 157(1) S.J.L.B. 31, [2012] All ER ( D) 229 – whether club dancer was self-employed or an employee;
- George v Ministry of Justice [2013] EWCA Civ 324, [2008] All ER (D) 52; – incorporation of collective agreement into contract of employment;
- East Midlands Trains Ltd v RMT [2013] EWCA Civ 1072, [2013] All ER (D) 163 (Aug) – construction of collective agreement, action short of strike, injunction;
- Smith v Carillion (JM) Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 209, [2015] IRLR 467 – agency worker blacklisted for trade union activities, no remedy against end-user;
- R (Boots) v Central Arbitration Committee, PDAU [2017] EWCA Civ 66, [2017] IRLR 355 – whether statutory recognition machinery compatible with Art 11 ECHR;
- Agarwal v Cardiff University, Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive t/a Nexus v Anderson & ors [2018] EWCA Civ 2084 – employment tribunal jurisdiction to construe contracts, construction of collective agreement.
…in the High Court:
- Various Claimants v Sir Robert McAlpine and ors and Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Ltd and ors [2016] EWHC 45 (QB) – admission of expert evidence in blacklisting group litigation;
- Secretary of State for Employment v National Union of Teachers[2016] EWHC 812 (QB); [2016] IRLR 512 – valid trade dispute with minister pursuant to s.244(2);
- Galdikas v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd [2016] EWHC 1376 (QB); [2016] IRLR 859 – strike out, wages due under Agricultural Wages Orders;
- Govia Thameslink Rly Ltd v Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (No.1) [2016] EWHC 985 (QB) (Langstaff J) – inducement to breach of contract;
- Govia Thameslink Rly Ltd v Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (No.2) [2016] EWHC 1320 (QB); [2016] IRLR 686 (Supperstone J) – ballot validity: ss.228, 228A, 233;
- Ministry of Justice v POA [2017] EWHC 699 (QB), [2017] IRLR 621, [2017] ICR Digest D14 – s.127 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act invoked to grant interim injunction so as to bar union from inducing prison officers to withhold voluntary services;
- Ministry of Justice v POA [2017] IRLR 1121, [2017] EWHC 1839 (QB) – s.127 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act invoked to grant final injunction so as to bar union from inducing prison officers to withhold voluntary services;
- Merseyrail v RMT [2017] EWHC 515 (QB) – legitimate trade dispute over introduction of driver-only-operated trains;
- Royal Mail Group Ltd v Communication Workers Union [2017] EWHC 2548 (QB), 167 NLJ 7766, [2017] All ER (D) 82 – procedural obligations in a legally binding collective agreement enforced so as to preclude strike action lawful under the legislation;
- R (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) v CAC and RooFoods Ltd t/a Deliveroo [2018] EWHC 1939 (Admin); [2018] 6 WLUK 313; [2018] IRLR 911; [2018] ACD 117 – refusal of JR of CAC decision that Deliveroo riders were not ‘workers’ within meaning of s.296 for purposes of SchedA1 (recognition) and Article 11 ECHR;
- Antuzis v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd [2019] EWHC 843 (QB); [2019] 4 WLUK 95; [2019] IRLR 629 – Personal liability of directors for inducing breach of contract by company; liabilities under Agricultural Wages Act;
- R (on the application of Independent Workers Union of Great Britain) v Central Arbitration Committee and Roo Foods (t/a Deliveroo) [2018] EWHC 3342 (Admin); [2018] 12 WLUK 17; [2019] IRLR 249; [2019] ACD 27 – refusal of JR of CAC decision that Deliveroo riders were not ‘workers’ within meaning of s.296 for purposes of SchedA1 (recognition) and Article 11 ECHR;
- R (on the application of Independent Workers Union of Great Britain) v Central Arbitration Committee and Cordant Ltd and University of London [2019] EWHC 728 (Admin); [2019] 3 WLUK 428 – trade union recognition, Art.11 ECHR;
- National Union of Professional Foster Carers v Certification Officer, IWGB and ors, intervening Appeal UKEAT/0285/17/RN, 23 July 2019, whether foster carers were workers in UK law or pursuant to Art.11 ECHR.