Alan was called to the Bar in 2022 and undertook pupillage under the supervision of Rebecca Tuck KC. Alan took up tenancy in May 2023.
Alan is an academic specialising in the general fields of labour and employment law. He has published many leading publications across a 20-year academic career. He was Professor of Labour Law at the University of Oxford until 2017, and he is currently Professor of Labour Law at the University of Bristol. His academic work has been widely cited with approval in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Court of Appeal, United Kingdom Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Canada, European Court of Justice, and in other appeal courts in commonwealth jurisdictions. His academic work has been particularly influential in the areas of collective labour law, employment status and sham contracts, the illegality doctrine, and working time regulations.
In addition to his academic experience, Alan has provided written advice and drafted pleadings in s. 145B ‘unlawful inducement’ cases, trade union victimisation, protected industrial action dismissals, and ordinary unfair dismissal claims. He represented claimants in a preliminary hearing addressing time limits and consideration of a consolidated hearing for multiple claimants. He has also drafted advice on the scope of competition law liabilities in collective bargaining and the duty to re-consult in respect of secondary legislation. He appeared before the Joint Committee on Human Rights as an expert witness on the right to strike in its enquiry into human rights at work. He has provided judicial training to the EAT and Scottish ET judges on employment status after Uber.
He was awarded the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship in 2010, and the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Outstanding Research in 2014. He also retains an Emeritus Fellowship at Herford College, Oxford.
