Amy Smith

Employment

Amy specialises in employment law and has appeared in the Employment Tribunal, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, representing both claimants and respondents in full hearings, preliminary hearings and judicial mediations. Amy also has extensive experience in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. 

Amy has experience in:

• Unfair dismissal, including constructive dismissal,
• Discrimination,
• Whistleblowing,
• MAPLE,
• Redundancy,
• Trade union matters,
• TUPE,
• Deductions from wages,
• Working Time Regulations, 
  
• National minimum wage, 
• Breach of contract.

Amy is eager to undertake advocacy, advisory and drafting work in all areas of her specialist field. She also appears in the County Court, with the result that she has experience of both Tribunal and County Court procedure.

Amy has been involved in the following cases:

• Successfully defended a GP Surgery against a locum GP’s claims of whistleblowing detriment. 
• Defeated a race discrimination claim in a multi-day hearing against a fire service. 
• Successfully defended a race discrimination and harassment claim brought by an agency doctor against an NHS Trust. 
• Defeated various disability discrimination complaints brought by a claimant with EUPD against a charity. 
• Successfully defeated a difficult failure to make reasonable adjustments claim brought by an existing employee in an NHS Trust in a 7 day case. 
• Defeated a complex whistleblowing complaint brought by an employee working on a well-known and large construction site in London in a multi-day case. There were 12 alleged protected disclosures involving multifaceted aspects of BSE standards. 
• Successfully defeated a complex unfair dismissal case brought by a foreign national against an energy technology company. The case involved detailed assessment and application of immigration law as it applied to the employment contract. 
• Successfully defended an application for third party disclosure. 
• Successfully defended application for interim relief. 
• Persuaded a Tribunal to conclude that an individual with Autism was not a disabled person. 
• Successfully defeated lengthy claims of race discrimination brought by a senior manager of a well-known food chain. 
• Successfully represented a client at a 3(10) hearing in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. 
• Successfully defeated an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal on all grounds.  
• Successfully opposed an application for an extension of time in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. 

Education Law and Special Educational Needs

Amy also practices in the Special Educational Needs Tribunal. She uses her extensive knowledge of disability discrimination gleaned from years of practice in the Employment Tribunal. Amy represents local authorities and parents in the SEND Tribunal in the following areas:

1. Appeals against the contents of Sections B, F and I of an EHCP,
2. Appeals against the contents of Sections 2A, Section 2B and 2D of an Individual Development Plan,
3. Appeals against a refusal to issue an EHC or Individual Development Plan,
4. Appeals against a decision to cease a Plan.

Notable Cases

Amy is an experienced appellate advocate and has appeared in the following cases:

• Mr M Kler v Quill Pinpoint Limited (EA/2021/001420/AS) – A hearing determining whether to extend time.
• A Leader v The Borough Council of Bolton (UKEAT/0231/15/RN) – two preliminary appeals and one full appeal on several grounds, most notably whether the Judge at first instance ought to have reconsidered his Judgment on disability.
• The Royal Bank of Scotland v Mr P O’Doherty (UKEAT/0307/14/RN) – an appeal on several grounds including issues of recoupment notices, half-pay sickness absence and the re-opening of a liability decision on Polkey and contributory fault via applications for reconsideration.

Amy has a particular interest in discrimination cases, most particularly in sex and disability discrimination claims. In pupillage Amy worked closely with Joanne Woodward on a high profile

case involving a claim for indirect race discrimination reported at Kapenova v Department of Health [2013] EqLR 188.

She has also represented clients in employment cases in the County Court, with the result that she has experience of both Tribunal and County Court procedure.

Publications

Amy has co-authored two papers which were published in the New Law Journal on consumer law. She has also co-written a paper on the development of insurance law, which was later presented in a seminar.

Appointments

Fee Paid Employment Judge, Midlands West Region (2021)

Associations

Employment Law Bar Association

Employment Lawyers Association

Education

Law with European Law LLB (Hons), University of Leeds

BPTC, BPP Law School Leeds

Awards

Eastham Scholarship and Sir Thomas More Bursary, Lincoln’s Inn

Prescribed Information

Amy Smith is a practising barrister who is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Details of information held by the BSB about Amy can be found here.

Amy’s clerks will happily provide no obligation quotations for all legal services that she provides. Their contact details can be found here. It is most common for Amy to undertake Tribunal work for a brief fee plus additional refresher days. For advisory work, paperwork and conferences it is most commonly charged at an hourly rate, although fixed fees may be available depending on the circumstances. Amy will typically return paperwork within 7-14 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales.

Related events

• Open House – an insight into life at the bar

  27/11/2025