Elliott Stenson

Employment

Elliott appears in the Employment Tribunal nationwide, acting for all clients in preliminary and final hearings. He also has a varied paper practice, ranging from drafting applications and statements of case to schedules of loss and skeleton arguments.

His recent notable experiences include:

• A five-day equal pay claim on behalf of a law lecturer against a university.
• Representing a Respondent in an unlawful inducement claim and bringing a counterclaim against another Respondent under Regulation 11 of TUPE.
• A preliminary hearing on a novel point of law concerning the application of limitation periods to breach of contract claims in the employment tribunal.
• A hearing to determine the territorial jurisdiction of the Tribunal considering an employee based abroad.
• Resisting a claim of unfair dismissal brought by an accountant raising whistleblowing complaints.
• Representing an employee in a holiday pay claim concerning employer-prescribed annual leave and the application of Russell v Transocean International Resources Limited [2011] UKSC 57.
• A two-day preliminary hearing on behalf of two volunteers on a committee to determine worker status, involving a church parish and an unincorporated member’s association.
• A five-day unfair dismissal and discrimination claim including allegation of theft of tens of thousands of pounds.
• Successfully representing a Trade Union in a Protective Award claim, the Tribunal finding that the union was recognised by conduct.

Before obtaining pupillage, Elliott completed his law masters at the University of Bristol, specialising in individual employment rights, which he passed with distinction.

Outside of academic studies, Elliott was employed as a legal rights advisor at Working Families, a national charity providing employment law advice to working parents. In doing so, he provided written and oral advice, conducted webinars, and appeared on BBC Radio and the Mayor of London’s Employment Law Hub. Elliott provided guidance on discrimination, unfair dismissal, and flexible working. This small legal advice service won the Excellence In House award at the 2021 Law Society Awards.

Commercial Law

Elliott has experience of a variety of finance and commercial claims, from cost and case management hearings to fast track and High Court trials. He has been involved in a number of financial product mis-selling claims in the High Court and County Court. His paper practice includes advising, and drafting across the range of commercial court work.

His notable work to date includes:

• Representing over 6000 claimants in a joint Consumer Credit Act claim against eight defendants.
• Representing 500 claimants in a Pre-Action Disclosure application.
• Representing a partner in an unincorporated partnership in a breach of contract claim.
• Advising on negligence claim against a government body for damage to commercial premises.

Prior to pupillage, Elliott had the opportunity to engage in civil work through the University of Bristol Law Clinic. He advised and assisted with various breach of contract and property disputes, drafted pre action correspondence and provided legal advice. When studying for the Bar, he specialised in commercial work, which involved drafting statements of case and opinions for various forms of commercial dispute.

Education Law and Special Educational Needs

Elliott is frequently instructed by Local Authorities to represent them in Appeal hearings, Case Management Hearings (CMH) and Judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution hearings (JADR) before the First Tier Tribunal (FFT).

Elliott has experience of dealing with contested hearings before the Tribunal and involved issues including:-

1. i) Disability Discrimination claims (acting on behalf of schools with the support of the local authority) including cases involving reasonable steps, exclusions and the justification defence pursuant to s15 Equality Act 2010 where unfavourable treatment can be justified if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
2. ii) EOTAS – Education Other Than At any School – including when to leave Section I blank

iii) Disputes as to the identified needs of the child or young person (Section B);

iv) Disputes as to the nature of and need for provision (Section F) in order to meet an identified Special Educational Need of the child or young person;

v) Disputes over placement (Section I) including:

a) Suitability s39(4)(a) CFA 2014,
b) incompatibility with the provision of the efficient education of others s39(4)(b)(i) CFA 2014
c) incompatibility with the efficient use of resources s39(4)(b)(ii) CFA 2014
d) incompatibility with the provision of efficient education for others pursuant to s33(2)(b) CFA 2014

Elliott is always happy to assist in negotiations with SENDIASS or others regarding the appropriate wording in the EHCP and advise upon the approach of the Local Authority/School.

Other

Articles

• Non-Compete Clause Rule Changes: What Employers Must Know
• Six-Year Time Limit for Breach of Contract Claims in the Employment Tribunal
• EAT Finds that Settlement Agreements Cannot Restrict Unknown Equality Act Claims: Bathgate v Technip UK

Associations

Employment Law Bar Association

Employment Lawyers Association

Education

BA (Hons) Philosophy, King’s College London

MA Law, University of Bristol

Barrister Training Course, BPP Law School

Awards

Haldane Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn

Excellency Scholarship, BPP Law School

Career Commitment Scholarship, BPP Law School

Prescribed Information

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

Elliott’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 Elliott to undertake Court and Tribunal work for either a fixed fee or 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. Elliott will typically return paperwork within 10-14 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales. Shorter timescales can be accommodated, please notify Elliott’s clerk at the time of instructing if this is required.

Elliott also undertakes Direct Access work. This work is undertaken on a contractual basis, as agreed between the client and Elliott’s clerks. This is on fixed fee basis for a specific events such as a conference, advisory work, a hearing with additional hearing days (refreshers) or the drafting of specific documents. All work agreed to be undertaken by Elliott with the fixed fee cost will be clearly outlined in the direct access contract signed by the client and will be payable in full prior to the commencement of the work.