James Humphery
Employment & HR Team
Senior Solicitor
01722 426915
If you’re not a regular user of legal services you’ll be wondering what to expect so James has this guidance:
Clearly I’ll be working for you but it’s equally important that I work with you because we’ll achieve more when we harness both our strengths to your cause. At our first meeting we’ll review the landscape then we’ll identify the issues and the outcome you want to achieve. Sometimes this’ll be obvious but that’s not always the case and it’s good for us be clear about where we want to go before we set out together.
James is a rounded employment lawyer and a CEDR accredited mediator with a breadth of experience which goes far beyond his specialist areas of employment and immigration law. Clients value James support as a fire fighter, sounding board, trainer and legal draughtsman. One long standing client described him as her "right arm". Another wrote:
"James did an excellent job and was truly professional, helpful and efficient, for which I am grateful. I…would fully recommend him to anyone.”
James has experience of taking and defending claims in the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Courts. He has particular expertise in unfair dismissal, restraint of trade, work-related stress, internet abuse, TUPE, redundancy and employed vs. self-employed status. James is also a skilled advisor and works closely with clients and their HR officers in managing employment issues to keep them out of the Employment Tribunal.
Alongside his skills as an employment lawyer James has developed a knowledge of immigration law and practice. He works with businesses and individuals on a range of issues under the Immigration Rules relating to short and long term visas, residency and nationality. He’s also had success in applications outside the Immigration Rules based on Human Rights issues.
Some examples of how James has helped clients include:
- Won a case in the Employment Tribunal where a trade union backed a challenge to a contractual sick pay arrangement which James had created several years earlier.
- Helping a client through redundancy and TUPE exercises involving more than 400 people. The project was completed ahead of schedule with no adverse claims and the retention of a goodwill despite the difficult circumstances.
- Promoting and taking part in the mediation of a complex claim involving multiple issues. The successful outcome saved approximately 9 months of complex and uncertain litigation.
- Supporting a client’s HR manager working through the issues arising on the acquisition of a business and dovetailing it with 2 office re-locations and a couple of retirements.
- Running the defence to 7 claims of unfair dismissal in a consolidated action and devising a strategy which delivered a successful outcome for the client on the first morning of a 3 day trial.
- Working with an employer client to obtain permission for an employee to remain in this country when she was facing deportation.
Away from the office...
James enjoys cross-country cycling, lime daiquiri's, conspiracy theories and travel books but not necessarily at the same time. James was Chairman of the General Synod when Peter Tatchell staged an impromptu invasion and one of the co-authors of the Code of Practice under the Clergy Discipline Measure.
Specialist areas
Unfair dismissal
Redundancy
Contracts, policies and procedures
Stress
Internet & email abuse
Immigration
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