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Call: 2011

Matt Jackson

Albion Chambers

Broad Street Bristol BS1 1DR

Email
  • Overview

    Matt’s practice focusses primarily on employment and discrimination, crime and general civil litigation. He has extensive appellate experience up to and including the Supreme Court and is regularly instructed in complex, multi-day cases.

  • Employment & Professional Disciplinary

    As well as appearing regularly in the Employment and Employment Appeal Tribunals (and civil courts), Matt regularly advises on employment and non-employment discrimination cases in the First-tier Tribunal and County Court.

    His practice is nationwide and has acted in cases in tribunal cases in Scotland, as well as England and Wales. Matt acts for both employers and employees in multi-day discrimination, TUPE, whistleblowing, restrictive covenant and equal pay cases.

    Cases of interest:

    • Royal Mail Group Ltd v Jhuti [2019] UKSC 55, [2020] 3 All ER 257,[2020] ICR 731, Junior counsel for the Claimant in the Supreme Court establishing for the first time that the reasons of a person other than a dismissing officer can be attributed to the employer where there are dishonest means employed. Matt remains instructed alone in relation to the ongoing parts of this case including a forthcoming remedy hearing where a 7 figure sum is sought.
    • Nursing and Midwifery Council v Somerville [2022] EWCA Civ 229, [2022] ICR 755. Court of Appeal case considering the impact of Uber v Aslam on whether a panel chair of a regulatory tribunal can be a “worker”.
    • Gillespie v Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust [2022] EAT 133. Scope of a claim and whether the Employment Tribunal properly decided the case before it.
    • Fentem v Outform EMEA Ltd [2022] EAT 36. Whether a contract terminated by an employer in a period of notice given by the employee is “dismissed”. Permission granted to appeal to the Court of Appeal on basis EAT was bound by an earlier EAT authority.
    • Niedzielska v Faccenda Foods Limited EA-2019-001204. Whether a discrimination claim should have been struck out.
    • Martin v City and County of Swansea EA-2020-000460. Did an Employment Tribunal properly decide a case before it?
    • Tough v Revenue and Customs Commissioners UKEAT/0255/19. Did the UK properly implement Directive 2000/78/EC and are claims of associative disability discrimination available?
    • Kendall, Kim and Das v KKDC England Ltd & anor UKEAT/0217-0219/19. Scope of the “skilled adviser” test in relation to reasonable practicability.
    • Human Kind Charity v Gittens [2020] IRLR 412 (EAT). Is there a right to silence in disciplinary proceedings and to what extent?
    • Jhuti v Royal Mail Group Ltd, the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy & The Law Society [2018] ICR 1077 – Leading counsel in the Employment Appeal Tribunal successfully arguing that Johnson v Edwardian International Hotels Ltd should be overruled. It was decided that Employment Tribunal did have the power to appoint litigation friends.
    • Patel v Folkestone Nursing Home Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1689 & 1843; [2019] ICR 273. Where an employee appeals against their dismissal in a contractual process if the appeal is successful can the employer can unilaterally revive the contract?
    • Jamu v Asda Stores Ltd and Others UKEAT/0221/15 – Appeal on scope of claim decided and does Directive 2000/78/EC require there to be a cause of action for associative victimisation?
    • Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills v Knight [2014] IRLR 605.  Can an unremunerated director be an “employee”?
    • Vernon v Azure Support Services & Others [2014] All ER (D) 11 (Dec) (EAT). Where liability for discrimination transfers to a new employer via TUPE does time for a non-equal pay Equality Act 2010 claim run from the date of the act or the date of the transfer?
    • Kelly v Fylde Community Link [2013] All ER (D) 188 (Aug) (EAT). Appeal allowed against decision finding there was “some other substantial reason” for a dismissal.
    • Audere Medical Services v Sanderson [2013] All ER (D) 124 (Sep) (EAT). Can a Polkey or contributory fault reduction can be made in a case of automatically unfair dismissal.
  • General Common Law

    Matt is often instructed to act and advise in a number of contractual and professional negligence matters. His other experience includes:

    • acting for a vendor defending a claim for specific performance;
    • acting in a professional negligence matter arising from ancillary relief proceedings;
    • advising on the recoverability of a deposit paid for a lease transfer;
    • drafting grounds for judicial review and appeal to the Court of Appeal in a leasehold enfranchisement matter;
    • advising in respect of removal of a fraudulently obtained mortgage charge;
    • defending a claim brought under a CFA and issued without jurisdiction;
    • defending a claim under the Protection from Harassment act 1997 brought by a local authority in the High Court.

    Matt also has a niche practice in judicial reviews, both in the Upper Tribunal and High Court particularly against the Department for Work and Pensions, local authorities and the police. The latter of which has included challenges to police policy on cautioning and detained persons.

    Notable cases:

    • R (KR) v Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Police – Challenging a caution issued 16 years before proceedings were issued on the basis of improper procedures and uninformed consent being obtained.
    • R (GB) v Manchester City Council – A judicial review on (one of) the first known case(s) on the ability to levy charges against a homeless person under section 211 (4) Housing Act 1996. The local authority conceded the day before the final hearing.
    • JS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2014] UKUT 36 (AAC); [2014] AACR 26 – Meaning of the phrase “exclusive use” in the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006.
    • AG v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions CE/1107/2013 – Appealing a finding in relation to Employment and Support Allowance and misapplication of the 2008 regulations.
  • Crime

    Matt is a Grade 2 prosecutor and appears in the criminal courts for both the prosecution and defendants. He is often sought out in cases involving difficult points of law, as well as more straightforward proceedings.

    Notable cases:

    • R v MT & GM – Prosecuting two handed drugs supply, county lines, case.
    • R v JH – Prosecution offered no evidence after Matt applied for and got a section 78 order excluding police identification evidence
    • R v CR – Successful defence at half time of client of good character who was identified by multiple witnesses during a VIPER procedure
    • R v R – Prosecuting first trial arising from Kill the Bill Protests.
    • R v SD – Defence against charges of perverting the course of justice and perjury arising from an earlier trial
    • R v SF & MM – First non-homicide trial at Bristol Crown Court during COVID lockdowns in 2020
    • R v Pogmore [2017] EWCA Crim 925; [2018] 1 WLR 3237 – Obtained a finding of no case to answer at trial in Bristol Crown Court on the basis of a lack of territorial jurisdiction in a two-week blackmail trial. While this was reversed by the Court of Appeal, the defendant was acquitted at the subsequent retrial. Matt appeared alone in the Crown Court and was led in the Court of Appeal.
    • R v SS – Prosecuted a defendant accused of an ABH against his former father in law by forcing his way into his ex-partner’s property.
    • R v KC – Successful appealed against restrictive terms in a Criminal Behaviour Order including preventing the defendant from using a pedal cycle.
    • R v OL and MK – Defended an allegation of the use of an imitation firearm, offensive weapons and an affray.
    • R v BT – Prosecuted a member of door staff convicted of ABH in an attack leaving the complainant unconscious and with a dislocated shoulder.
Matt Jackson

Recommendations

‘He is calm under pressure, methodical, insightful and unflappable. An advocate who is equally comfortable before the Employment Tribunal or Court of Appeal. A go-to junior for complex strategic litigation in employment.’

Legal 500 2023

“Matt has an encyclopaedic knowledge of employment law. He is a clear-thinker with a really good strategic brain. A talented advocate.”
Legal 500 2022

Education

  • LLB (Hons) Reading

Professional memberships

  • Industrial Law Society
  • Criminal Bar Association
  • Employment Lawyers Association
  • Western Circuit
  • Free Representation Unit
  • Advocate