Ryan Ross

Ryan maintains a broad employment practice, acting for both Claimants and Respondents.

He has recent experience of claims for unfair and constructive dismissal; redundancy; discrimination, harassment and victimisation; unlawful deduction of wages and breach of contract; and detriments arising from health and safety breaches, particularly in the context of Covid-19.

Ryan is regularly instructed at the early stages of proceedings to assist with drafting and providing advice on merits. He has considerable appellant experience relative to his year of call, having appeared on four occasions in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Ryan increasingly acts for, or in cases involving, regulated professionals, particularly in the legal and banking sector. His recent/ongoing caseload includes:

• acting for a solicitor in a two-day discrimination claim brought by a former secretary.
• advising a lawyer on merits and quantum in a discrimination claim against her former employer.
• advising a former employee in respect of her discrimination claim against a high-street bank.
• drafting and advisory assistance to a HR professional claiming sex discrimination and whistleblowing detriment.
• acting for an accountant in a claim for pregnancy discrimination and victimisation.
• advising a former employee in his claim for redundancy against a high-street bank.
• advising a care home on potential unfair dismissal/discrimination claims in respect of employees’ vaccination status.
• successfully representing Claimants in substantive PHs (including one multi-day hearing) on employee status.
• advising a paramedic in a claim for disability discrimination against a professional regulator.
• advising a school-worker on appealing a vague/defective tribunal order in respect of a finding of unfair and wrongful dismissal.

Ryan gained a broad exposure to employment law during his 12-month pupillage, which included a high-profile claim for philosophical belief discrimination; advice on the provision of PPE in care homes in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic; and a claim for health and safety detriment brought against a foreign embassy.

Ryan has an interest in all aspects of regulatory and disciplinary law.

In 2022, he completed a secondment at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, acting for the regulator in numerous IOT and SOR hearings. He continues to be instructed by the NMC, other regulators and trade unions in multi-day substantive hearings. Recent instructions include:

• A 15-day hearing (part-heard) involving allegations of dishonesty and sexual misconduct against a nurse. Ryan acted for the NMC.
• A 7-day hearing in respect of allegations of misconduct (poor clinical practice) made against an occupational therapist. Ryan acted for the HCPC.
• A 6-day hearing arising from allegations against a nurse of forcibly restraining a patient/forcing him to take his medication. Ryan acted for the NMC.
• A 5-day hearing arising from allegations of assault by a nurse against a patient. The case relied heavily on hearsay evidence from the since deceased patient. Ryan acted for the NMC.
• A 7-day hearing involving allegations of dishonesty against two pharmacists accused of defrauding pharmaceutical companies. Ryan acted for the GPhC.
• A 13-day hearing involving allegations of poor clinical practice and attitudinal concerns brought against a nurse. Ryan acted for the NMC.

In 2023, Ryan was appointed as a Panel Clerk to the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Services.

Ryan is a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel of Counsel (London). He is regularly instructed by government departments and local authorities to act in judicial review and other public law matters. He is regularly instructed on behalf of the Home Office and the FCDO.

His recent instructions include challenges to Home Office policy in respect of small boat arrivals.

Ryan maintains an interest in public law more broadly. He was the winner of the Lee Essay Prize in 2019 for an article on parliamentary sovereignty, and in July 2020 wrote for Counsel Magazine on the challenges facing any future inquiry into Covid-19 (see here).

Previously, Ryan acted as Junior Junior Counsel to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, and as Junior Junior Counsel to HMRC on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Ryan has a growing practice in commercial and related areas of law.

He has experience of representing clients in claims for breach of contract and debt recovery. Ryan has also acted for creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, and he is currently instructed for a lender in an ongoing dispute about the ownership of a property.

Ryan regularly undertakes disputes between or involving insurers, typically in relation to property damage. He has particular experience of damage to highways and damage to underground cables/pipes.