Peter is an employment lawyer specialising in managing high profile, complex disputes.
With over 30 years’ experience Peter has become one of the key practitioners to whom employers turn when they need to achieve the best outcome in a bet the company dispute. He helps clients in a range of sectors deal with test cases affecting many employees, group litigation commenced by large groups of employees, complex and high profile disputes, the recruitment and retention of key executives and teams, and disputes with trade unions involving bargaining rights or industrial action.
Peter routinely deploys novel, multidisciplinary strategic analysis to achieve the client’s objectives and frequently collaborates with other practice groups and offices in the firm including its competition , private international law and public law practices. He increasingly helps clients solve disputes with an international dimension. Peter has recently spearheaded an international initiative to promote the resolution of employment disputes via alternative forms to the traditional High Court and Employment Tribunal. These include domestic and international arbitration, mediation, early neutral evaluation and expert determination. He has also worked with clients to develop internal ADR schemes including workplace mediation schemes.
Accolades
He has been recognised for many years in all the major legal directories as one of the UK’s leading employment lawyers. He has recently been described by Legal 500 UK (2025) as "a giant in the field.," where he sits in the Hall of Fame.
Background
Peter is one of the most experienced employment lawyers in the UK whose views have been sought both by clients and by the UK Government on key issues. His practice is focused on complex, high profile disputes and he is one of the leading thought-leaders regarding the method of settling employment disputes.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- The Church Commissioners for England and Wales on the determination of the employment status of thousands of priests in the Church of England, a test case finally determined in the Court of Appeal, a test case on the scope of the provisions in the Equality Act applicable to religious organisations and in the statutory inquiry into the institutional handling and response to child sex abuse allegations which was also finally determined in the Court of Appeal
- Marathon Asset Management in relation to a suite of disputes in an arbitration, the Employment Tribunal and the High Court with a founder member, Jeremy Hosking, and a team of ex-employees, and which made new law extending the scope of the remedy of forfeiture
- Tesco, conducting the defence to thousands of claims under the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act, a case on which a reference has recently been made to the C.J.E.U
- Jefferies International Limited, conducting the defence to a series of claims made by a former employee, Milan Radia, cases which have made new law in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in relation to the circumstances in which an employer can dismiss an employee for serious misconduct without any prior investigation and in which an Employment Tribunal can make an award of costs against an employee for commencing and pursuing discrimination proceedings relating to the whole of an employee’s costs of defending those proceedings
- Cable & Wireless plc, conducting the defence to the longest running UK recognition dispute against the CWU, involving judicial review proceedings and various complaints to the CAC.
- The Provisional Liquidators of Independent Insurance in a test case decided in the EAT as to who can seek a protective award
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