Ryan Clement

DAY ONE of a writer’s diary

by Ryan Clement

IT’S LATE and I have a 6.45am flight ✈️ tomorrow morning from Gatwick South. Although I don’t live too far from the airport, time-wise. I can drive there in 45 minutes. But I wasn’t going to do that drive to get there for 5am, which means leaving home no later than 4.15am, which means waking up at 3.30am and which means just to get a miserly 6 hours sleep, going to bed at 9.30pm the night before 🛌. That wasn’t going to happen, especially as Caz and I were on the phone, bouncing off some good ideas for our next training sessions that left my brain over-hyper-active and unable to switch the Gatwick hotel light off until around 1.40am, leaving me with just 2 hours and 20 minutes before the first of my three alarms went off 🥱. Surprisingly and unusually, I woke up on the first ⏰ Why go to bed so late? After all, I was staying at a hotel in Gatwick and the shuttle bus runs every 20 minutes or so. Well, following on from my chat with Caz, I was buzzing and ‘in the zone,’ which meant I had to capture the moment whilst it was still fresh and raw in my mind, and whilst I was in my ultra creative mood. It sounds like it all went smoothly. It didn’t. The writing did, but my plan did not quite work out. 😩

I AM WRITING the finishing touches to my latest book 📚 called, ‘Discrimination in Employment in 7 Days‘ Another one of my ambitious but achievable projects after writing, ‘Race Relations in Employment Law – Put Simply in Black & White!‘

This book provides a detailed overview of UK employment discrimination law, focusing on the Equality Act 2010. It covers the legislative process, protected characteristics (such as age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation), and prohibited conduct (including direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation). The book also delves into disability-specific protections, such as reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from disability, and outlines the rights and obligations of employers and employees. It emphasises the importance of contracts of employment, both express and implied terms, and the role of employment tribunals in determining disability status and addressing grievances. The book is structured over seven days, providing a comprehensive understanding of the law’s provisions, definitions, and practical implications.

INITIALLY, being around 4 weeks ago, I had planned to finish and edit it whilst on holiday. Holiday was my motive to finish a project I had thought about many years ago. I wrote Day One in early 2024 after court in Leeds and between writing my Closing Submissions. I wrote Days Two and Three early in 2025 in Surrey. I wrote Days Four and Five on weekends in June 2025 in Gloucestershire between kayaking 🛶 in the Cotswold. The plan had been to finish the first draft in early July 2025 before I boarded the plane for the beautiful Greek island of Kos, leaving me one week to edit it in the sunshine. Ample time!🏝️Idyllic⛱️. Unfortunately, I was two days short of completing the week. So, I had to rethink and replan.

I ARRIVED AT MY HOTEL in Kos at around 1.30pm, Greek time, had lunch and then taken to my room. Virginia Woolf spoke of a Room of One’s Own. I immediately fell in love with mine. “I could write, here,” I thought. I have a balcony with the most amazing view(s). Perfect for inspiration, motivation and ideas.

So, tomorrow, I write ✍🏾.

DAY TWO of a writer’s diary

DAY THREE of a writer’s diary

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Ryan Clement, barrister

RACE RELATIONS law in the United Kingdom. After many years of practising as an employment law barrister, I have sought to encapsulate some of that experience in print, simply put in black and white, that I hope will be of assistance to many, be it an employee – current and former, employer, worker, claimant, respondent, HR, student and, of course, the intrigued. This book introduces the race relations laws in Britain as pertaining to employment. It does not seek to cover every minutiae of this fascinating and intriguing subject; it would take a much larger book to achieve that aim successfully.

I HAVE BOLDLY attempted to state where I believe it all began. I accept that some, if not many, would disagree with my starting position. But after spending many weeks researching and reading Hansard at my Inns of Court library (the old-fashioned way i.e. without the benefit of an Internet search engine), I reached the conclusion that 12 June 1956 was as good a starting point as any, which I detail in Chapter One (How It All Began). It saddens me somewhat to see that much of what was discussed over 60 years ago with regards to race relations would not look entirely out of place in some discussions taking place today.

THERE IS NO CONSENSUS as to the “correct” place to start when considering the birth of race relations in Britain. Each writer would have their preferable place at which to begin. I have chosen the date and place as 12 June 1956 at the House of Commons when the then Labour Member of Parliament for Eton and Slough, Mr Archibold Fenner Brockway, the son of a Christian missionary, sought leave of the House to introduce his Private Member’s Bill, supported by just eleven other named MPs, among them Mrs Castle and Mr Benn, “to make illegal discrimination to the detriment of any person on the grounds of colour, race and religion in the United Kingdom.”

HOUSE OF COMMONS, First Reading on 12 June 1956, Mr Brockway said:

It is very difficult to estimate opinion on this matter. There are under-currents of feeling, it may even be in the subconscious, which will respond under favourable conditions towards, or retreat under unfavourable conditions from, racial equality. But, Sir, I would say that broadly speaking the British people recognise that identity as human beings is greater than differences of race, colour or religion…I recognise that there must be a limitation of the powers of legislation. Often acts of discrimination are due to prejudice, to ignorance or to irrational repulsion, and those can be removed only by education or experience.

IN TOTAL, Mr Brockway made some 9 attempts to make various forms of race discrimination unlawful; each failing to make its way onto the statute books. However, on 8 November 1965, as predicted by Mr Brockway – albeit not his Bill – on 14 January 1964, the Bill described by Sir Dingle Foot as “a landmark in our legislation” received its Royal Assent and thus became the first race relations legislation in Britain; the Race Relations Act 1965.

https://www.youtube.com/@Law-in-Shorts1

Brown v Board of Education 2

Ryan Clement

ON 17 May 2024, I wrote a blog about Brown v Board of Education, which I had first come across when I read for my Master of Laws (LL.M.) many moons ago.

Brown v. Board of Education

ONE OF THE PLEASURES OF WRITING is when someone says that they were introduced to a subject matter through what I had written. As is clear, amongst many other things, I often seek to simplify or summarise the law as much as is reducibly possible.

MY LL.M. was the last of my formal legal studies – my B.A. in English was my last of all. I often wondered what I would have become had it not been for, to cite Mr. Blair, “Education, Eduction, Education.” Obviously, I shall never know. But, what I do know is that I am grateful for the many educational opportunities that came my way that many of us take for granted, which are not universally accessible to all for various reasons. Ironically, I have been a trustee of a school for deaf children, a founding trustee of another for autistic children, been and am a governor of maintained and non-maintained schools. What goes around, comes around.

FOR MANY REASONS, the case of Brown v The Board of Education resonates with me. It was a bold move for the family/families to take, especially given the political climate and racial tensions in the U.S. at the material time. I remind you, the decision in Brown was made in 1954 before much of what we know famously about the civil rights movement. To put it in its historical context of what ensued: What happened to Emmett Till was in 1955. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat on 1 December 1955 for a white person and was arrested, which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lasting in excess of a year. “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was on 28 August 1963. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act into law, which JFK had previously proposed. The Civil Rights Act 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, and national origin. These were undoubtedly tumultuous times across the Atlantic. However, they were times of struggle that led to the shaping of equality laws globally. 🌏🌍🌎 For example, in the U.K., the first major anti-discriminatory law was passed 1 year later, being the Race Relations Act 1965, which was expanded by the Race Relations Act 1968, followed by the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and back to an even more expanded Race Relations Act 1976, which remained in force until the current amalgamated Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. It is on the giant shoulders of those who fought for equality in the face of extreme adversity that many of us stand today.

BROWN v BOARD OF EDUCATION was the beginning of a movement and a major turning point in anti-discrimination practices and laws in and beyond the shores of Stateside itself!

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW 1

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW 2

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW 3

DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT and BULLYING in the WORKPLACE 😔

Ryan Clement

TO DISCRIMINATE DIRECTLY AGAINST A PERSON UNLAWFULLY is to treat that person less favourably than a comparator (actual or hypothetical) in stipulated situations because of a protected characteristic such as age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.

HARASSMENT is as an unwanted conduct that relates to a relevant protected characteristic such as age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation, which has the purpose or effect of violating the victim’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the victim.

A BULLY is, “a person who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable,” and the act of bullying is to, “habitually intimidate, abuse, harass or to coerce or compel,” by bullying. OED.

NOT UNNATURALLY, Bullying and Harassment would normally fall under the same chapter/heading in the Employee/Staff Handbook. Bullying is, effectively, the unwanted conduct of the acts of bullying by the target of such acts (the victim) by the person conducting or responsible for such unwanted acts (the bully).

OBVIOUSLY, acts of bullying can take innumerable forms. It can be from the most subtle to the most obvious of acts/conducts. What is certain, however, is what is an unwanted conduct for one person may not necessarily be so for another. Therefore, what amounts to bullying is subjective to a large extent, and that subjective decision is that of the Victim (their perception) not of the Bully. In other words, one hat of interaction does not fit all. Each colleague is different and unique, and is to be treated differently and uniquely.

WORKPLACE BULLYING is real and it’s exhausting. It is not just the whispers or the snide comments; it is the constant feeling of dread. We often think it is just part of the job, but it doesn’t have to be. We deserve respect, support, and a safe environment to thrive.

IF YOU FEEL you have been bullied or harassed you may raise a grievance on those grounds. Now, this is where the two run in parallel but only to a point. An employee can present a claim of harassment to the employment tribunal whilst still employed by their employer. However, as bullying is not a standalone claim, a bullied employee cannot do the same in respect of bullying alone. If an employee has been bullied they can resign and claim constructive wrongful dismissal. However, with exceptions, they can also only bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal if they have worked continuously for their employer for a stipulated period, which is currently 2 years. It should be noted that an harassed employee can also resign because of their harassment and bring a claim in the employment tribunal.

GRIEVANCE and DISCIPLINARY

Ryan Clement

THE STANDARDS to be applied by an investigator when investigating a grievance or a disciplinary matter is the, ‘balance of probabilities.’ This test is not easy to apply. For example, when an investigator is face with two opposite accounts, which both appear to be plausible in the circumstances, they must still nevertheless decide. The balance of probabilities cannot end in the balance. ⚖️ It’s the investigator’s job to decide, with good reasons, why they accept one side as being more likely than the other, even if it results in a tight 51% versus 49%! 🤔 A decision must be made. It can be tough. 😩

FURTHERMORE, to add to the pressure, the investigator’s findings and, on occasion, recommended sanctions could be tested and scrutinised by the courts and employment tribunals on whether their findings were reasonable to make in the circumstances based on the evidence before them.

LAW IN SHORTS

CONTRACTS OF EMPLOYMENT

Ryan Clement, barrister

LIKE WITH MOST CONTRACTS, a contract of employment consists of three key components: offer, acceptance and consideration.

THE OFFER is made by the prospective employer, which is ACCEPTED by the prospective employee. CONSIDERATION would be, amongst other things, the employee agreeing to undertake the work that is stipulated in the contract and the employer agreeing to pay the employee for the work that the employee undertook.

A CONTRACT may be in writing ✍🏾 or made orally 🗣️. Ideally, of course, it should be made in writing, so as to avoid any confusion and any dispute over what the agreed terms were; all the parties would have to do is pick up a document 📃 and see what was agreed 🤝 at the material time.

NOT ALL TERMS OF A CONTRACT need to be expressed. Some terms could be implied, and they are implied by law – I shall deal with customs & practice, and the person on the Clapham Omnibus in another blog! For example, as a matter of law, you cannot pay below the national minimum or living wage. So when a party says, “I do not have a contract,” what they really mean is that they do not have a written contract of employment. 😳 Otherwise, why did they get out of bed and go to work Monday to Friday or Saturday and Sunday? And the flip side of that is, why did this organisation pay them money after they went to work on Monday to Friday or Saturday and Sunday? 🤔

THEREFORE, whether it’s oral or it’s written, it’s still a binding contract.

Law in Shorts 1

⚖️ ON BALANCE ⚖️

Ryan Clement, LL.M., barrister

STANDARDS OF PROOF are more prevalent in our daily lives than many of us might care to realise. It could be the difference between being found to have committed to a disciplinary offence at work or not; between succeeding at one’s grievance or not; being deemed to have been wrongfully dismissed or not; found to be in breach of the company’s code of practice or not; or, for example, having been found to be in breach of contract or not, to name just a few.

THE STANDARDS above refer to what we term, ‘balance of probabilities.’ I deliver training sessions on this standard and, trust me, it is not easy to apply this test when, for example, an investigator is face with two diametrically different accounts; especially when both appear to be highly plausible in the circumstances.🤔 The balance of probabilities cannot end in the balance i.e. 50-50. It’s the investigator’s job to decide, with good reasons, why they accept one side as being more likely than the other, even if it results in a tight 51% versus 49%! A decision must be made. It can be an unenviable task.

FURTHERMORE, the investigator’s findings and, on occasion, recommended sanctions could be tested by the courts on whether their findings were right on the balance of probabilities or, to complicate matters even more, it was reasonable to make such a finding based on the evidence, which they arrived at, you guessed, on the balance of probabilities. No wonder our training sessions are no less than half a day and more like a full day on how to handle disciplinary and grievance complaints.

AS WELL AS BEING an employment law specialist, as a former trustee of schools and past and present governor of many schools, I have been called upon to Chair complaints of all kinds in which I am to apply the civil standard of proof – balance of probabilities. In fact, regarding suspensions and permanent exclusions from maintained schools and academies, the Department of Education refers to this standard throughout its Guidance (August 2024). For example, ‘When establishing the facts in relation to a suspension or permanent exclusion decision the headteacher must apply the civil standard of proof, i.e. ‘on the balance of probabilities’ it is more likely than not that a fact is true, rather than the criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ This means that the headteacher should accept that something happened if it is more likely that it happened than that it did not happen. The headteacher must take account of their legal duty of care when sending a pupil home following an exclusion.’ [para. 3].

THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITIES allows for a more pragmatic approach to justice, recognising that absolute certainty is often unattainable. It empowers one to make decisions based on the preponderance of evidence, ensuring that individuals can seek redress and resolution in civil disputes. Ultimately, it embodies a fundamental principle of fairness in a system, prioritising reasoned judgment over infallible certainty.

If your organisation requires such training and I can assist, you can email me HERE for enquiries.

https://www.youtube.com/@Law-in-Shorts1/shorts

LAW IN SHORTS

🌹 REMEMBRANCE 🌹

Ryan Clement

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY is observed by many countries outside the United Kingdom. YESTERDAY, many nationals from many countries paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives so that others may live TODAY.

Events to mark Remembrance Sunday – observed on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day – will take place around the country with two minutes of silence at 11:00 GMT to commemorate those who died in war.

🕊️ MANY FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND ELSEWHERE FOUGHT FOR PEACE. 🕊️

Lest We forget!

MY FAMILY ORIGINS are in/from the tiny and beautiful island of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique 🇬🇩 in the Caribbean who, like many from the Caribbean islands and elsewhere in the Commonwealth and beyond, saw their nationals make many sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice.

ON SATURDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2024, I was at the rugby union match, Bath v Bristol for the Premiership Rugby Cup 🏉, before which it put the match into its proper perspective and did its part for Remembrance Day

1 MINUTE SILENCE

LEST WE FORGET

TIKTOK

🕊️Peace 🕊️

The New Kid on the Block “IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳”

THERE IS A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK, metaphorically speaking, of course! Yes, in terms of YouTube videos, it’s new. Born just this week. It’s a bubba! I have no idea who makes them 🤥 but they are good. I’m simply the messenger not the message! 😉 In fact, if I must say so, they are brilliant and a must for EVERYONE. And I do mean EVERYONE!

IMAGINE being kept informed and enlightened about all things legal, ‘IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳.’ Well, this is precisely what this channel does in an entertaining and informative way. Unless you specifically choose to do so with a particular purpose in mind, there is no need necessarily to read tonnes and reams of case law and statutes when, for example, you can be told IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳what are the key elements to form a binding contract. We live in a fast world and need information now, not a month later, only to be informed at the end of an article the length of ‘War and Peace’ that a binding contract consists of little more than an offer, an acceptance and a consideration IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳. It’s a no brainer 🤔

THEY SAY THAT KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. But some knowledge is obviously more powerful than others. Knowing your legal rights and the law are right up there amongst the best there is to know. So, subscribe and enjoy your regular dose of legal videos IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳!

IRONICALLY, it would have taken you longer to read this short blog than it would have taken to watch a video IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳. Enjoy!

“Welcome to Law in Shorts Channel. Videos will be posted weekly. However, ALL videos will be in SHORTS – in under 1 MINUTE ⏳. I shall be posting legal videos of all kinds that are topical, traditional, educational that will go towards empowering the viewer to understand the law and their rights. This is a new channel, so subscribe to be kept informed and updated (“IN UNDER 1 MINUTE ⏳”)👌🏽“

See you there 👍🏽

Porto v Lisbon

AUDACIOUSLY, I thought I could settle the age-old Lisbon versus Porto debate of which is prettier. Like any good judgment, I shall leave my conclusion to the end.

BUT, FIRST, I should state how this came about for me. I was doing a case up north (England), which went part-heard. That means, it was in two parts. During the first hearing, I said to my instructing solicitor that I felt that, “Lisbon was calling me!” A place I had been three times previously without disappointment; not even close to it. It was sheer delight on each occasion. To my surprise, my calling was met with, “Try Porto, it’s prettier!” This was supported by her colleague. Immediately, I defended the Portuguese capital. “How is this possible?” I replied and added “I don’t think so!” I knew better than to support one side without seeing the evidence of the other. But, dogmatically, I stayed with it. I planned to go over the summer, but circumstances prevented it from happening. When we returned for the second part of the case three months later, I announced that “Porto was calling me.” In truth, it was, but I was in no immediate hurry to go. Then, out the blue, a friend was due to go on a business trip for 4 days and planned on staying for an extra 4 days, two of which fell over the weekend. I said I would like to join and settle this issue over Lisbon v Porto. I should explain. By this time, I had undertaken some research and I knew that this debate had some history. “Leave it to me,” I thought, “I’ll settle it.” How difficult could it be? After all, as a barrister, I am paid to compare two sides of a case and give my opinion on the merits, or I go to court and argue that one side’s case is stronger than the other. Not always easy but feasible.

MY JOURNEY STARTED on the Friday evening. I made my way to Gatwick South and stayed overnight at a local hotel. Although I had already checked-in, I was worried that after another heavy week, I might oversleep and miss my early flight of 7:10. I spoke to the man at the reception desk and requested an alarm call for 5am and gave him my room number. I didn’t receive an alarm, so either he forgot to register it or I gave the wrong room number. Oops! Fortunately, my mobile alarm came through on time.

HAVING TAKEN THE BUS, which picks up every 15 minutes from the hotel to Gatwick South terminal our plane set off shortly after the scheduled 7:10am and landed just before 9:40am. By the time I got to my hotel, Porto was bathing in blue skies with barely a cloud in sight.

I COULD NOT HAVE STAYED more than 15 minutes at my hotel before I ventured into the city centre. Immediately, I knew that I was going to warm to this place. I was taken aback instantly by the grandeur of the historical buildings. I had lunch almost at the first available place I came to. As I ate and drank in sweltering heat the air was enriched with a lone street musician singing, “Don’t Worry, Be happy!” I smiled in acknowledgement. At this point, I shall simply play the video that I made as I do not believe my limited vocabulary would do either or both Porto or Gaia proper justice.

I VISITED PORTO with the notion of comparing it to the Portuguese, capital, Lisbon, but felt along the way that I had approached this comparative assessment incorrectly. I shall simply state, as with many things, I could not publicly declare that which I thought was prettier, but simply to say that I enjoy what both (Porto/Gaia and Lisbon) have to offer, being history, good food, port wine, amazing riverside walks, wonderful beaches, vibrancy, fun, art and much much more.

IN CONCLUSION, I simply rest my case!