Ryan Clement

Bruno! Bruno! Bruno!

Ryan Clement

AS WITH MANY, IF NOT MOST, WEEKS, this week was a heavy week of advising clients in conference (barristers have ‘conferences’ with their clients as opposed to ‘meetings.’). I have lost count of the counties I have been in this week; Somerset, Cardiff, Hants, Surrey, London, not to mention those in between 🤔. On Thursday, I woke up in Cardiff. By the early morning I was in Hampshire. By the evening I was in Surrey and by the next morning I was in court in London, having driven past Buckingham Palace, down Pall Mall and past the Tower of London! Thus, Thursday was the most eclectic of days, which ended with my being interviewed by Savia.

LAST YEAR, I spoke at a conference, accompanied by a rubber chicken, Arnold, and had the most wonderful time. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 The audience was great, engaging and just FAB-U-LOUS! 👍🏽

Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall at Wembley for the WBC Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World on 2 September 1995

THIS YEAR, I went along to support the conference, and, as expected, was well entertained and informed. Amongst others, Mr. Frank Bruno MBE entertained us. On 2 September 1995 I watched Frank become the WBC Heavyweight boxing Champion of the World when he beat Mr. Oliver McCall at a packed Wembley Stadium. I watched this fight as a Quantity Surveyor.

FRANK WAS WITTY, ENGAGING AND HONEST. Naturally, he spoke about his amazing boxing career but also about his history with mental health issues. Fortunately, more and more people are speaking openly about their mental health. However, not many amongst us would have experienced what Frank had to endure publicly from/by some sectors of the media. The raw, some may say ‘ugly’ (with justification), side of fame! Frank confirmed that he was in a good place currently and long may it continue.

Frank Bruno MBE

JUST 1 WEEK LATER from when Frank became the 🥊 WBC Heavyweight boxing Champion of the World 🥊, I began my journey on becoming a barrister. By 10 October 1996, I entered my second profession, the Bar!

Discrimination in Employment in 7 Days!

Ryan Clement, barrister

We Reap What We Sow! 3

I REMEMBER being at school when the only person who would visit about their work would be a police officer and, respectfully, we were told primarily about the rights and wrongs but not about joining the force. Thankfully, here at least, we are given a lot more information and good career advice.

In conversation with DC Pascal

YESTERDAY, I had the pleasure of visiting and speaking at another school at the start of its Careers Week. Two role models and I did individual 20 minutes each round-robin sessions in classes. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did we all. You will recall that I had spoken at a Careers Week at a nearby school earlier in the year.

We Reap What We Sow!

We Reap What We Sow! 2

IT WAS AND IS SO ENLIGHTENING to hear the children ask questions about what I do and astutely assessing my answers before asking the next. I was twice asked whether I was involved with coffee, as in ‘barista!’ Again, the wig and gown got the biggest cheers and reactions. I wanted the class to see that being a barrister or a judge was achievable for all if that is a path they chose to take – these professions were not out of reach. One pupil made me laugh even more. He wore the wig and gown and, acting as the judge, started passing sentences on his friends – well, I think they were up until that point! 😂 He sentenced a fellow pupil to 3 years imprisonment without hearing any evidence. I whispered that his sentence would, therefore, be subject to an appeal. Rather than concede and shy away, he boldly and confidently increased it to life! “How dare you appeal my decision,” he may have thought. Brilliant! 👍🏽

BUT, THE ONE THAT PROBABLY TOUCHED ME THE MOST – amongst all that were special – was when I asked the children in my last class what they wanted to be. All, as with the other classes, added a wide range of professions and jobs. But, one child in particular said he wanted to be a footballer and if he didn’t make it, he wanted to be a doctor or another professional. Immediately, I thought, “Wow! That was me when I was his age.” I could hear a 10 year old me using those precise words. I then told the class that I once had ambitions to be a footballer. I made it ABSOLUTELY clear, however, that having that ambition (as many had precisely that) was not and is not incompatible with working hard and doing their schoolwork.

Cllr Michelle Simmons-Safo

FINALLY, I was asked by a pupil who said she wanted to become a lawyer whether it was hard to become a barrister. I replied no! But you have to be hardworking. As with them all, I hope she fulfils her dream(s)!

“I cannot thank you enough for your support yesterday. Both the children and staff found your talk incredibly informative and entertaining. You are welcome to come back anytime.”

Pleasure was and is all mine.

Thank you M.D. for the invite! 🙏🏽

Inspire! Aspire! Achieve!

Hurricane Beryl

Ryan Clement

IT HAS BEEN A TOUGH WEEK! A week ago we were bracing ourselves for Hurricane Beryl. It has arrived and left its devastation in its long trail. St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, to name just a few places, have felt Beryl’s wrath.

FAITH in HUMANity

FRIENDS HAVE DONATED various things to the recovery campaigns, some of which I have collected and shall deposit at various places. I am grateful. Thank you! 🙏🏽 Due to my numerous articles and videos I have been contacted directly by many people who have asked for my recommendations as to whom they should donate.

HOWEVER, I have no direct links with or to and I do not personally endorse any charity or organisation. Therefore, I undertake my due diligence in the same way as anybody else. There are many organisations out there. I do what I do purely and solely on humanitarian grounds.

“When your sad is bad and your bad is worse, and there’s no whom to turn to first”

SHELTER IN THE RAIN by Stevie Wonder

🇬🇩🇻🇨 WE SHALL OVERCOME! 🇯🇲🇱🇨

🕊️

by Ryan Clement

FAITH in HUMANity

Ryan Clement

YOU SEE THE EXTENT OF HUMANITY in times of severe crisis. The coming together as ONE has been overwhelmingly evident, following the impact and destruction of Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean – It is still there; Jamaica is the latest to suffer at the time of writing. Our thoughts go out to all. Personally, I am yet to have much contact and confirmation of how my family is doing in Carriacou. However, the outpouring of support and offer of help have been incredibly touching. Jamaica’s motto is, “Out of Many, One People!’ I agree!

IT IS HEARTWARMING to have faith in humanity where the offer of help is not based on the social constructs of race, gender or any other personal characteristic. Out of many, ONE! Forget the social construct of the falsehood of race. As I have written many time, there is ONE race, the Human Race. There is no biological or anthropological suggestion that peoples around the world of different aesthetic shades and features, Homo sapiens, cannot have offsprings, who are and will also be Homo sapiens.

“1774–Homo sapiens, n. The biological species that comprises modern man, including all humans alive today…” OED

“Species – Biology. the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species.” Dictionary.com

TONI MORRISON (copyright The Guardian)

AS A BARRISTER who specialises in employment law, it would be remiss of me not to refer to the Equality Act 2010 that defines ‘Race’ as including, “(a) colour; (b) nationality; (c) ethnic or national origins.” It is important to recognise and note that this is a ‘statutory‘ definition of race for the purposes of anti-discrimination laws in the U.K. IT IS NOT an endorsement of the social construct of ‘race.’ Its very existence, its raison d’être, is due to the social construct of ‘race’ and discrimination because of ‘race’ and not a legal overruling of the widely recognised and accepted biological or anthropological definition of the Human Race.

WHEN WE HEAR POLITICIANS refer to ‘immigrants.’ Putting aside the underlying theme by some in order to divide. Immigrants are NOT a race. This is the same for Emigrants. It is simply a relative term based on geography and origins. X is called an immigrant in Y because X does not come from Y. Simple! X is called an emigrant in X’s country of origin because X has gone to Y. Simple! These have absolutely nothing to do with the social construct of race. As for culture, that’s another blog for another day.

THINK ABOUT IT!

It’s simple!

“Out of Many, One People!’

I THANK EVERYONE for their continuing and overwhelming support.

A POLITICAL MANIFESTO

Ryan Clement

AS WE FLOCK TO VOTE for our next Government, what is the status of the various promises made by the parties? We have heard about opponents talk about broken promises. So, who better to explain it than an employment barrister? Ok! There are more and better qualified to say than I. But, in the interest of freedom of speech, I put my two pennies worth in on the issue of Manifestos. ‘A manifesto is a publication issued by a political party before a General Election. It contains the set of policies that the party stands for and would wish to implement if elected to govern.’

EFFECTIVELY, there are only three ways this can go. A Government seeks to implement what it has in its manifesto; thus, keeping a promise. A Government does not seek to implement what it has in its manifesto; thus, not keeping a promise. A Government does the opposite to what it has in its manifesto; thus, not keeping a promise and, going further, reverses what it said it would do or would not do i.e. it promises it would not do X and, yet, does X.

IN A CONTRACT, we have an invitation to treat, an offer, an acceptance of that offer and consideration, being something of value. To break it down. A price tag is an invitation to treat. That is why you can offer the seller what is on the price tag for their product and they can decline to accept it even though the offeror offered what was on the tag. However, if the seller accepts, the consideration is paid – it doesn’t have to be money, it just needs to be of value; for example, the parties (seller and buyer) may agree on the buyer washing the seller’s car rather than the buyer parting with money. There is now a binding contract. A breach of this contract would entitle a party to damages – nominal or substantial.

Contract of Employment by Ryan Clement

HOWEVER, accepting the terms of or promises contained within a manifesto is not to be confused with the concept of, and what philosophers would refer to as, a social contract. In other words, the manifesto is not an offer to treat on which we make an offer by voting for the party and on which the party accepts and forms the Government to implement that promise, failing which there would be a breach of a social contract and we, the people, call a General Election for a change. If only!

Mary Beard on Political Rhetoric

BUT there is a convention, which hardly, if ever, gets mentioned. For Parliament to pass it laws – not, contrary to some belief, the Government – there would be readings in both Houses – Commons and Lords. On occasions, the Lords would challenge proposed legislation (a Bill) to such a degree that its proposed changes significantly seeks to alter that desired by the Commons, or various sections are abandoned in their entirety. That is the Parliamentary checks and balances at work. So, what happens in the event that the Government seeks to implement a policy/promise that was/is contained within its manifesto and for which, naturally – by way of having a Parliamentary majority – the people voted? Well, this is where the Salisbury Doctrine or Convention comes into play, which, ‘emerged from the working arrangements reached during the Labour Government of 1945-51, when the fifth Marquess of Salisbury was the Leader of the Conservative Opposition in the Lords. The Convention ensures that major Government Bills can get through the Lords when the Government of the day has no majority in the Lords. In practice, it means that the Lords does not try to vote down at second or third reading, a Government Bill mentioned in an election manifesto.’

SO, now you know. If it’s in the manifesto and the government seeks to keep a promise, it should become law without too much trouble. You read it here, first!

Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique

IN THIS BLOG, I share my personal connection with the beautiful Caribbean islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, the first two being where my parents originated; Saint Andrew and Petitie Carenage respectively.

NO CHILD OF MY GENERATION with parents from the Spice islands would not have been told of what their parents went through when Hurricane Janet hit the islands in 1955. From the year 2000 I visited Grenada annually for 5 to 6 weeks at a time. Therefore, in 2004 I, personally, witnessed the destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan and, in 2005, that caused by Hurricane Emily.

BOTH were Category 3 storms. You can therefore imagine – or may be none of us truly can unless experienced it – the impact Hurricane Beryl had on Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique on 1 July 2024, which was a Category 4 to 5. It has severely affected and damaged the islands, particularly Carriacou.

HOWEVER, Spice islanders have resilience and big hearts, and shall get through this. I am confident about that. As I write this piece Jamaica is bracing itself for the impending impact of Beryl. It has already caused devastation to other islands, including my adopted St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

DUE TO OTHER MATTERS occurring at the time such as UK Election, French Election, US Presidential Campaign, the destruction and impact of Beryl have not quite got the attention and airtime it should. Fortunately, many of us do know and are playing our parts accordingly. Personally, I am still to hear from family members currently living in Carriacou.

FINALLY, I ask that you ALL kindly have in your thoughts the people of the Caribbean affected by Beryl.

Ryan Clement

Ethnicity Pay Gap

Ryan Clement

RECENTLY, I had the pleasure of chatting to Dianne Greyson of #EthnicityPayGap who has been championing the cause of highlighting and addressing pay gap due to workers’ ethnicity. Dianne spoke about her work and some of the challenges she faces. We also spoke about Colourism, which is a term I first encountered many years ago through one of my favourite authors, Alice Walker. As a barrister who specialises in employment law, I identified a potential problem in the area of direct discrimination because of race where a claimant needs to have a comparator. The statutory definition of ‘race’ includes— (a) colour; (b) nationality; (c) ethnic or national origins. If a claimant relies on colour on the basis of colourism, arguing, for example, that they were treated less favourably than a person of the same race in respect of colour under the Equality Act 2010 but of a different complexion, which, in essence, is basis of colourism, then it would be interesting to see whether the courts would accept the claimant’s comparator as being a correct one.

NEWSLETTER

The ONS (Office for National Statistics) reported, amongst other things, that in the UK in 2022:

#EthnicityPayGap

Asked what gave her the idea to do the good work she is doing on ethnicity pay gap, Dianne said, “It was a lightbulb moment.” She was, “driving along,” and had been thinking about it and wondering, “why weren’t people addressing it?” Influenced by the #MeToo movement, she thought, “What can I do? And I literally came up with the idea.” From that she came up with #EthnicityPayGap to, “show solidarity with people who were going through it,” but that just literally spiralled into something else because she shared it on LinkedIn and suddenly people were asking, ‘where did you get this t-shirt from?’ “So I had to go and find someone to replicate what I designed. And through all that time I was starting to do more research and understanding the magnitude of the situation because obviously in the beginning you think this is not fair. But then you look into it and you think, ‘THIS REALLY ISN’T FAIR!‘”

Dianne Greyson

I WAS EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to Dianne for sharing her knowledge, experience and expertise with us. It has been a pleasure having the benefit of knowing so many talented people in their respective fields of specialism, be it a Primary School Teacher, HR, Detective Constable, a Poet/Councillor/Social Worker, and an, ‘Experienced Senior HR Project People Director, CIPD qualified and Accredited Mediator, Emotional intelligence assessor, providing strategic guidance and support with extensive ED&I experience,’ who has, ‘worked within the private and public sectors at board and operational level.’

“Unlike gender pay gap reporting, ethnicity pay gap reporting is completed on a voluntary basis. Of those organisations that have published ethnicity pay gap data, there is a trend towards a concentration of staff from ethnic minorities in junior roles and an underrepresentation of these staff at senior levels. However, as reporting is currently voluntary, there is limited data available to allow us to compare ourselves to other organisations.”

Diversity and Inclusion

Enjoy!

Colourism v Race by Dianne Greyson

To Sir with Love

Ryan Clement, barrister

The Past

DEAR SIR, I had a good day today, I think. I went to see a career advisor who asked me what I wanted to be? I told him if I couldn’t be a footballer, I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer because they’re good jobs. He told me that I had to be very clever to do those and told me about jobs I didn’t ask about. I wondered if he had spoken to Mr G_, my maths teacher, who told me that all I was interested in was football. I was sad because maths was my favourite subject and I thought I was good at it. Last week there were comedians on the television who were referring to people who are like me with horrible names that the audience laughed at. I didn’t find them funny because when I go to school others call me the same names in the playground and laugh. I don’t like that feeling. I feel picked on. There was also a comedy show with the words ‘Love’ and ‘Neighbour’ in its name that showed anything but Love to the Neighbours! And there was Tarzan, who was brought up by an Ape and yet he was seen as braver and wiser than people who looked like me who were not raised by a primate. Maybe Mr G_ and the career adviser watched those programmes, too, and didn’t want me to be disappointed. Didn’t want me to raise my hopes too high, be too ambitious. But what do I know? My best friend, D_, went to see his Gran over the weekend. I wish I could see mine. Why is Nenen in Grenada? How did she get there? Why did mum and dad come here? I guess I’ll find out one day.

To Sir with Love by Ryan Clement, barrister

The Present

DEAR JUNIOR, it has been a while. Let me update us. We made it neither as a footballer nor as a doctor. But we did make it as a lawyer, a barrister to be precise. In fact, law was our second profession, so we ended up with two! Glad we didn’t let the career advisor’s and Mr G_’s advice define us and determine our destiny. It is ironic we mentioned Mr G_ because we went on to gain a Distinction in Mathematics, the very subject he taught us. Things have changed much since we were young. Today, we advocate equality of opportunity in various forms and on various platforms. Sadly, however, there are still many perceptions to be addressed. Sometimes people aren’t even aware of their adverse treatment of others. Some label this as the effects of unconscious bias. We now have diversity awareness and inclusion as part of our lexicon. The former is a matter of observation. However, the latter is a matter of implementation, on which there is a lot more work to do. We will be pleased and saddened in equal measures to know that we attended 3 universities and gained three degrees, one of which is a Master’s in Law. And yet, we have not once been taught how Nenen or our ancestors got to be in Grenada. In fact, we have never formerly been taught how your uncles, aunts and cousins got to be in Trinidad or elsewhere in the Caribbean. Symbolically, it may appear, the hospital in Chiswick where we were born and our primary school in Fulham no longer exist. They have been replaced by structures deemed more important. It is as if our ancestral history is deemed likewise. Mum and dad came here, worked hard and more than contributed to the economic development of the country in which we were born and educated. Recently, it was announced that how Nenen got to be in Grenada from Africa, why mum and dad came to the UK and their contributions will be taught in some schools as part of their curriculum. Maybe in the future when our children write to us, they will be more enlightened about Nenen, mum and dad through their formal education than we were.

The Future

DEAR DAD, …

GOOD, BETTER, BEST

Ryan Clement

THIS BLOG speaks for itself.

No more words necessary!

“Good, Better, Best

Never Let it Rest

Till Your Good is Your Better

And Your Better is Your Best!”

Said Cllr Michelle Simmons-Safo during our conversation.

“Good, Better, Best”

You can watch the Full Video HERE:

Barrister Ryan Clement meets Cllr Michelle Simmons-Safo

Ryan Clement

Bruno! Bruno! Bruno!

Discrimination in Employment in 7 Days!

We Reap What We Sow! 3

Hurricane Beryl

FAITH in HUMANity

A POLITICAL MANIFESTO

Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique

Ethnicity Pay Gap

To Sir with Love

GOOD, BETTER, BEST

#motivation

#inspiration

#aspiration

#achieve