3PB

Employment and discrimination, Sports Law

Gareth Graham was called to the Bar after leaving the British Army and now practices in employment, professional discipline and sports law.

He regularly represents NHS organisations, police authorities, large multinational companies and a myriad of SMEs across all areas of employment law. He has a particular focus on whistleblowing and discrimination cases.

He also represents employees and organisations in professional disciplinary hearings. He has recently carried out a number of internal investigations on behalf of well-known sport national governing bodies.

Gareth chairs disciplinary hearings for:

• World Rugby
• European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR)
• The Rugby Football Union (RFU)
• British Horseracing Authority (BHA)
• British Cycling
• The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
• British Canoeing.

He has also been appointed to the Sport Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators and The FA's Judicial Panel.

Employment and discrimination

Gareth was called to the Bar after leaving the British Army and is now an employment law specialist, regularly instructed in dynamic and complex cases. He is known for his pragmatic and robust style.

He has recently represented clients in the High Court, at the EAT and at the Court of Appeal.

He regularly represents NHS organisations and large companies, including the BBC, John Lewis & Partners, a leading multi-national engineering group and a large supermarket chain. He has also represented a European Embassy, a number of local authorities and a myriad SMEs across all areas of employment law. He has a particular focus on whistleblowing and discrimination cases.

He has also acted on behalf of employees in cases of a sensitive nature, including a Muslim woman in a claim for sex discrimination against her Muslim employers, a nurse involved in the alleged mistreatment of infirm nuns at a Convent which received coverage in the national media and a number of high profile claimants.

Gareth is on the panel of approved counsel to the Welsh Government and regularly provides training to clients and external bodies, including NHS organisations and ACAS.

Recent cases:

• Acting on behalf of an NHS organisation in its successful defence of a claim of race and age discrimination
• Acting on behalf of an NHS organisation in its successful defence of a complex whistleblowing claim
• Acting on behalf of an NHS organisation in its successful defence of a claim of disability discrimination
• Acting on behalf of a household brand in its defence of seven interrelated race discrimination claim
• A number of complex discrimination and whistleblowing claims in the airline industry.

Sports Law

Gareth chairs disciplinary hearings for:

• World Rugby
• European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR)
• Rugby Football Union (RFU)
• British Horseracing Authority (BHA)
• British Cycling
• The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
• British Canoeing.

He has also been appointed to the Sport Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators.

Gareth has been a member of the RFU disciplinary panel since 2014 and has chaired a significant number of disciplinary hearings and appeals in the professional game. He is also a chairman for World Rugby, Six Nations, EPCR and the Army Rugby Union.

The matters Gareth has been involved with include:

• Conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Game
• The full gamut of acts of foul play, including match official abuse
• Betting (including the RFU case of betting by a sports agent which resulted in a 22-month ban)
• Anti-doping
• Governing Body Endorsement visas
• Relegation into lower leagues
• Offences relating to age restrictions and ticket allocation infringements.

This includes the following hearings:

• Alapati Leiua (Bristol Bears, Gallagher Premiership, 28 February 2019)
• Nathan Hughes (Wasps, Gallagher Premiership, 10 & 17 October 2018)
• George Smith (Bristol Bears, Gallagher Premiership, 11 September 2018)
• Danny Cipriani (Gloucester Rugby, Gallagher Premiership, 22 August 2018).

Gareth also sat as a panel member for British Gymnastics in the case involving Louis Smith following allegations that he had acted in breach of British Gymnastics’ standard of conduct.

He recently completed a formal review of an investigation into various allegations (including safeguarding issues) on behalf of a British Olympic organisation and a wide-ranging investigation over a period of four months into allegations of abuse, bullying, harassment and discrimination against a coach within a British Olympic organisation.

Year of Call: 2006