Gareth Graham > Chambers of David Berkley KC > Bristol, England > Barrister Profile

Gareth Graham

0117 928 1520 gareth.graham@3pb.co.uk View profile View profile

Work Department

Employment and Discrimination; Sports; Police Law.

Position

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.

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.

Investigations

Gareth Graham has carried out various investigations for companies covering a wide range of issues. This includes a number of highly-confidential investigations for national governing bodies for sport. The issues investigated include bullying, discrimination, physical violence and sexually inappropriate behaviour.

He is often instructed in complex and lengthy investigations where a large number of individuals need to be interviewed.

Investigation Training

Gareth has provided investigation training to various NHS health boards in Wales, in conjunction with the employment team at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership. This includes how to investigation disciplinary matters and how to chair disciplinary hearings.

Sports 

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.

Police Law

Gareth Graham is experienced in professional discipline and regulatory matters and sits on police misconduct hearings for Thames Valley Police.

He has also acted for a large number of NHS health boards and trusts, and for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, in matters involving professional misconduct. He regularly represents teachers and doctors in professional disciplinary hearings and police officers accused of gross misconduct in Employment Tribunals.

On behalf of a number of sport national governing bodies, Gareth has carried out confidential investigations encompassing a wide-range of issues including safeguarding and discrimination matters. He also chairs disciplinary hearings for:

•  World Rugby
•  European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR)
•  Rugby Football Union (RFU)
•  Lawn Tennis Association
•  British Cycling
•  British Canoeing
•  PGA European Tour.

Gareth has also been appointed to the Sport Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators and regularly trains NHS health boards on their internal professional disciplinary procedures.

Career

Year of call 2006

Memberships

• Employment Law Association (ELA)
• Employment Law Bar Association (ELBA)
• Sport Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators

Education

• University of Bristol – LLB (Hons)
• University of the West of England – BVC