Timothy Pitt-Payne QC

Biography

Tim practises in Employment Law and Public Law, and in related aspects of commercial, European and human rights law. He has a particular expertise in Information Law. He is listed as a leading Employment Law barrister in the current editions of both Chambers and Partners Directory and Legal 500.

Tim has been appointed Visiting Professor in Information Law at Northumbria University. His inaugural lecture in June 2007 was ‘What is Information Law and why does it matter?’

For course details visit: www.northumbria.ac.uk/law

Information Law

Tim practises extensively in relation to Freedom of Information, Data Protection, information rights, data sharing and related areas. Clients include the Information Commissioner and a wide range of public and private sector bodies.

He has appeared before the Information Tribunal in numerous cases in relation to Freedom of Information, Data Protection and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. He appeared in 12 of the 14 cases determined by the Information Tribunal at an oral hearing in 2005 and 2006 and has also appeared before the National Security Panel of the Information Tribunal. He recently acted for Lloyds Bank in a High Court trial in a Data Protection matter: Smith v Lloyds TSB Bank plc [2005] EWHC 246 Ch.

Employment Law

Tim's practice covers all aspects of employment litigation before the Employment Tribunals, Employment Appeal Tribunal, High Court, County Court and higher appellate courts. Areas of work include litigation arising out of statutory employment rights; contractual disputes in employment; injunctions to restrain unlawful competition by employees or ex-employees; and injunctions arising out of industrial action.

Tim is experienced in acting as a representative in internal disciplinary hearings, and in mediation and arbitration proceedings.

He regularly advise on employment-related issues including: discrimination of all forms; the TUPE regulations; outsourcing in both the public and private sector; the enforceability of post-termination restrictive covenants; the terms of individual employment contracts; vires issues in relation to public sector employment; carrying out redundancy programmes; and the lawful conduct of industrial action.

Public Law

Tim has experience of employment issues in the public sector and in the overlap between public law and employment law. Public sector clients have included Government departments, other national public bodies, NHS employers, and local authorities.

Tim has appeared in a wide range of judicial review matters for clients including local authorities, Government departments and police authorities.

Litigation and advisory work include public sector pensions, vires issues affecting local authorities, and decisions by statutory regulators.

Tim acted in 2000 for the Attorney-General of Malawi in litigation before the Malawi High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal about the validity of the 1999 Malawian Presidential Election. He was admitted to the Malawi Bar for this purpose.

Publications

Publications include a chapter on standing and alternative remedies in Supperstone Goudie and Walker on Judicial Review (Butterworths 1992 [first edition], 1997 [second edition], 2005 [third edition]); joint author (with Michael Supperstone QC) of The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Butterworths 2001); and a chapter on “Access to Electronic Information” for the next edition of Computer Law (OUP), for publication in 2007.

Recent Cases

Common Services Agency v Scottish Information Commissioner

[2008] 1 WLR 1550
This was the first House of Lords case to address freedom of information and data protection legislation, and the relation between the two.

Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v the Information Commissioner

[2008] EWHC 1084 (Admin)
Case concerned the disclosure under FOIA of information about MPs’ expenses.

OGC v Information Commissioner and HM Attorney General

[2008] EWHC 774 (Admin)
Timothy acted on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Commons. An appeal to the High Court against an Information Tribunal decision requiring the disclosure of two “Gateway Reviews” into the ID cards project.

Waite v South East Coast Ambulance NHS Trust

(EAT, October 2008)
Timothy acted for the Respondent in successfully resisting this appeal. The case raised issues under the dispute resolution legislation, about the circumstances in which the Tribunal could strike out the claim for non-compliance with the procedures.

D v Buckinghamshire County Council (2008)

[2008] EWCA Civ 1372
In the circumstances a judge in family proceedings had been right to make findings of fact relating to the local authority's reasonable belief that the appellant posed a risk to children and to authorise disclosure of those findings to the Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Bloxham v. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

[2007] Pensions LR 375
Age discriminatory pension changes were justified

Millam v. Print Factory (London) 1991 Ltd

[2007] IRLR 526, CA
Transfer of undertakings – Mere fact that there has been a transfer of shares does not preclude a finding that there has been a TUPE transfer

R. (Secretary of State for the Home Department) v. Information Commissioner

[2007] 2 All ER 703; (2006) 156 NLJ 1883
Whether Information Commissioner empowered to challenge decision of minister whether or not material requested by individual was exempt

Ezsias v. North Glamorgan National Health Trust

Times, March 19 2007, CA
Employment tribunal – Employer’s application to strike out claim for unfair dismissal – Facts must be established first

Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Information Commissioner and Norman Baker MP

[2007] UKIT EA 2006 0015 and 0016 Information Tribunal: disclosure of MPs expenses under the Freedom of Information Act.

Nikitin and others v Richards Butler LLP and others

[2007] EWHC 173 (QB)
Pre-action disclosure applications against private investigators and others.

Areas of Practice

• Commercial
• Data Protection and Freedom of Information
• Education
• Employment
• Environment
• European
• Human Rights
• Public and Administrative