Mark Greaves

Contact Mark: markgreaves@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447

Contact Mark's Practice Team (Team M): TeamM@matrixlaw.co.uk

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Mark has a broad practice with a particular focus on Employment, Education, Public, Competition and Commercial law. He has appeared at all levels of court up to and including the Supreme Court.

Mark is recommended for Employment and Education law in Chambers and Partners and Employment law in the Legal 500, having been described as “showing shrewd insight and levels of realism and ingenuity that are very rare in someone of his call level.”

He is a member of both the Attorney General’s C Panel of Treasury Counsel and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Panel of Counsel.

Employment Law

Mark has appeared unled in the Employment Tribunal, EAT and High Court in matters across the full spectrum of employment litigation. He has acted as sole counsel in cases pleaded in excess of £1m and as junior counsel in cases with a value of more than £10m. Since January 2017 he has been the author of the Working Time chapter in Tolley’s Employment Law (loose-leaf). Mark has acted in or advised on matters concerning: discrimination (disability, religion or belief, race, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and pregnancy and maternity); harassment; victimisation; unfair dismissal; wrongful dismissal; whistleblowing; redundancy; employment and worker status; restrictive covenants; TUPE; holiday pay; equal pay; wages; pensions; territorial jurisdiction; res judicata; anonymity and restricted reporting orders; interim relief; strike out and deposit orders; and costs. Mark’s recent employment law experience includes: Robinson v His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Saqr Al Qasimi [2021] EWCA Civ 862 (led by James Laddie QC): Acted as junior counsel in this Court of Appeal case which concerned the defence of illegality in an employment context and the statutory interim relief regime which applies in cases of alleged automatic unfair dismissal. Driscoll (née Cobbing) v V&P Global Ltd and another [2021] IRLR 891: Appeared as sole counsel for the Respondents in this EAT appeal which established that constructive dismissal can constitute an act of unlawful harassment under the Equality Act 2010. Ince Gordon Dadds LLP v Tunstall [2020] ICR 124: Successfully resisted an appeal to the EAT in a case concerning an issue, never previously determined, as to the scope of the statutory moratorium which applies to legal proceedings against a company in administration. The case featured in The Times, The Lawyer and The Law Gazette. RMT v Lloyd [2019] IRLR 897: Successfully resisted an appeal to the EAT in an age discrimination case considering the legitimacy of the aims relied on by the respondent to justify the treatment. Antuzis v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd [2019] EWHC 843 (QB): Appeared as junior counsel in this 4-day High Court trafficking case which clarified the circumstances in which an officer of a company will be personally liable for inducing breach of contract. The case was widely reported in the media including by The Times, The Guardian and BBC News. Mark appeared as sole counsel in a number of preliminary hearings in this case, including appearing against a QC to successfully resist the Claimant’s application for judgment pursuant to CPR 3.5(5). Dewhurst and ors v Revisecatch Ltd t/a Ecourier and anor ET Case No.2201909/18: Acted in this important test case in which it was held that ‘Limb (b) workers’ are entitled to protection under TUPE.

Education Law

Mark regularly appears before the First-tier Tribunal (Special Education Needs and Disability), county court, and the administrative court in education law matters. He has particular expertise in cases concerning special educational needs, discrimination and school exclusion. Mark is one of the three editors of the Education Law Reports and the co-author of the education chapter in “National Security Law, Procedure and Practice” (Oxford University Press, 2021). In 2018 Mark completed a one-year part-time secondment with Ofsted’s legal services team with a focus on issues concerning independent schools and equality law. Mark is a governor of a primary school in the London Borough of Haringey. Mark has been instructed, both led and unled, in judicial review challenges concerning education matters. Led by Sarah Hannett QC, Mark was junior counsel in a series of high-profile judicial review claims concerning the use of isolation to discipline pupils which received significant media coverage. Mark also acted as junior counsel to Sarah Hannett QC in a judicial review challenge concerning the rebrokerage of an academy which centred on alleged breaches of Article 9 and Article 2, Protocol 1 of the ECHR. Mark regularly represents clients in appeals relating to the contents of EHC Plans (Sections B, F and I and National Trial cases). In one post-19 case, Mark successfully persuaded the Tribunal to order a 38-week residential placement at a specialist independent college offering a waking day curriculum, together with a 14-week residential social care placement. The total cost of this placement (together with the provision ordered) was over £140,000 per year. Mark has considerable experience of exclusion cases and has acted for both parents and schools in cases involving both maintained and independent schools. Mark was instructed by the EHRC to train over 100 SENDIASS advisers on challenging discriminatory exclusions. Prior to coming to the bar, Mark was the Chief Student Director of the School Exclusion Project, an award-winning pro bono unit for exclusion cases. In the higher education sector, Mark is frequently instructed by both universities and students. For example, he acted for a university in relation to a breach of contract and negligence claim with a pleaded value of up to £50,000. Mark has advised a number of university students on applications for judicial review against their universities and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, particularly concerning allegations of plagiarism.

Public Law

Mark is regularly instructed, both as sole and junior counsel, in the Administrative Court in a wide range of public law challenges. He has particular expertise in claims under the Equality Act 2010 and those concerning devolution issues. Mark’s recent notable cases include: Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland – United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill & Anor Reference (led by Helen Mountfield QC and Christian Howells). A high profile Supreme Court case concerning the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament in relation to two Bills. R (Counsel General for Wales) v Secretary of State for Business (led by Helen Mountfield QC and Christian Howells). An ongoing judicial review claim seeking declarations that the UK Internal Market Act 2020 cannot limit the devolved powers of the Welsh Government by implication or by the use of secondary legislation. Following the decision of the Divisional Court, the Counsel General for Wales has been granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. JB v Secretary of State for the Home Department (led by Chris Buttler QC). An application for general interim relief as result of the failure to provide victims of trafficking in asylum accommodation with the financial support to which they were entitled. R (AA) v Outwood Grange Academies Trust (led by Sarah Hannett QC). A judicial review challenge concerning the use of isolation to discipline pupils. R (Jagdip Singh Bains & Ors) v Secretary of State for Education (led by Sarah Hannett QC). A judicial review challenge concerning the rebrokerage of an academy which centred on alleged breaches of the parents’ and pupil’s rights under Article 9 and Article 2, Protocol 1 of the ECHR. R (AA) v London Borough of Hackney. An application for interim relief as a result of the failure of the Local Authority to put in place suitable education. In addition to litigation, Mark regularly advises on public law matters, particularly those with an education law element. He has recently provided advice on matters including grammar school independent admission appeals, the legal implications of a merger of two separate schools, and safeguarding issues concerning an independent boarding school.

Competition Law

Mark welcomes instructions in all competition law matters, but has particular experience of cases in the transport sector. For example, Mark was instructed in a major Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 claim in the High Court, led by Rhodri Thompson QC, brought by an importer against a port operator. Mark also assisted the ORR with a market study into the supply of rail signalling systems.

Commercial Law

Mark has been instructed in a number of commercial and company law matters, in addition to his employment and competition law cases which cross-over with these areas. For example, he recently advised a large organisation on a complex contractual dispute worth over £100,000 which engaged issues of incorporation, variation, and estoppel; advised a brokerage firm in relation to a claim for a debt worth over USD 50,000 that centred on the implication of terms; and, acting for a major energy supplier, succeeded at trial in having the claimant’s claims for breach of contract dismissed in their entirety.

Qualifications

Before coming to the Bar, Mark read Classics at Jesus College, Oxford where he received several academic honours, including the Holbrooke Scholarship, the Viscount Sankey Scholarship and the William Montgomerie Prize for Greek Philosophy. At City University, Mark completed the GDL (Distinction, fifth overall and first in Public Law) and the BPTC (Outstanding) as a Bedingfield Scholar of Gray’s Inn, the top merit-based award. He was also awarded the Michael Beloff QC Administrative Law Essay Prize by Gray’s Inn for his piece on reform of the Human Rights Act 1998. Prior to commencing his legal studies, Mark completed a Mandarin Chinese course at Beijing Language and Culture University. In his spare time, Mark enjoys rock climbing, cycling and theatre.

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Mark's Privacy Notice

Mark is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Mark needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes his client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which he is instructed. To read Mark’s privacy notice in full, please see here.

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