Roisin Swords-Kieley

Contact Roisin: RoisinSwords-Kieley@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447

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

Roisin primarily practices in Employment, Equality and Education Law.

As sole counsel, Roisin has appeared in the High Court, County Court, Employment Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunal and SEND Tribunal. She has also appeared as Junior Counsel in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Employment

Roisin acts in all areas of employment law and has experience across the full spectrum of employment law matters. Roisin regularly acts for both claimants and respondents/defendants. Roisin has particular expertise in employment claims in the Higher Education context.

Roisin is ranked as a rising star in employment law in Legal 500 in which she is described as “an extremely talented junior” and “a brilliant advocate with a fantastic eye for detail” with “excellent cross-examination skills” whose “advice is always clear and pragmatic, and commercially focused”.

Highlights include:

• For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 [2025] 2 W.L.R. 879: a case raising an important and complex issue about the meaning of sex (and relatedly, the terms woman, female, man and male) in s.11 of the Equality Act 2010 and, in particular, whether s.9(1) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 applied to s.11 EqA 2010.
• Nursing and Midwifery Council v Somerville [2022] I.C.R. 755: a case concerning whether, for the ‘limb b worker’ definition under the Employment Rights Act 1996 to be satisfied, there must be mutuality of obligation between the putative worker and employer.

• Mr J Holbrook v T Cosgrove QC and others [2023] EAT 168, [2024] I.R.L.R 26; a case concerning the Tribunal’s just and equitable discretion under s.123(1)(b) EqA 2010.
• Ms J Celerier v Chargepoint Network (UK) Ltd EA-2020-001038-AS: a case concerning the threshold for harassment under s.26(1)(b) EqA 2010.
• Acting for a Higher Education Institution in a claim brought by over 130 workers for Indirect Race Discrimination (case ongoing).
• Successfully representing a Higher Education Institution in a claim for unfair dismissal brought by a Research Associate who disputed that he was redundant on the cessation of his funding.
• Successfully representing the Claimant in a five-day indirect sex discrimination claim; the Claimant was awarded significant compensation and Roisin successfully obtained a restricted reporting order that prevented the Claimant from being named in media coverage of the trial.
• Successfully representing a Higher Education Institution in a claim for unfair dismissal in circumstances where the Claimant was dismissed for SOSR, namely, a legitimate business reorganisation.
• Successfully representing the Claimant in an unfair dismissal claim where there was dispute as to whether the Claimant had been dismissed. Roisin secured the Claimant’s costs in full.
• Successfully representing a Higher Education Institution in an 8-day hearing where the Claimant brought claims of constructive dismissal, wrongful dismissal, automatically unfair dismissal, whistleblowing detriment, working time detriment, health and safety detriment, indirect discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments. All claims were dismissed.
• Successfully defending a claim for whistleblowing detriment and automatically unfair dismissal brought by a care home worker in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
• Successfully defending a claim for direct age discrimination in circumstances where the Claimant was dismissed following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
• Successfully applying to have a claim struck out on the first morning of the trial.
• Successfully representing a Respondent in its application for costs following a 5-day trial at which the Claimant’s claims for disability discrimination and disability related harassment were dismissed. Roisin secured a £20,000 costs order against the Claimant.

Investigations

Roisin has significant experience conducting complex Investigations, particularly those concerning allegations of sex discrimination and sexual harassment and involving multiple Complainants.

Equality Law

Roisin often appears before the County Court and High Court in claims brought pursuant to the Equality Act 2010 and/or the Human Rights Act 1998.

Recent highlights include:

• For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 [2025] 2 W.L.R. 879: a case raising an important and complex issue about the meaning of sex (and relatedly, the terms woman, female, man and male) in s.11 of the Equality Act 2010 and, in particular, whether s.9(1) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 applied to s.11 EqA 2010.
• Acting for a Higher Education Institution facing claims of, inter alia, religion and belief discrimination in respect of its approach to student protest.
• Acting for an individual seeking to challenge the SSHD’s approach to those in immigration detention with learning disabilities (with Chris Buttler KC).
• Successfully striking out claims of alleged disability discrimination brought by a former student on grounds that the student had repeatedly failed to comply with Court orders.
• Successfully acting for the Defendant on the question of whether alleged ‘services’ were provided to the public such that Part 3 EqA 2010 was engaged.
• Successfully striking out claims of alleged race discrimination brought by a student applicant on grounds that the claim disclosed no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim and was an abuse of the court’s process.
• Acting (with Aidan O’Neil KC) for a religious group in claims of religion and belief discrimination brought against a number of venue providers.
• Successfully defending a claim for race discrimination brought against a major bus operator.
• Successfully defending a claim concerning a Covid facemask policy on jurisdictional grounds.
• Acting for a national retailer in a number of claims concerning Covid-related restrictions and their application.
• Investigating sexual harassment allegations within a national political party.
• Investigating student complaints, including complaints of sex discrimination and sexual harassment.

Education Law

Roisin welcomes instructions in all areas of Education Law.

SEND

Roisin has a particular interest in proceedings before the SEND Tribunal and has significant experience providing advice and assisting parents, carers and young people with their appeals. Roisin often acts for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities and welcomes pro bono instructions in appropriate cases.

Roisin routinely acts in successful challenges to Local Authority failures to comply with s.42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and s.19 of the Education Act 1996 by way of judicial review.

With her substantial discrimination law expertise, Roisin has a strong disability discrimination practice in the SEND Tribunal.

Higher Education

Roisin regularly acts for Higher Education institutions in claims brought pursuant to the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010 and has particular expertise in claims concerning religion and belief discrimination and relatedly, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Association.

Roisin has experience in advising student disciplinary panels and investigating student complaints.

Highlights include:

• Acting for a Higher Education Institution facing claims of, inter alia, religion and belief discrimination in respect of its approach to student protest.
• Successfully striking out claims of alleged disability discrimination brought by a former student on grounds that the student had repeatedly failed to comply with Court orders.
• Successfully striking out claims of alleged race discrimination brought by a student applicant on grounds that the claim disclosed no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim and was an abuse of the court’s process.
• Investigating student complaints, including complaints of sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
• Advising student disciplinary panels, particularly when allegations of a criminal nature are in issue.

Public Law

Roisin has significant experience in a range of public law and human rights matters. She has worked across all stages of judicial review proceedings, from advising clients at the pre-action stage to preparing for interim proceedings and appeal.

Roisin has particular interest in public law challenges that draw on her equality and education law expertise.

Recent highlights include:

• Acting for an individual seeking to challenge the SSHD’s approach to those in immigration detention with learning disabilities (with Chris Buttler KC).
• Acting for a severely disabled individual who alleged that the social care charging policy to which they were subject was discriminatory.
• Acting as part of a team of counsel who successfully obtained an interim injunction to prevent a mass deportation charter flight in circumstances where there was a real risk that the individuals deported would be subject to inhuman and degrading treatment on their return.
• Acting for DHSC in a judicial review challenging the “table meal requirement” during the Covid-19 pandemic (with Sir James Eadie KC and Paul Skinner).
• Acting for a university in judicial review proceedings seeking to challenge historic exam results.
• Acting for an individual who sought to challenge the application of a 6-year limitation period to charges pursued by a Local Authority under s.69 of the Care Act 2014 (with Chris Butler KC).
• Acting for two NGOs in an intervention application in proceedings before the Court of Appeal (with Jessica Jones).

Commercial

Roisin’s commercial law experience includes:

• Successfully acting for an ICB in a claim for Breach of a General Medical Services Contract brought by a GP Partnership, Rahman and Partners v North Central London Integrated Care Board [2025] EWHC 1541 (KB).
• Howell v Evans[2020] EWHC 2729 (QB).

Media and Information Law

Roisin welcomes instructions in all areas of media and information law and has a particular interest in defamation, privacy and reporting restrictions.

Other Experiences

Prior to joining Matrix, Roisin was the Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Longmore in the Court of Appeal and taught Constitutional Law at Keble College, University of Oxford.

Qualifications and Awards

Roisin obtained an Outstanding on the BPTC, scoring the highest mark nationally in the professional ethics paper, for which she received the Buchanan Prize from Lincoln’s Inn. Roisin was awarded the Lord Denning Scholarship and Hardwicke Entrance award from Lincoln’s Inn and an excellence award from BPP University.

Prior to studying for the Bar, Roisin was an academic excellence scholar of Keble College, University of Oxford where she completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies; she holds BA Jurisprudence and the BCL (with distinction) respectively.

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

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