Who? Aman Thakar, associate solicitor, Leigh Day.
Why is he in the news? Successfully represented, in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, 80 Great Ormond Street Hospital cleaners. The cleaners brought an indirect race discrimination claim against GOSH NHS Trust over having to wait for NHS pay terms and conditions after their services were brought in-house.
Thoughts on the case: ‘I’m glad we obtained a result for our clients at the EAT after what has been a long legal battle. Cleaners make up some of the poorest in the workforce, particularly across London. To have an acknowledgement that they were treated unlawfully is a positive result for them as cleaners carrying out vital tasks that underpin so many services across the country, both in the NHS and beyond.
‘Our concern before this case was that the use of outsourcing was creating a two-tier workforce. While this result provides protections after a transfer in-house, the current legal landscape means that those who remain outsourced can still be at risk of being treated differently and not afforded the legal protections of directly employed staff. Earlier this year, the government called for evidence around this area, which I and other lawyers at Leigh Day, as well as other firms, responded to. The hope is that this [issue] will get further consideration legislatively following this and other decisions.
‘Our lead claimant, Alpha Anne, unfortunately passed away last year at only 40. It’s deeply unfortunate he was not alive to see the judgment, as I’m sure he would have been proud to have been involved.’
A GOSH spokesperson said: ‘This was a complex process, and we worked hard to move staff into NHS employment quickly and in ways that worked best for individual staff. We are carefully reviewing the decision. As the appeal process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘I was always interested in studying law as a degree because of its all-encompassing and ubiquitous nature as a subject. As I started as a paralegal, I got to work on some fascinating cases and was able to settle on employment and discrimination.’
Career high: ‘I’ve been involved in landmark cases, including Uber v Aslam at first instance in the tribunal. I have also been involved in getting major equal pay cases against supermarkets off the ground.’
Career low: ‘At the Court of Appeal last year, in a case against Royal Parks for indirect discrimination on behalf of outsourced cleaners and toilet workers. Unfortunately, this was not successful.’
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