A former Mishcon de Reya solicitor employed to work abroad at the firm’s Singapore office has had his employment tribunal claim dismissed after the judge found the tribunal did not have jurisdiction to hear his case.

Gavin Margetson, 49, was a salaried partner at the London-based firm from 2020 to 2025. He was placed on gardening leave in August 2024 on the closure of the Singapore office’s dispute resolution practice and was expelled in June 2025 after the parties were unable to agree arrangements for his departure.

Margetson brought complaints of detrimental treatment on whistleblowing grounds, which the firm opposed on both substantive and jurisdictional grounds.

Employment judge Snelson dismissed the claims finding that, though Margetson is a British citizen who qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2001 and was working for a firm based in London, he was employed to work ‘wholly’ abroad. During his entire membership of the firm, he spent only 11 days working at Mishcon's London office.

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Finding the tribunal does not have jurisdiction and dismissing Margetson’s claims, the judge said: ‘The claimant entirely fails to demonstrate reasons to displace the natural analysis, namely that, having been employed to work wholly abroad, the proper inference is that parliament cannot have intended that the protection of the ‘whistle-blowing’ provisions of the [Employment Rights Act 1996] should be treated as extending to his employment.

‘His is the paradigm case of an individual employed to work abroad. If he has any statutory employment law remedy, it lies abroad.’