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Joseph Bryan
Overview
Ranked by The Legal 500 as a leading junior (Tier 2) and by Chambers and Partners as a Band 6 employment junior, Joseph Bryan is a specialist in employment, sports and commercial litigation. He represents clients in employment tribunals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the civil courts, and in sports and commercial arbitrations.
He was instructed in the Supreme Court in Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers [2024] 3 WLR 909, concerning the rectification of a collective agreement, and in the related proceedings in Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v Anderson [2019] ICR 433, the leading Court of Appeal authority on the jurisdiction of employment tribunals in statutory wages claims.
Joe has been appointed as a Specialist Member of Sports Resolutions’ National Panel for a three-year term and sits as a Chair of the FA’s National Serious Case Panel.
He is a contributing author of Blackstone’s Employment Law Practice (OUP, 2023).
Expertise
Employment
Joe regularly appears in employment tribunals and the EAT in discrimination, whistleblowing, unfair dismissal and other statutory claims.
- He acts for both claimants and respondents, including senior executives and major employers, across a range of sectors (including financial and legal services, sport, education, and the medical profession), and has a particular specialism acting for senior executives claiming pregnancy/maternity discrimination.
- Joe can be relied on to produce written work of the highest quality. His pleadings have been praised by instructing solicitors and clients as “excellent” and “top-rate”. At a public hearing, Joe’s written argument was described as “excellent” by the Employment Judge.
Cases:
- Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers [2024] 3 WLR 909 (led by David Reade KC)
- Connor v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police [2023] ICR 1256
- Lasdas v Vanquis Bank plc [2022] EAT 198
- Mr K Pubbi v Your-Move.co.uk [2022] EAT 96
- Mrs S McLeary v One Housing Group Limited UKEAT/0124/18/LA
- Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v Anderson [2019] ICR 433 (led by David Reade KC)
Notable Achievements:
- Securing a substantial monetary settlement for an individual claiming maternity discrimination, detriment and unfair dismissal.
- Successfully defeating a claim for age discrimination arising out of a homeworking policy implemented during Covid-19 lockdown.
- Successfully representing a respondent employer in an indirect sex discrimination claim: the claimant withdrew the claim in its entirety at the end of Joe’s cross-examination, avoiding the need for the respondent’s witnesses to give evidence.
- Achieving a major ET costs order in favour of a respondent employer of ca. £60,000.
- Providing pro bono representation to a charity-sector employer in a multi-day unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination case. Successfully obtained judgment dismissing all the claims.
- Opposing King’s Counsel, securing a compensatory award for a claimant in an unfair redundancy claim.
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Publications and Events:
- Gourley and Grossing-Up: Pragmatism and Common Sense in Complex Cases 2 July 2026
- Supreme Court hands down judgment in appeal concerning the Rectification of Collective Agreements 14 November 2024
- Managing Allegations of Non-Financial Misconduct – Carol Davis KC & Joseph Bryan 11 July 2024
- David Reade KC and Joseph Bryan in Supreme Court 14 May 2024
- Blackstone’s Employment Law Practice 2023 23 January 2024
- Employment Appeal Tribunal Judgment: Connor v Chief Constable of the South Yorkshire Police 9 June 2023
- Court of Appeal: Rectification of Collective Agreements 2 November 2022
- ‘Just and Equitable’ Extensions of Time: Assessing the Merits 8 September 2022
- David Reade KC and Joseph Bryan succeed in Chancery Division on issue of whether collective agreements are susceptible to rectification in Nexus v RMT and Unite 28 May 2021
- Littleton’s Covid Related Employment Webinars 22 May 2020
- LITTLETON’S GUIDE TO FA RULE K ARBITRATIONS: STEP 4 – DIRECTIONS 11 March 2020
- Discrimination because of perceived disability: Coffey in the court of appeal 11 March 2020
- Joseph Bryan: High heels and workplace dress codes – is discrimination law working? 11 March 2020
- Employees, Directors & the Future Path of Corporate Governance Reform 5 September 2017
Sport
An active member of Littleton’s award-winning Sports Law Group, Joe has been appointed as a Specialist Member of Sports Resolutions’ National Panel for a three-year term. He acts as a Chair of the FA’s National Serious Case Panel, adjudicating on all types of serious disciplinary cases in grassroots football. He welcomes instructions in sports matters, both as sole counsel and as part of counsel teams.
Cases:
- Various sports/employment crossover matters litigated in the employment tribunal.
- Advising on and acting in an arbitration under the English Football League Regulations (led by Paul Gilroy KC).
- Acting in an FA Rule K Arbitration between a professional footballer and an intermediary (led by John Mehrzad KC).
- Advising on, and drafting, an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a decision of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber.
- Drafting Particulars of Claim in a multi-million-pound football breach of contract claim.
- Representing an athlete charged with an Adverse Analytical Finding by the IAAF.
- Representing a high-profile athlete in proceedings before the National Anti-Doping Panel.
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Publications and Events:
- ‘Golden Mitigation’ in football: lessons from Nottingham Forest’s Profitability & Sustainability Regulations appeal decision 18 July 2024
- Littleton members on Sport Resolutions Panel 26 March 2024
- IWD 2024: Littleton’s sports team discuss women’s issues in sport 8 March 2024
- Everton’s appeal against points deduction: sanction reduced, benchmark set 27 February 2024
- Player Eligibility Rules in Football: The Second Leg 30 January 2024
- Sports Law Highlights of 2023 20 December 2023
- Littleton Sports Law Group members appointed to FA National Serious Case Panel 3 June 2021
- Littleton Sports Law Group members appointed to Sport Resolutions panels 6 April 2021
- LITTLETON’S GUIDE TO FA RULE K ARBITRATIONS: STEP 4 – DIRECTIONS 11 March 2020
- Joseph Bryan on key points from the Quinlan report into safeguarding at the Lawn Tennis Association 11 March 2020
- An update on fault and negligence in anti-doping regulation by Joseph Bryan 11 March 2020
- Joseph Bryan on “5 Things You Need to Know” about the Independent Cycling Review Report 11 March 2020
- Pie-eating goalkeeper caught offside? Five things you need to know 11 March 2020
- Sam Allardyce and alleged misconduct – Five Things You Need to Know 11 March 2020
- Joseph Bryan on Joey Barton v The FA: 5 things you need to know 11 March 2020
- Sam Allardyce: are the FA within their right to sack England manager – The Independent speaks to Joseph Bryan 11 March 2020
- Sam Allardyce leaves England post: the law behind the headlines 11 March 2020
- European Court of Human Rights Finds Sports Arbitration Hearing Held in Private Breached the Right to a Fair Trial 10 February 2018
High Court
Joe is a specialist in High Court business protection and acts both led and as sole counsel on applications for interim injunctive relief.
Cases:
- Dare International Limited v Kayaam and others [2025] EWHC 903 (KB): application for non-party disclosure under CPR 31.17 (led by Mohinderpal Sethi KC).
- Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers [2024] 3 WLR 909: first litigation in the High Court to proceed to both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on the issue of the employment tribunals’ power to consider a defence of rectification (led by David Reade KC).
- In the QBD, successfully resisting an application to enforce the terms of settlement of an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
- Various applications to Masters in the QBD and Chancery Division.
Other High Court Appearances Include:
- Dare International Limited v Kayaam and others [20
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