Media coverage of John Horan’s Employment Tribunal win
Cloisters barrister John Horan
Did you read our blog post about John Horan’s successful £50,000 damages claim in the Employment Tribunal for a profoundly deaf client? (It not, access here.) In summary, John successfully represented Paul Rimmer of West Yorkshire against mistreatment by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over the course of six years for various failings of the Equality Act.
Being in the highest band of awards, the judgment in John’s case, aptly delivered during Deaf Awareness Week, has generated mass media attention, including but not limited to:
Kirklees Citizens Advice & Law Centre (note: this is the centre who advised Paul)
John states, “It’s interesting that the Manchester Evening News particularly has prominently placed my earlier quote likening the poor treatment of my client to the totalitarian society portrayed in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. I’m not going to get too political. In the run up to a General Election, I’ll leave political commentary to others. However, the key point is the DWP employed 1984-style tactics which has been proven to breach the basic human rights of a disabled claimant. Such systemic and institutional failures have no place in today’s society.”
Shining a light on John’s profile for a moment, he’s a barrister of 1993 call whose caseload comprises 90% disabled clients and who’s widely known for his representation of vulnerable individuals. As well as gaining a raft of award nominations and wins in diversity, inclusion and pro bono categories, John is recognised as one of our country’s most influential people with a disability, and he was instrumental in bringing about amendments to Civil Procedure Rule 1.6 and Practice Direction 1A, both of which relate to the reasonable adjustment of court procedure when participants are vulnerable parties or witnesses.
