Strong start to legal career

An employment tribunal has found in favour of trainee solicitor who brought a claim against the law firm where he was due to start his training contract.

The tribunal was told how Mr A Osvald, who completed the Legal Practice Course (LPC) back in 2013, put the prospect of a legal career on hold owing to the fact that he was his family’s primary child carer.

He was working for Royal Mail in “a well-paid flexible role” that catered for his personal situation, when he decided to apply for a training contract at Sussex outfit Holden & Co in 2021.

In November 2021, Osvald met with the firm’s managing partner to discuss the role. Osvald told the tribunal that his need for flexibility, office location, child pick-up arrangements and the possibility of the firm paying for a parking space close to the firm’s Hastings office were mentioned in this meeting.

The judge explained that this discussion “set out the parameters for a working relationship” which the partner then took forward in subsequent email offering Osvald part-time employment for the annual salary of 22,000 pro rata.

The email also required Osvald to complete four tasks including informing the Law Society about the six-year gap between finishing his legal studies and starting a training contract. He duly completed these tasks two days later and informed the firm that he was going to leave his job at Royal Mail.

Osvald only received the final contract four days in advance of his start...

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