Emma Webster: Salaried Employment Judge

Background

I am an employment solicitor and had always worked in this capacity since qualification. I was appointed as a fee-paid Employment Judge in London South in 2013. Shortly after my appointment, tribunal fees were introduced so my sitting opportunities almost entirely vanished. By the time fees were abolished I was working as an employment solicitor in the charity sector. Sitting took a back seat to a busy caseload and family obligations.

I felt unable to apply for a salaried position because I had primary school pick up responsibilities that were not possible on sitting days and I loved my job as a solicitor. However, once my children got older I felt able to apply. 

The role

I found the transition from practice to sitting relatively smooth. Prior to appointment, I had been anxious about having enough time to write judgments. As a fee-paid judge, I often spent a lot of my own time writing things up and I was worried that I would build up a backlog. However, my fears were not realised. I no longer had to balance the writing-up with the demands of a caseload (I used to routinely get up at 5am to do the day job before a sitting day and then work in the evenings after the hearing concluded). Practice also paid dividends and I became more efficient. Finally, I found my Regional Judge incredibly supportive in allowing me writing time when I asked for it.

That is not to say that I have not at times struggled with writing up the longer judgments or that the job is without its pressures. You frequently read into a case only to have it settle or swapped at the last minute. You have to be very flexible.

The atmosphere is collegiate and I have great colleagues. However, you are often on your own, making your own decisions and you do not always have reason to work with anyone for days at a time. It is a challenging, multi-faceted job but I think that is part of the reason I enjoy it. No day or case is ever the same.

I value the fractional working immensely as it means I largely work term time only. I now have a better work life balance than I ever had in private practice, even when I had always deliberately chosen to work for organisations that had family friendly working arrangements.

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