Muneeb
Akram

Muneeb regularly appears before the First-Tier Immigration Tribunal on behalf of appellants, conducting immigration appeals against Home Office decisions. He is instructed on a variety of cases, including claims for asylum, human rights claims, and visa applications. Muneeb has experience of drafting grounds of appeal, summary grounds of defence and defences, as well written advices to his professional clients. He appears before the Upper Tribunal and is able to represent clients at oral permission hearings and substantive appeal hearings. He has gained a greater understanding of the legal framework for such cases from his study of the European Human Rights and International Human Rights law modules, on the LLM Masters Degree.

Muneeb is able to converse with clients in Urdu to a fluent level and he also speaks Punjabi to a conversational level. He previously worked as a Solicitor for central government, defending Home Office decisions, primarily arising out of judicial review, immigration litigation. In such cases, his advice is based on legal principles of judicial review and whether the decision involves illegality, irrationality or procedural impropriety.

Having previously worked as an inhouse solicitor for two NHS foundation trusts, Muneeb has considerable experience of conducting inquests before HM Coroners’ Court. He has subsequently been instructed to represent interested persons in inquest proceedings, including Article 2 inquests before a jury. He is able to draft written, legal submissions in preparation for inquests. He is also able to conduct advocacy, including witness handling duties and oral, legal submissions.

Muneeb has experience of conducting healthcare regulatory matters and has carried out work for the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Dental Council and the General Medical Council. He is able to advise on and construct cases at the investigation stage of the process, involving registrants’ fitness to practise. He is also able to appear before the respective tribunal and conduct advocacy either for the regulatory body or for the registrant, at both final hearings and interim orders hearings.

Muneeb represents employee and employer clients across the UK, before the Employment Tribunal, and Employment Appeal Tribunal. He acts for claimants, respondents and trade unions in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, harassment and victimisation claims, wrongful and unfair dismissal cases, claims for unpaid wages and equal pay claims. Muneeb has conducted a range of employment discrimination matters, including race discrimination, as well as direct and indirect discrimination claims.

In particular, Muneeb has conducted employment tribunal cases dealing with a range of issues, including the following: Unlawful deduction of wages claims arising from Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which refers to “wages properly payable” by an employer to an employee;

Continuity of employment contracts and consideration of an employee’s terms and conditions of service, including public sector employee claims; Breach of contract claims and considering whether such a claim “arises or is outstanding on the termination of the employee’s employment”, applying Article 3 (c) of the Industrial Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994; Consideration of a claimant’s employment status, including consideration of whether a contract between a claimant and respondent, was one of service within the meaning of Section 230(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996; Consideration of whether a claimant was a worker within the meaning of Section 203(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996; Claims that a claimant was an employee for the purposes of Section 83 of the Equality Act 2010; Claims that a claimant was a worker for the purpose of Regulation 2 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; Claims for pregnancy discrimination pursuant to Section 83(2) of the Equality Act 2010, including consideration of the two stage test in discrimination claims, as set down by the Court of Appeal in Wong v Igen Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 142; Direct disability discrimination claims under Section 13 of the Equality Act 2010, including consideration of issues of “less favourable” treatment, an actual or hypothetical comparator, and establishing the reason for the alleged unfavourable treatment and whether an alleged discriminator acted "because of" a protected characteristic; Discrimination arising from disability claims under Section 15 of the Equality Act 2010, including consideration of issues of “unfavourable treatment”, “because of something arising in consequence of the Claimant’s disability”, and “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”; An employer’s knowledge of disability and whether the employer “did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know”, that the Claimant had “the disability”, under Section 15(2) of the Equality Act 2010; Claims involving reasonable adjustments under Sections 20, 21 and 22 of the Equality Act 2010; Harassment related to disability claims under Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010, including consideration of “unwanted conduct”, “related to a relevant protected characteristic”, “violating dignity” and “offensive environment”; Victimisation claims under Section 27 of the Equality Act 2010, including consideration of “detriment” and whether any detriment is because of a protected act; Compensation claims for holiday pay and rest periods under the Working Time Regulations 1998; Claims for and calculation of, statutory redundancy pay; Claims for unfair dismissal, pursuant to Section 98(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, including consideration of the reasonableness of the dismissal; Sex discrimination claims, pursuant to Section 39 of the Equality Act 2010; and Whistleblowing and detriment claims, including under Section 47B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Muneeb advises government departments regularly, in a range of litigated cases. He conducts complex unlawful detention cases, drafts defences and prepares advices in high value claims for damages for false imprisonment. Muneeb is routinely instructed as a trial advocate, in relation to both fast track and multi track cases. He conducts interlocutory hearings and CCMCs in unlawful detention cases.

He chairs conferences and advises, in a broad range of complex and challenging work. Muneeb conducts road traffic accident, occupiers liability, employers liability and holiday sickness claims. He has a particular aptitude for advancing and defending arguments of fundamental dishonesty, as well as dealing with technical, credit hire points. Having previously conducted both claimant and defendant personal injury work as a solicitor, he has significant experience of drafting particulars of claim, defences and schedules of loss in litigated cases. As a Solicitor, he worked for several, national defendant firms, conducting counter-fraud defendant work, low velocity impact cases and credit hire arguments. He also handled personal injury matters on behalf of HM Prison Service, including liability for assaults and injuries to prisoners.

Having trained as a solicitor with a national firm, Muneeb conducted work for the NHS Litigation Authority, in the defence of clinical negligence claims. He also defended claims on behalf of the Medical Protection Society. He is able to draft statements of case and schedules of loss, chair conferences, attend negotiations and advise on liability, quantum, and expert evidence in clinical negligence claims.

In 2018, Muneeb completed an LLM Masters Degree in International Law at University College London. He authored a dissertation, critically evaluating the juxtaposing crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity and whether alignment of those crimes is desirable and necessary.

He conducts both criminal prosecution and criminal defence work, before the Magistrates Court, Youth Court and Crown Court. He has a particular appetite for and attention to detail towards, criminal trial advocacy. He is currently a Grade 2 Advocate on the CPS Advocate Panel List. As a former solicitor-advocate in criminal advocacy, Muneeb has particular expertise in criminal prosecution work. He previously worked for the Crown Prosecution Service as a Senior Crown Prosecutor. He undertook trials in the Magistrates’ Court and Youth Court, covering a wide range of criminal offences. He undertook advocacy in remand courts, dealing with bail applications, sending provisions in either way cases and sentencing. He also assisted the Crown Court Unit Trial Preparation Team. He would conduct Crown Court cases and provide charging advice to the Police.