A barrister is taking his former employer to a tribunal after losing his job for spanking a fellow employee.

Robert Jones was an employed barrister at boutique firm LEXLAW until June last year. Some time before leaving the firm Jones spanked his colleague (Jones asked that we not name her) over the desk of a LEXLAW's partner who was busy in court. The pair also exchanged messages containing BDSM sex contracts, stipulating preferences, limits, safe words and the like.

Jones, who was entirely sanguine about the events and happy to be named, told RollOnFriday that he handed in his notice after a salary dispute on Friday 6th June 2017. On the Sunday LEXLAW's Managing Director emailed him to ask if he would reconsider his decision. Jones said he would not. On the Monday he was told that he would be suspended as a result of his bringing his hobby to work. Jones said that the events complained of by the firm occurred long before his resignation, and that they were simply raised so that LEXLAW wouldn't have to pay him for his notice period.

Some people would be too embarrassed about their sexual predelictions being made public to take matters further. Not Jones, who did a Max Mosley and went after the firm. He's no slouch - whilst an undergraduate at Cambridge he was awarded the Tyson medal for mathematical astrophysics - and has already notched up three preliminary hearings. The final hearing is listed for 16th-27th July.
 

Jones. Giving LEXLAW a spanking.

Jones said that the correspondence between himself and his paramour was on personal email, and that he had complained to the Information Commissioner's Office. He added that he believed  that his colleague's claim against LEXLAW had just settled.

LEXLAW said "we can confirm that inappropriate workplace activities took place last year when a senior barrister sent a sexual contract to a very junior employee. In order to avoid damaging the reputations of these former members of staff we decline to make any comment other than to state that the activities that took place are as unacceptable in our workplace as they would no doubt be in any workplace."

Jones said "I regret that my employment with LEXLAW has ended so acrimoniously, despite my efforts to the contrary.

I had a consensual BDSM relationship with another employee, which included one brief incident in private on work premises several months before the disciplinary proceedings. I was appalled to find out that my employer was monitoring my personal communications over a period of at least several months and the ICO have confirmed that this is unlikely to have complied with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

I believe that the disciplinary proceedings were brought against me as retaliation for my having handed in notice following a disagreement over salary and not as a result of the much earlier incident.

The final hearing is due to start on 16 July 2018 and I expect to be vindicated by the tribunal."