Services
General & specialist advice
Barry has been involved in teaching, researching and working in employment and equality law for over 25 years. Since the mid-80s, his academic focus has been largely on European aspects of equality and employment law. As a part-time tribunal Chairman, Barry dealt with equality law cases but also a wide range of employment law matters.
While an officer of the Equality Commission, he advised the Commission on the revision of its legal assistance strategy and advised its Legal Funding Committee on the legal aspects of applications for assistance. He gave advice to the Commission on a range of legal issues including hate crime legislation, language rights, tribunal reform and legal aspects of the Commission's Good Practice Guide on Sexual Orientation Discrimination.
Barry was also responsible for overseeing Commission investigations into alleged failures on the part of public authorities to comply with their equality schemes. He contributed to the development of the Commission's investigation policies and advised its Investigations Committee and the Commission on investigation reports.
Since leaving the Commission, Barry has advised the Commission on guidance on public authority 5 year reviews of equality schemes, has become a member of the DRC's Advisory Group on single equality legislation, is now EC equality law adviser to the European Disability Forum and has worked with Legal-Island on equality law advice to its newsletter subscribers and conference delegates.
Legal policy work
While Head of Legal Policy & Advice at the Equality Commission, Barry was responsible for the formulation of legal policy adopted by the Commission. He made a significant contribution to the Commission's stance on a Single Equality Act for NI. He drafted the Commission's response to implementation of European Community equality directives both in Great Britain and Northern Ireland and legal aspects of a range of policy responses on matters such as hate crime and unauthorised encampments. Commission publications can be found on its website, www.equalityni.org.
Barry has also worked with the European Commission's Network of Experts on Implementation of the (Sex) Equality Directives and was an International Expert on the Commission's Expert Network on Race and Religious Equality. He also contributed to the Network of Specialised Equality Agencies in his capacity of an officer of the Commission.
Since becoming a consultant, Barry has worked with the Equality Commission on its response to proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 and the proposed Employment Equality (Age Discrimination) Regulations both in GB & NI. He has also worked with the Disability Rights Commission on the possible integration of disability discrimination law into a Single Equality Act for GB and with the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children & Young People on his legal assistance strategy.
Training
Barry has extensive experience of legal and practical training. He has worked with the Law Society for NI and the Bar Council of NI on European law training. He has contributed to a range of Legal-Island conferences on equality law and employment law. In 2004, he led three innovative training sessions on aspects of equality law, in collaboration with relevant NGOs, for the Judicial Studies Board of NI.
He has worked with the Social Charter Secretariat of the Council of Europe particularly in Eastern Europe and in conferences run by a range of European institutions including the European Commission, the European Disability Forum and the European Institute for Public Administration. He has given conference and seminar presentations across Europe and at Harvard University, the University of Missouri and the University of Cape Town.
While an officer of the Commission, Barry gave extensive training internally on all aspects of equality law and also a number of external presentations on EC equality law, race, age, disability and sexual orientation discrimination and on the Commission's proposals for single equality legislation. He has also contributed to seminars on statutory recognition and information and consultation in his capacity as Deputy (and now Acting) Chairman of the Industrial Court.
Since becoming a consultant, he has participated in conferences organised by the CBI(NI) and Legal-Island in Belfast, Craigavon and Banbridge Health Trust in Portadown, Equality Exchange in Glasgow, the Ambulance Services Association in London, the European Disability Forum in Maastricht and Athens, the European Institute for Public Administration also in Maastricht and Brussels and the European Commission in Bucharest.
Dispute resolution
Barry has extensive experience of dispute resolution as a part-time Chairman of Industrial Tribunals. He also has experience of both formal and informal dispute resolution as Deputy (and now Acting) Chairman of the Industrial Court. He was closely involved in the development of the ICNI's adjudicatory procedures and in the ECNI's investigatory procedures into alleged failures to comply with equality schemes.
Legal and socio-legal research
Barry has an established reputation in legal publishing and research. He has published in law journals such as the Industrial Law Journal, for which he has been European Developments Co-editor, the Modern Law Review and the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. He has conducted research projects across European and international labour and equality law including the utilisation of equality law litigation in the EU and the role of international labour standards in European and UK labour law. He is UK national expert in a research project for the European Commission co-ordinated by Human European Consultancy and the Migration Policy Group on equality law provision in areas outside employment and training.
He is adviser to two research projects concerning LGBT rights in Ireland. One project, jointly funded by the Equality Commission and the Equality Authority, concerns access to rights for LGBs on the island of Ireland. The second project, funded by OFMDFM, concerns experiences of public service provision by LGBTs in Northern Ireland.