Maria Morris
Disputes around earning capacity are common in family law and employment tribunals. This article examines how vocational experts provide clarity.
3. The Underestimated Power of Vocational Evidence in Family Law and Divorce
Family law is one of the fastest growing areas for vocational expert instruction.
Why? You may ask.
This is because modern divorce cases increasingly involve disputes about:
– Earning capacity
– Ability to return to or continue to work
– Feasibility of retraining if work absence has been a significant period of time
– Impact of childcare or parental elder care responsibilities
– Hidden earning potential
– Underemployment
– Voluntary unemployment
– Career breaks
– Long-term illness
3.1 Key Questions in Divorce cases
Courts must determine:
– Should spousal maintenance be awarded?
– For how long?
– At what level?
– Is one party deliberately under-earning?
– Is a return to work realistic?
– What income could be achieved with retraining or any work place adjustments?
These are all vocational questions that vocational experts can answer
3.2 Case Example
For example, consider a couple divorcing after 12 years of marriage.
The woman worked part time until one of the children was diagnosed with severe autism. She then gave up work to care for her son and daughter. The woman has ADHD herself (adult diagnosis).
The man worked full time. He earned over £50,000 per annum. He has been made redundant recently and also just diagnosed with cancer.
Some of the questions answered within the vocational expert report were to assess and provide opinion on:
Factor in the parental care needs for the children and impact this may have on both parents in terms of their capacity for future work.
How do their health symptoms impact on any future work or earning capacity?
What types of work roles in the future could either of them conduct given their skills or career experience?
Are there any limiting challenges or factors for them resuming work such as health, geographical location or anything else?
What support or adjustments at future work would they both require, if any.
What has been the lost income from both parents during their marriage, comparing any previous roles with any future work roles?
3.3 Why Family Courts Need Vocational Experts
Family courts often rely on assumptions such as:
– “She can go back to work now the children are older.”
– “He could earn more if he tried harder.”
– “She has a degree so now she can get a professional job.”
– “He used to earn £80,000 so he can do so again.”
However, these assumptions can be wildly inaccurate.
Vocational experts provide:
– Evidence and experience based earning capacity
– Realistic retraining timelines
– Labour market analysis
– Functional capacity assessment
– Transferable Skills Analysis
– Insight into barriers such as age, health, or outdated job skills
This prevents unfair or unrealistic orders.
3.4 High Net Worth & Complex Cases
Vocational experts are increasingly used in cases involving:
– CEOs
– Directors
– Entrepreneurs
– High earning professionals
– Individuals with complex career paths
Solicitors increasingly instruct these experts in matrimonial disputes to assess remuneration and future prospects.
This is particularly important where:
– One spouse alleges the other is hiding earning potential
– A party claims they cannot return to work
– A party who seeks long-term maintenance
– There is a dispute about lifestyle, standard of living, or future income
Vocational evidence brings added clarity.
4. Employment Law and Tribunal Cases: Vocational Evidence as a Decisive Factor
Employment tribunals frequently grapple with questions such as:
– Could the claimant realistically work?
– What work could they do?
– What earnings could they achieve?
– Were reasonable adjustments feasible? Were they offered and used? Were they realistic?
– Could redeployment have been successful?
– What is the long-term impact of discrimination or injury?
Vocational questions that can all be answered using the right skillset and expert.
4.1 Disability and Reasonable Adjustments
Vocational experts provide evidence on:
– Functional limitations
– Workplace adjustments
– Feasibility of redeployment
– Physical limitations such as manual handling or sitting restrictions
– Cognitive and psychological barriers
– Fatigue, pacing, and stamina
– Sensory sensitivities
– Executive functioning challenges
This is essential in cases involving:
– Autism
– ADHD
– PTSD
– Long Covid
– Chronic pain
– Stress related illness
As a result, tribunals increasingly expect objective evidence rather than employer speculation.
These experts understand and often recommend what equipment or adjustments could be used at work to help overcome these barriers.
4.2 Unfair Dismissal and Capability Cases
Vocational experts can determine:
– Could the claimant realistically perform their role
– Whether alternative roles were viable
– Were the employer’s expectations were reasonable
– Whether the claimant’s job search was adequate
– What earnings the claimant could achieve post dismissal
This evidence can significantly influence the future earnings potential or remedy.
4.3 Pre-Tribunal Negotiations
Vocational evidence often leads to early settlement or avoiding any Tribunal costs because it:
– Clarifies earning capacity
– Reduces uncertainty
– Strengthens negotiation positions
– Provides objective evidence for both sides to reach a mutual realistic agreement.
In practice, this is why solicitors and individuals, in Circle Case Management’s experience, are increasingly using vocational reports as a strategic tool.
For example, a lady in her thirties with autism, ADHD, anxiety and some mild speech difficulty who had been placed under investigation of a client complaint at work. She had only received 1 adjustment out of 14 recommended adjustments previously assessed by Occupational Health and Access To Work. This instruction was to resolve a grievance with her employer prior to taking it to Employment Tribunal. Various recommendations were made to assist all parties avoid this costly and stressful action.
Maria Morris is available for instruction across the U.K. To request her C.V or discuss your Expert requirements, please email expert@circlecm.com or call 0129724145.
This article is article 3 of 4. Stay tuned for the next article in this series. This article forms part of a wider series on vocational evidence in UK law. The full reference list for this series is included in Article 4.