Mary Groves
BA (Hons) German Language and Literature
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
Member of the Institute of Careers Guidance
Member of the Expert Witness Institute
Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development
Mary is a director of HJS Personnel Services having joined as a consultant and researcher in 1993. She has evaluated the employment and earnings prospects of a substantial number of people with disabilities, including those who have sustained serious spinal and head injuries. Mary has also prepared reports for employment tribunals and divorce cases and is regularly instructed as a single joint expert. She has assessed the employment and earnings prospects in a wide range of careers, including unskilled manual, skilled, managerial and professional occupations.
Prior to joining HJS Mary worked in education. Her career started as a modern language teacher in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, where she was promoted to Head of Department. In 1986 she left mainstream education and worked on a freelance basis in adult education, as a language trainer in industry and as an examiner for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, helping to set and moderate examinations for both the national and international market. Mary also worked on numeracy and literacy programmes with both adults and adolescents in order to improve their employability and quality of life. After undertaking the Common Professional Examination she passed the Law Society Finals in 1992.
In addition to preparing employment reports for the court, Mary advises claimants on employment rehabilitation. She attends seminars and conferences to update her knowledge and skills, both in relation to her work as an expert witness and as a rehabilitation consultant. Courses and seminars attended have included those on varied employment areas ranging from IT to the media and fashion industries, and events run by organisations involved in brain injury rehabilitation.
Mary undertook a part-time course in neuroscience at the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education and has a continuing professional interest in the effect of head injuries on employability.
