Recent Posts

Decision awarding trade union members over £400K reversed by Court of Appeal
Today the Court of Appeal in Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and Others held that trade unions with collective bargaining rights cannot prevent...
14/06/19
Brexit and the Monarchy
The Conservative Party hustings that are taking place to identify a new leader for the Conservative Party and a new Prime Minister for...
12/06/19
Court of Appeal confirms voluntary overtime must be included in holiday pay
Last year, we reported the case of Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust, where the EAT ruled that NHS staff employed under the...
12/06/19
Brexit and Human Rights
Part of the impetus for leaving the European Union was arguably to take back control over Human Rights law. This explains why Section...
11/06/19
Government must substantially increase compensation to deter employers from covering up discrimination
The House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee has today published its report into the use of non-disclosure agreements in some...
11/06/19
Part 3... In which I try to predict what Starter Homes will look like...
If we ever get the Regulations for them...* I could use this blog to carry on my rant from Part 2. I could have followed up my comments...
10/06/19... Part 2; but where have they come from?
Tbf I didn't know whether to take Nicola's previous title literally and start with a spaceship meme*. Instead I'm going to take the...
07/06/19
Brexit and the appliance of Science
On 3rd June 2019, "The Guardian" newspaper reported on an interview with Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel prize-winning director of the Francis...
06/06/19
Has the government quietly dropped naming and shaming employers underpaying NMW?
The Low Pay Commission recently published its second NMW non-compliance and enforcement report, which revealed that the number of people...
06/06/19
The CIL Regs have Landed...
It isn't very often that I feel personally victimised by a government department. That changed on Tuesday, when MHCLG published their...
06/06/19
Knowledge and disability: what do you know and when did you find out?
What happens if you discover your employee has a disability after you've dismissed them but before you determine their appeal. Do you...
04/06/19
From Planning Minister to Prime Minister? Some Manifesto Suggestions for Kit Malthouse
The revolving door at MHCLG* looks set to keep right on spinning, as not just one, but three, former Planning Ministers have thrown their...
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A key employee has been selected for jury service - can you say no?
Our FAQs answer this and other questions you may have about jury service. Do employees have a legal right to take time off work to sit on...
31/05/19
Brexit and parliamentary scrutiny of UK replacement treaties
On 24th May 2019, the House of Commons library published a useful 92-page Briefing Paper on the process of replacing EU treaties ( to...
30/05/19/Passle/55fad6bcb00e7e097cd579a6/SearchServiceImages/2019-05-30-11-32-43-372-5cefbf5b989b6e10807c40bd.png)
Employee awarded over £16k for injury to their feelings after 'one off' act of discrimination
In the case of Base Childrenswear Ltd v Otshudi, the EAT made it clear that employers can face substantial 'injury to feelings' awards,...
30/05/19
Brexit and its impact on Accounting and Corporate Reporting and the appointment of Auditors - Further Guidance
In February 2019, we reported on two letters of guidance issued jointly by BEIS ( the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial...
29/05/19
Court of Appeal: employers can enhance maternity pay without increasing shared parental pay
The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in the cases of Ali v Capita and Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police. It...
29/05/19
Brexit and the future of London
In the words of the old Flanagan & Allen song :- "... Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner That I love London town...." For those of us...
24/05/19
Can Soft Play save our High Streets? Permitted development and the changing face of retail
It seems that you can barely go a week without reading a headline about the parlous state of our high streets. Stories like the recent...
24/05/19
What would you do if an employee tweeted *that* royal baby picture?
Social media is part of our culture. We spend far too long glued to our phones, checking out who said what to whom and, sometimes,...
23/05/19
Brexit and the future of financial regulation in the UK
On 16th May 2019 , the Bank of England published a speech given by Sam Woods (Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation at the Bank of...
17/05/19
Brexit and a letter from the Secretary of State
On 15th May 2019, the UK Government Department for exiting the European Union ( "DexEU") published on its website a letter dated 14th...
15/05/19
Research indicates employers are failing to take pregnant workers' health seriously
Detailed research conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into the experience of mothers at work has found that 41% of...
15/05/19
Brexit and its wider political and economic context
On 10th May 2019, the UK Government Department for Exiting the EU ("DexEU") published on its website a transcript of the speech given the...
14/05/19
Court of Appeal does not sit on the fence when it comes to easements....
Real estate expert, Ryan Smale, examines a recent case concerning a possible fencing easement. Introduction In Churston Golf Club Ltd v...
14/05/19
European court tells employers to properly measure the length of time their staff are working
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has today handed down an important judgment about working time in the case of CCOO v...
14/05/19
Sanctuary Spaces: Can thoughtful development improve our mental health?
Last week, an email popped into my inbox from the BPF - highlighting a social media campaign they are running for Mental Health Awareness...
13/05/19
The reassuring "buzz" in the ear of the neighbourhood planning officer.
This week’s Planning Magazine reports that Councils are adding drones to their planning toolkit. It is a story which also features in the...
10/05/19
Need temporary staff? Choose your work agency carefully
Agency workers have a number of rights set out in the Agency Workers Regulations 2010. After twelve weeks there are entitled to the same...
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How do you manage an "unmanageable" employee?
That was the question in issue in the case of Gibson v London Borough of Hounslow and Crane Park School. Facts Ms Gibson was a US...
09/05/19