Posted on
18-06-09
It is well established law that in order for an employee to be entitled to resign their employment and claim constructive dismissal the employer must have committed a ‘repudiatory’ breach of contract. However, the circumstances as to what might constitute a repudiatory breach of contract have always been more complex. A repudiatory breach of contract does not necessarily have to be one isolated incident and can be a series of incidents over time.The government’s policy of aiming, insofar as possible, to introduce new employment legislation only twice yearly means that we have not seen a wealth of new legislation in May but this is more than made up for by the copious amount of case law.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (the EAT) has been considering whether belief in climate change can be a philosophical belief; what evidence is required in applying for an extension of time in the ironically entitled Accurist Watches v Wadher case; in North Tyneside Primary Care Trust v Ms Aynsley we hear the refreshingly frank and honest comments by the President of the EAT about certain parts of the, thankfully, outgoing Employment Tribunal rules of procedure; there are two interesting constructive dismissal cases, a lesson in lying (or should we say not lying) at Tribunal and we look at the government’s announcement providing details of its new ‘fit note’ to replace the old sick note.
Whilst many of the cases featured in this month’s review are at EAT level, we also report on the important Rolls Royce case in the Court of Appeal addressing whether the use of length of service as a criterion in redundancy selection is unlawful age discrimination.
Mike Cummins - parter
Posted on
05-05-09
In this month’s Review we look at the end of the statutory dispute resolution procedures and the transitional arrangements relating to the new regime; we report on a case which dealt with the difficult issue of whether employees should be entitled to legal representation at internal disciplinary hearings; we report on various other changes which took place in April and also consider the latest statistics revealing the significant increase in Employment Tribunal claims last year.
Vanessa DiCuffa
Posted on
01-04-09
The current banking crisis and credit crunch has shattered consumer confidence and led to a series of well documented Government bailouts. Hardly a day seems to go by without further reports of economic instability. Much of the blame lies with the sub-prime mortgage market. In this bulletin we explore the main principles of Islamic finance and consider whether it offers an alternative to conventional banks.
Posted on
01-04-09
In this month’s review we look at the decision in Child Support Agency (Dudley) v Truman, which followed the decision in the Malcolm case on the comparator in disability related discrimination cases; we examine transferees’ obligations following a TUPE transfer on the terms of a collective agreement on pay made before the transfer; we discuss the tightening of immigration controls and its effects on the UK labour force; we review “sham” contracts; and the requirements of outlining whether the employee is at risk of dismissal in a step 1 letter under the Statutory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures; we look at the threat of cloned CVs, and the new website launched by the Health and Safety Executive on helping employers to deal with work related stress.
Jagruti Gohil
Posted on
12-03-09
CONSENT OR NOT CONSENT - THAT IS THE QUESTION
The recent High Court decision in Alchemy Estates Limited v Astor and Another [2008] (”Alchemy”) which considered the Court of Appeal’s decision in Aubergine Enterprises Ltd v Lakewood International Ltd [2002] (”Aubergine”) serves as a timely reminder that great care needs to be taken by landlords and their solicitors/agents, when responding to requests for consent from tenants. The case itself related to a request for consent to assign. That said the same issues are also relevant when considering other types of request, e.g. to carry out alterations
Posted on
02-03-09
In this month’s review we look at the controversial decision in Stringer -v- HMRC which will reshape the law on holiday for employees on sickness absence; review the upcoming amendments to the Employment Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure; we examine the principle of ‘double recovery’ in the context of a constructive dismissal claim; a clarification of the requirements an employer must fulfil to rely on the statutory defence to a claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments in a disability case and a reminder to check your spelling!
Kay Greig
Posted on
05-02-09
Welcome to the first edition of our review exclusively for Universities
Our dedicated Education Team have a working understanding of the operational hallenges you face and includes individuals who have worked in Higher Education institutions both delivering legal advice and contributing to the management.
In this Review, we look at age discrimination, student contracts and The Charities Act 2006 for HE bodies. The articles provide a practical view on how to achieve best practice within the legal framework in which you operate. If you would like to discuss the issues raised then please let me know or contact the author who will be very happy to discuss these with you.
Philippa Dempster
Head of Education Sector
0115 936 9334
philippa.dempster@freethcartwright.co.uk
Posted on
04-02-09
Welcome to the first edition of Freeth Cartwright’s Further Education Review
From our work within this sector we have noted the challenges that this sector is facing and look forward to working with you to help FE organisations be ‘fit for the future’.
As always, we welcome any comments, queries or a general discussion in terms of issues you are facing and how we might be able to provide assistance.
