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It is a cardinal rule in court proceedings in the UK that both parties to a disagreement must have a fair chance to state their side of the argument. This is particularly important in family cases, which are often complex and invariably emotionally charged. ...
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down a far-reaching judgment in the long-running case of Coleman v Attridge Law , which concerns the interpretation of the EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive and its impact on disability legislation in the...
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Employers are reminded that the Government’s new ‘fit note’ regime is due to replace the current system, whereby doctors issue hand-written sick notes, from 6 April 2010. Under the new system, a doctor will provide a patient who is off...
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Under the Children Act 1989 , a court may only make a care order or a supervision order if it is satisfied that the child concerned is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. In a recent case, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of a...
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Recent allegations of bullying within 10 Downing Street have raised the profile of a subject which receives relatively little coverage outside the employment tribunals, in spite of widespread prevalence in the workplace. Workplace bullying is not only...
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Family break-up is always complicated and when there is a property involved, things can get very complex indeed. In principle, when a couple are cohabiting (not married or in a civil partnership) the property belongs as of right to whoever is shown on the...
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The EU Working Time Directive lays down minimum health and safety requirements for the organisation of working time. The purpose of the entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable a worker to rest and to enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure. The...
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The Supreme Court has recently ruled to give the grandmother of a child custody over him despite the opposition of the boy’s father, who applied to have custody himself. In the view of the Court, acting in the child’s best interests means that...
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When dividing family assets on separation or divorce, judges sometimes make some surprising decisions. Where these are erroneous or unfair, they can be overturned. In a recent case, a judge ruled that in order to achieve a ‘clean break’ between...
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New guidance giving practical advice to businesses and employees on preventing workplace harassment and violence has been published following European level agreement between employer and trade union organisations on the necessity of raising awareness of...
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The Government has accepted in full the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) for a revised shortage occupation list for Tier 2 of the points-based system of immigration. The new list applies to all certificates of sponsorship assigned on...
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The publicity surrounding the imposition of a fine of £5,000 on Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, for a breach of immigration law is a reminder to employers of the need to have systems in place to demonstrate compliance with the laws preventing...
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A serious breach of an implied contractual term or the ‘final straw’ in a series of less serious actions which cumulatively undermine an employee’s trust and confidence in his or her employer will amount to a repudiatory breach of the...
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Since the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force on 25 November 2008, a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) has been issued in 86 cases. This compares with a predicted total for the first year of 50. FMPOs were introduced to help...
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The Employment Rights (Revision of Limits) Order 2009 , which details the annual inflation-linked changes in limits on the compensation amounts which can be awarded by employment tribunals, was made on 10 December 2009 and applies where the appropriate date...
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The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) 2006 introduced the concept of a transfer of undertakings by way of a service provision change. This was intended to deal with practical difficulties created, in a wide variety of...
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It may be assumed that when a couple purchase a property in equal shares, that is how ownership remains, but it isn’t necessarily so. In a recent case, the High Court had to rule on the ownership of a house, which had been bought for £30,000 by...
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Employment disputes often arise because an employer does not consider that an employee’s condition is one that qualifies them for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). It is therefore important that the definition of...
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The children of celebrities have the same right to anonymity in court proceedings as any other children, following a ruling of the High Court. The press have only been allowed into the family courts since April 2009 and can be excluded by the court when...
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The Pensions Act 2008 contains provisions which will make it compulsory (from 2012) for an employer to enrol qualifying workers aged between 22 and the state pension age who earn more than a de minimus amount (currently set at £5,035 per annum) into a...
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Under Section 237(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 , an employee has no right to complain of unfair dismissal if he or she was taking part in an unofficial strike or other unofficial industrial action at the time of their...
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The Department for Children, Schools and Families has produced guidance which sets out the key provisions of the law governing the employment of children under the school leaving age. This covers age limits and permitted hours of work, what kind of work...
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It is not uncommon on divorce for one ex-spouse to remain in the family home and the other to retain an interest in it after moving out. The importance of having documentation in place relating to the arrangements agreed upon in this situation is obvious, as...
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The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) – often referred to as the ‘Whistleblowing’ Act – gives workers legal protection when disclosing information relating to crimes, breaches of a legal obligation, miscarriages of justice,...
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The widow of a man who died as a result of being exposed to asbestos while working at an oil refinery many years earlier has been awarded more than £300,000 in compensation in the High Court. Frances Streets’ husband began his career working for...
