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23 October 2015 / Alex Leslie
Issue: 7673 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Careering ahead

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Alex Leslie discusses the irresistible rise of the implied term in the contract of employment

The most powerful term implied into the contract of employment may be the term obliging an employer not to act in a way that undermines or seriously damages the relationship of mutual trust and confidence with the employee, qualified as it is by the proviso not to do so without reasonable and proper cause. The application of implied terms in particular circumstances is interesting.

Chhabra v West London Mental Health NHS Trust

In Chhabra v West London Mental Health NHS Trust [2013] UKSC 80, [2013] All ER (D) 164 (Dec) the court was concerned with the disciplinary investigation of an NHS trust concerning the employee’s conduct, which was largely about breaches of confidentiality by the employee. Early on in the process, the employer gave an undertaking that one of its HR staff would not be further involved in the investigation. Dr Chhabra was interviewed by the appointed trust investigator and a report was produced. The trust procedure then required another person

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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