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18 October 2013
Issue: 7580 / Categories: Features , Civil way
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Civil way: 18 October 2013

  • Workplace blow
  • It's the court fee that counts
  • New PI guidelines
  • Court counters closed for breakfast & tea

CLAIMS INJURED

Industrial relations will deteriorate once canteen parlance moves on to s 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. It was brought into force against the wishes of the House of Lords and, no doubt, most claimant practitioners on 1 October 2013 under the Act’s third commencement order (SI 2013/2227). So what’s so enterprising about s 69 then? Far from offering organic cream as an alternative to custard with the lunch pudding course, it amends the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by scrapping the right of action for breach of duty on the strength of failing to comply with a health and safety regulation unless the regulation specifically provides for such right. This will apply whether the regulation imposed strict liability or not. Criminal liability is unaffected. The repeal only catches causes of action which arose on or after the operative date.

The effect of this monumental shift is that the claimant will

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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
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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