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EBAY ADDICTS

04 October 2007
Issue: 7291 / Categories: Legal News , Disciplinary&grievance procedures , Technology , Employment
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In brief

Three council workers have lost their jobs for spending too long on eBay while at work. The three Neath Port Talbot council workers were spending up to two hours a day on the internet auction site. One employee was sacked and two others quit after an investigation into the “unacceptable level of usage” by some workers of the internet for personal purposes. Unison—which represents the workers—claims that the council, by failing to put a block on access to non-work sites, had put temptation in the workers’ way. Struan Robertson, a technology lawyer with Pinsent Masons, says the case should act as a spur to employers to check their internet use policies.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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