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Employment law brief: 11 December 2019

11 December 2019 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7868 / Categories: Features , Employment
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What makes people tick? Ian Smith signs off for the year with some sobering disclosures on motivation & revenge
  • Establishing ‘the reason’ for dismissal in an organisation.
  • Public interest and the claimant’s motivation.

The cases considered this month concern the law on protection of whistleblowers (as it happens, at the same time as the EU has produced a draft Directive on this issue, which hitherto has been purely a question of UK domestic law). The first, and most important, is the decision of the Supreme Court on how to determine the thinking/motivation of ‘the employer’ in an organisation, in particular where the dismissing manager has genuinely done so for another reason, but has been misled by another manager seeking revenge on the whistleblower. As will be seen, the significance of this case extends to other areas of unfair dismissal law. The second case is a decision of the Court of Appeal on the important but potentially difficult element of ‘public interest’ and the claimant’s motivation in making the disclosure(s)

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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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