header-logo header-logo

10 November 2023 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8048 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail

Employment law brief: 10 November 2023

146043
Ian Smith unpacks Agnew…the long awaited decision of the Supreme Court claiming unpaid holiday pay from yesteryears
  • Holiday pay; meaning of a ‘series’ of deductions.
  • Bonus claw back clause not an unlawful restraint.
  • An odd form of restraint on an employee.

The main development in the last month has been the awaited decision of the Supreme Court in Agnew’s case on the ability to claim unpaid holiday pay for a period into the past, as part of a ‘series’ of such failures. It is suggested that one subsidiary aspect of the decision may indirectly open up such backdating even further. The other two cases considered here concern some fundamental issues in the law of restraint of trade in the employment context.

Meaning of a ‘series’ of deductions

Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew [2023] UKSC 33, [2023] All ER (D) 14 (Oct) is the awaited decision of the Supreme Court (given jointly by Lord Kitchin and Lady Rose) on appeal from the Court

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll