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Employment law brief: 8 December 2023

08 December 2023 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Ian Smith (not pictured) sees out the year with some employment bangers
  • Casual workers—Art 11 relevant?
  • Partners are not employees of a business engaging the partnership.
  • Does use of employer’s internal procedures constitute affirmation of contract?

The key development last month was the awaited decision of the Supreme Court in the Deliveroo case. The decision of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) that the riders were not workers in domestic law was not being challenged by this stage, reliance being placed instead on Art 11 of the European Convention. However, the result shows that, as in the past, arguments about the application of that article to the specific context of trade union rights can be one step forward and two steps back. The other two cases considered here concern two well-worn employment law conundrums (conundra?)—the legal position of partners and whether use of an employer’s internal procedures by a departing employee can ever be thrown back at them by the respondent employer as constituting affirmation of contract. The former is interesting

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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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