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Employment law brief: 19 January 2024

19 January 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8055 / Categories: Features , Employment
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The end of 2023 brought a blizzard of new legislation & some thorny EAT decisions. Ian Smith sweeps through them with gusto
  • The ACAS Code of Practice uplift.
  • The relevance of delay in constructive dismissal.
  • Employers’ policy in sickness dismissal.

December saw a flurry of employment-related legislation. This was partly to preserve certain EU-derived provisions that may have lapsed on the ending of EU law interpretation at the end of 2023, partly to flesh out the new provisions on minimum service levels during strikes (which are only just starting to prove controversial politically) and partly to transform requesting flexible working into a day-one right (see Harvey, Bulletin 546). In addition, we have seen three Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions addressing three common but not always easy areas of law, namely: the statutory uplift of compensation for not following the ACAS Code of Practice; affirmation of contract in constructive dismissal cases; and the relevance of an employer’s policy in a sickness dismissal case. In each, the judgment adds some important

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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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