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Employment law brief: 19 April 2024

19 April 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8067 / Categories: Features , Employment , Disciplinary&grievance procedures
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April is surely the cruellest month for employment lawyers, contends Ian Smith as he wades through a deluge of statutory changes & a trio of cases
  • Sets out this month’s statutory changes, which include the coming into force of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024.
  • Discusses in detail three recent cases—two on whistleblowing, and one on applying unfair dismissal in the context of allegations of breakdown of trust and confidence.

When TS Eliot wrote that April is the cruellest month, it is possible that he was not thinking directly of employment lawyers trying to keep up to date with our subject. But he might well have done. This April has seen a continuation of the current avalanche of statutory changes. The first day of the month saw the increases of the national living wage (extended to all those over 21) and the national minimum wages, plus the revocation of the domestic worker exemption, which had caused problems of interpretation. However, that was only

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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
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
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
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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
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