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Employment law brief: 11 April 2025

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In this month’s brief, Ian Smith pays tribute to a titan of industrial relations & applauds the brevity of judgments in days gone by
  • Summary dismissal where the offence is not specified in the contract.
  • Use of lists of issues: the role of the employment tribunal.
  • Worker: the basic requirement of a contract, but with whom?

In the 21 March issue of NLJ there was an article about this year’s LexisNexis Legal Awards, which included the news that a lifetime contribution award had been presented to Michael Rubenstein, the editor of the Industrial Relations Law Reports. I am sure that readers of this monthly column/epistle/rant would like to join me in congratulating him on this richly deserved honour. His has truly been a monumental contribution to the development of employment law since the 1970s.

As I sit here in my freezing garret, typing through fingerless mittens yet more Harvey, I have the consolation of looking at shelves worth of box files containing

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NEWS

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
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