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Employment law brief: 9 May 2025

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Feeling like challenging the rules? Ian Smith saddles up & considers some cautionary tales on less favourable treatment, whistleblowing protection for jobseekers & more
  • Part-time workers: less favourable treatment of part-time workers must be solely because of their part-time status.
  • Express vs implied terms: express terms in employment contracts should be considered and applied before implying any terms.
  • Whistleblowing laws: job applicants are not covered by whistleblowing laws, except for NHS applicants.
  • Disclosure and inspection: employment tribunals can order disclosure of information, not just documents.
  • Costs and vexatious conduct: conduct that impinges on proceedings can justify a costs order.

The most newsworthy event in the last month in employment/discrimination law was, of course, the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 on the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010. This has been considered specifically elsewhere in NLJ (see ‘Equality Act 2010—“man”, “woman” & “sex” defined’, NLJ, 2 May 2025,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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