header-logo header-logo

08 August 2025 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8128 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals
printer mail-detail

Employment law brief: 8 August 2025

227503
Before heading to his beach hut, Ian Smith takes a whirlwind tour through cases dealing with time travel, judicial recusal & long term temps
  • The Court of Appeal in Lutz v Ryanair DAC confirmed that long-term arrangements (eg five years) can still be considered ‘temporary’ under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, reinforcing earlier case law and guidance on the term ‘permanent’.
  • In Revenue and Customs Commissioners v Taylors Services Ltd, the Court of Appeal ruled that travel time from home to work via employer-provided transport does not count as ‘working time’ under the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, unless specific exceptions apply.
  • Recent decisions offer important clarification on handling time limit issues at preliminary hearings and judge recusal applications, reaffirming the established Porter v Magill test for bias and rejecting arguments for a lowered threshold.

Two Court of Appeal cases in the last month have addressed and hopefully resolved two well-known issues in employment law—namely the meaning of ‘permanent’ in the law on agency

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
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

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

back-to-top-scroll