header-logo header-logo

Employment law brief: 12 September 2025

12 September 2025 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8130 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail
229569
Does every little help? Ian Smith delivers an update on supermarket equal pay litigation & goes the extra mile on early conciliation, victimisation & scandalous conduct
  • The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld most of the tribunal’s findings in Tesco Stores Ltd v Element, affirming that detailed job training materials were valid evidence of actual work performed, despite some procedural and factual errors.
  • In Aslam v Transport UK London Bus Ltd, the EAT clarified that the two limbs of victimisation under s 27(1) of the Equality Act 2010 are closely linked.
  • The EAT emphasised a non-technical, justice-focused approach in Chen v Coach Stores Ltd and Bailey v Aviva Employment Services Ltd, allowing claims to proceed despite naming discrepancies and scandalous conduct, respectively, where fairness and proportionality supported continuation.

There was a comment in one of these briefs a little while ago (picked up by my old mate and sparring partner, Professor Dominic Regan) about the increasing length of Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judgments (‘The insider’,

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

Clarke Willmott—Declan Goodwin & Elinor Owen

Clarke Willmott—Declan Goodwin & Elinor Owen

Corporate and commercial teams in Cardiff boosted by dual partner hire

Hill Dickinson—Joz Coetzer & Marc Naidoo

Hill Dickinson—Joz Coetzer & Marc Naidoo

London hires to lead UK launch of international finance team

Switalskis—11 promotions

Switalskis—11 promotions

Firm marks start of year with firmwide promotions round

NEWS
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
The next generation is inheriting more than assets—it is inheriting complexity. Writing in NLJ this week, experts from Penningtons Manches Cooper chart how global mobility, blended families and evolving values are reshaping private wealth advice
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming sport, from recruitment and training to officiating and fan engagement. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dr Ian Blackshaw of Valloni Attorneys at Law explains how AI now influences everything from injury prevention to tactical decisions, with clubs using tools such as ‘TacticAI’ to gain competitive edges
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
A Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruling has reopened debate on the availability of ‘user damages’ in competition claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Edward Nyman of Hausfeld explains how the CAT allowed Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen’s alternative damages case against Meta to proceed, rejecting arguments that such damages are barred in competition law
back-to-top-scroll