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09 July 2020 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7894 / Categories: Features , Employment , Discrimination
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Employment law brief: 9 July 2020

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Ian Smith walks the line of three recent employment cases

In brief

  • Dismiss all and invite reapplications: not a panacea?
  • The limits of marriage/civil partnership discrimination.
  • The relationship between discrimination arising from disability and unfair dismissal.

There is something of a theme to the three cases considered in this month’s Brief, in that they all concern borderlines and the drawing of legal lines—(1) the distinction between reorganisation and redundancy, (2) where to draw the boundary of the legal protection against discrimination on the grounds of marriage and (3) how the laws on unfair dismissal and discrimination arising from disability interrelate in a case of dismissal because of disability-related incapability.

Dismiss & reapply

The decision in Gwynedd Council v Barratt UKEAT/0206/18explores a difficult distinction in redundancy unfair dismissal law between classic cases of selection from a pool on the one hand and the modern tactic of dismissing all and inviting them to apply for the jobs available. This ultimately raises the basic question:

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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
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Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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