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15 May 2026 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8161 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals , Insurance / reinsurance
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Employment law brief: 15 May 2026

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How many employment lawyers can dance on the head of a pin? Ian Smith weighs up the latest cases & celebrates the calm before the storm
  • Recent employment law cases have included a significant ruling that conditional job offers may create binding contracts where conditions are ‘subsequent’ rather than ‘precedent’, meaning employers may still owe notice or damages if they later withdraw an offer.
  • They also include employee benefits and redundancy consultation obligations, confirming that PHI (permanent health insurance) payments can remain enforceable after dismissal, PIP benefits may be deducted from compensation awards to avoid double recovery, and that collective redundancy consultation duties can arise even where redundancies are only contingently proposed.

After the shot and shell of the April commencements for the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the various uprating orders, it is nice to get back to the relative sanity of some good old common/contract laws concepts as they apply to employment matters (though even now the next tranche of statutory commencements are being

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Signature Litigation—Catherine Naylor

Signature Litigation—Catherine Naylor

International fraud and asset recovery offering boosted by partner hire

Stevens & Bolton—Alexa Payet

Stevens & Bolton—Alexa Payet

Private wealth disputes team adds contentious probate specialist

Morgan Lewis—Paul Feldberg

Morgan Lewis—Paul Feldberg

Firm strengthens investigations and sanctions capabilities with London partner hire

NEWS
Cheshire West, which established an ‘acid test’ for deprivation of liberty safeguards, has been overturned by the Supreme Court
The Chancery Division and other segments of the High Court are to be replaced by a new Business and Property Division (BPD), in a major civil justice shakeup
Law firms that hold client money will need to file annual accountants’ reports and make a declaration, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirmed this week
Two district judges and a tribunal judge have been sanctioned for delays in delivering judgments and orders
Private equity (PE) investment into UK law firms halved to £250m last year, but deal volume rose, according to research by Acquira Professional Services’ Momentum private equity market tracker
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