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Employment law brief: 11 December 2020

10 December 2020 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7914 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals , Discrimination
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Ian Smith signs off for the year with a salute to Shakespeare
  • Considerations for applications to amend employment tribunal claims.
  • Guidance on when to order special disclosure in an employment tribunal.
  • ‘Cost-plus’ justification in discrimination law.

It has been said that the works of Shakespeare are less a collection of plays than a long series of quotations. The same might be said of Vaughan v Modality Partnership (2020) UKEAT/0147/20, the first reported decision of the new Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judge (and, we are delighted to say, our new Harvey editor), Judge James Tayler, which subjects the law on amending employment tribunal (ET) claims to fresh scrutiny and contains several highly quotable passages for any lawyers or representatives having to deal with this matter.

The judgment starts with this salutary reminder about using well established principles of law:

‘This appeal concerns the correct approach to adopt when considering an application to amend. It might be said that everything that needs to be said about

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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