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Employment law brief: 5 March 2021

03 March 2021 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7923 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals
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Having your cake & EATing it: Ian Smith provides some food for thought
  • Future implications of the Supreme Court’s Uber judgment.
  • Broad issues of policy that arise when two protected characteristics clash.
  • Disclosure and inspection—the test to be applied.
  • Procedure at the hearing—admissibility of similar fact evidence.

The big news in recent weeks has, of course, been the decision of the Supreme Court in Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5, [2021] All ER (D) 89 (Feb), upholding the Court of Appeal’s finding of worker status for gig economy Uber drivers, and also holding that they have that status (for the purposes of the national minimum wage, working time holiday entitlements and whistleblowing claims) for the whole time that their booking app is on. The case is dealt with elsewhere—specifically in Charles Pigott’s NLJ update next week—but one comment may be made here. The decision has been widely reported in the press with speculation not just as to its

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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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