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05 May 2021 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7931 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals , Litigants in person
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Employment law brief: 7 May 2021

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In this month’s brief, Ian Smith serves up some insight into items which are always on the employment law menu
  • Are foster carers workers?
  • Constructive dismissal: too late to make amends.
  • Striking out a litigant in person’s case.

Employment status is always on the menu in employment law. The first case considered this month addresses ‘worker’ status, but with two twists—it arose in the context of trade union law, and its subject is the very unusual legal position of foster carers. The Court of Appeal has come down in their favour, stressing how specific to their case the decision is, but encouragement is given to appeal further to the Supreme Court where the gloves would be off and reconsideration could be given to their position in the law generally, possibly leading to the extension to them of employment rights generally. The second case addresses a potentially important issue in human relations practice—if management has behaved badly to an employee who is threatening to leave and claim constructive

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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