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17 November 2016 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7723 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Employment law brief: 17 November 2016

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Ian Smith examines the recent cases that have been driving employment law

  • Could Aslam v Uber BV be the first case to make use of the recently-introduced power to send an appeal from the EAT directly to the Supreme Court as a “leap-frog”?
  • Including commission in statutory holiday pay—the latest from the Court of Appeal
  • Communicating a dismissal—the sound of silence.

The most newsworthy development in October was of course the widely reported decision of an ET in Aslam v Uber BV Case no 220550/2015 that two Uber taxi drivers were not self-employed, but were “workers” for the purposes of claims for the minimum wage and working time rights. This was reported as bringing not just the basic Uber business model into question, but also other examples of what is increasingly known colloquially as the “gig economy”; the media also reported the imminence of other employment tribunal cases relating to similar areas such as delivery and courier services. Not surprisingly, the backing union hailed it as a major precedent,

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NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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