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Employment law brief: 9 March 2017

09 March 2017 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7737 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Ian Smith tackles Pimlico Plumbers, the gig economy & the legal horror of a claim too far

  • Application of the “worker” definition to the “gig economy”.
  • Implication of implied terms into contracts of employment.
  • How even a concept as wide as religion or belief discrimination has some boundaries.

February has been a busy month on the legislative front, with the commencement of the new rules on trade union balloting and political funds on 1 March and the new Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/172) coming into force on 6 April. Also on the latter date, the annual Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2017 (SI 2017/175) raises the maximum basic award/statutory redundancy payment to £14,670 and the maximum compensatory award to £80,541, giving a normal maximum for unfair dismissal of £95,211.

On the case law front, of the three chosen for this column two are concerned with important fundamentals of individual employment law, namely the application of the “worker” definition to what is increasingly referred

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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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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