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12 April 2017 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7742 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Employment law brief: 12 April 2017

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Ian Smith considers recent key employment decisions

  • When is notice given at common law?
  • No contractual interpretation in a deduction from wages case.
  • Dealing with long term sickness.
  • Offers of suitable alternative employment & unfair dismissal.

Four apparently simple questions arise from the cases considered this month: (i) when is notice of dismissal actually given at common law?; (ii) how far can a tribunal look into the contractual rights and wrongs when deciding an action for unlawful deductions from wages?; (iii) how long does an employer have to wait before dismissing an employee for long-term sickness absence?; and (iv) how do the laws on suitable alternative employment and unfair dismissal fit together? The one thing they have in common is that, although the questions are simple, the answers are not necessarily so.

When is notice given at common law?

Precise dates were of extreme importance in the common law claim in Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood [2017] EWCA Civ 153; [2017] All ER (D)

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Winckworth Sherwood—Charlotte Coleman & Qaisar Sheikh

Winckworth Sherwood—Charlotte Coleman & Qaisar Sheikh

Two promoted to partner in property litigation and education teams

Dorsey & Whitney LLP—Peter Knust

Dorsey & Whitney LLP—Peter Knust

Cross-border finance and restructuring specialist joins as of counsel in London

Powell Gilbert—Callum Beamish-Lacey

Powell Gilbert—Callum Beamish-Lacey

IP firm promotes litigator to partnership

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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