header-logo header-logo

11 August 2017 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7758 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail

Employment law brief: 11 August 2017

07_smith

Ian Smith returns to share some tales of whistleblowing, compensation & loss

  • Undone by an oral contract.
  • Whistleblowing: public or private interest?
  • Compensation for non-pecuniary loss: applying the Simmons v Castle uprating.

A couple of weeks ago I went out on the lash with the editor of this august journal, Jan Miller. After a night on triple vodkas with Special Brew chasers, I distinctly remember her saying that she would love to put my fee for the ‘Employment Law Brief’ up to £15m per brief. I, of course, agreed and thought myself well satisfied by this obviously legally binding variation of my existing agreement; knowing that Jan is a gentleman, I did not ask for it in writing. Shortly afterwards, I passed out just as Jan was going on to another pub, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Lightweight!’.

Some time later, and restored to health, I received the payment for the last brief and was surprised to see that it remained unchanged (a book token for £2.75, redeemable only

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
back-to-top-scroll