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05 November 2021 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7955 / Categories: Features
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Employment law brief: 5 November 2021

63026
Ian Smith leaves no stone unturned as he tackles rudeness, gross insubordination, stigmatisation, honour, reputation, & protected disclosure
  • Court of Appeal consideration of ‘substitution’ clauses in gig economy cases.
  • Adjudicating on a whistleblowing case—Employment Appeal Tribunal advice.
  • Disclosure—legal professional privilege and the ‘iniquity’ exception.
  • Anonymity orders—embarrassment/stigma not enough.

The four cases considered this month all contain useful guidance for tribunals and all the rest of us struggling blindly in the Stygian gloom of employment law. In the first, the Court of Appeal gave welcome consideration to the perennial problem of substitution clauses in cases on employment/worker status, and did so specifically in the context of gig economy working. In the second case the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) strongly recommended a structured approach to adjudication in whistle blowing cases.

The third and fourth cases concerned matters of procedure, rather than substantive liability. In the third the EAT considered the ‘iniquity’ exception to professional privilege (coming to a conclusion that claimants’ representatives might find worrying), and in the fourth it gave

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

NEWS
Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales
The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
Artificial intelligence, proportionality and public decision-making are under increasing judicial scrutiny, according to the latest public law round-up from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Families relying on informal agreements over property ownership could face costly consequences if disputes arise, the High Court has warned
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