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13 May 2022 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7978 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Employment law brief: 13 May 2022

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Relationships matter, says Ian Smith. And nowhere more so than in modern employment law which grapples with some of the more painful aspects of working life
  • The relationship between mutual agreement and taking a redundancy offer.
  • The relationship between the last straw doctrine and use of an internal grievance procedure.
  • The relationship between the duty to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal.
  • The relationship between subjective belief and reasonableness in harassment law.

There is a theme to the four cases considered this month, which is relationships. For once (at the moment) this is not about various fumblings (with persons or tractors) after extended drinks in Parliamentary bars, but within particular areas of modern employment law, namely mutual agreement/ redundancy offers, the last straw doctrine/use of grievance procedures, the duty to make reasonable adjustments/unfair dismissal and subjective belief/reasonableness in harassment cases.

Mutual agreement & redundancy

The question whether an employment has been terminated by agreement (hence no dismissal and no action for unfair dismissal) has raised several important issues

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NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
NLJ this week: Do Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor meet the misconduct bar?
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
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A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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