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Employment matters

04 September 2009 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7383 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Ian Smith provides an update from
the courts

Of the four cases considered in this column this month, three concern general principles of employment law—the right (or otherwise) to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing, the “effective date of termination” in a case of dismissal without notice and how equal pay claims and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) fit together. As will be seen, these topics are united by the fact that they have exercised the minds (and sometimes the patience) of employment lawyers over many years. Indeed, it is argued that the real problem behind the third one (equal pay and TUPE) is that both of these areas are, in employment law terms, so old, but historically were never designed to fit together. By contrast, the fourth case concerned a pure question of statutory interpretation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, revolving around a word that sounds perfectly normal and innocuous but had proved to be neither in the hitherto-inconsistent case law.

A right to legal representation ?

Earlier this

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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