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Ian Smith pays homage to the Law of Sod

In last month’s column I was rash/stupid enough to say that the government’s employment law review seemed to have gone temporarily to sleep. This obviously aroused the ire of the gods in charge of that well known area of British jurisprudence, the Law of Sod, because we have seen this month a veritable outpouring of papers and announcements (most recently in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement) on proposed and possible reforms.
 

  • The Department for Business, Information and Skills (BIS) and the Courts and Tribunals Service published Resolving Workplace Disputes: Government response to the consultation,
  • the BIS/DWP working party on reforms to sickness absence laws reported,
  • and Underhill P has been deputed to review the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure by next spring.

This has been supplemented quite separately by an informal report for the prime minister by a ministerial adviser (Adrian Beecroft—strangely perhaps not Adam Werritty) which argues for a more root and branch approach, and in particular has spawned

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Ward Hadaway—19 promotions

Ward Hadaway—19 promotions

19 promotions across national offices, including two new partners

Brabners—Ruth Hargreaves

Brabners—Ruth Hargreaves

Partner promoted to head of corporate team

Slater Heelis—Liam Hall, Jordan Bear & Joe Madigan

Slater Heelis—Liam Hall, Jordan Bear & Joe Madigan

Chester office expansion accelerates with triple appointment

NEWS
As AI chatbots increasingly provide legal and commercial advice, English law is beginning to confront who should bear responsibility when automated systems get things wrong
Businesses are facing a ‘dramatic rise in prosecution risks’ as sweeping reforms to corporate criminal liability come into force, expanding the net of who can be held responsible for wrongdoing inside organisations
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys has reignited debate over what exactly counts as the ‘conduct of litigation’ in modern legal practice
A controversial High Court financial remedies ruling has reignited debate over secrecy, non-disclosure and fairness in divorce proceedings involving hidden wealth
Britain’s deferred prosecution agreement regime is undergoing a significant shift, with prosecutors placing renewed emphasis on corporate cooperation, reform and early self-reporting
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