Law Update

HOLIDAY BLUES

Statutory holiday entitlement accrued during sick leave can be taken as paid annual leave, according to an opinion by the advocate general. However, if the worker wishes to take the holiday he must return to work to do so. The opinion on the case HMRC v Stringer and others also states that workers should be paid in lieu of the annual leave they have accrued during their sick leave, when their employment is terminated. Deborah Hely, employment partner at Beachcroft, says: “This initial opinion is of particular interest to employers because workers on long term sickness absence may never be in a position to take their paid statutory holiday entitlement thus reducing the annual leave bill.”

EXPERT APPOINTMENTS

The binding effect of an expert’s determination depends on the terms of the contract under which he was appointed, the Court of Appeal has declared. In Homepace Ltd v Sita South East Limited the court ruled that if an expert’s determination does not lie within the scope of his authority as laid out in the contract, it has no effect as between the parties. Guy Pendell, a partner at CMSD Cameron McKenna, says: “To avoid challenge, an expert should closely comply with the exact terms of the clause under which he was appointed.”

DRUG PROBLEM

An ex-addict from Canada has successfully sued her dealer for selling her the crystal methamphetamine that nearly killed her. Sandra Bergen won her case against former nursery-school pal, Clinton Davey, who sold her the drug which brought on a heart attack, leaving her in a coma for 11 days. The ground-breaking case means that drug dealers now face the threat of legal proceedings from people who can easily recognise them, as well as criminal prosecution from police. The court entered a default judgment against Davey after he refused to name the “John Doe” supplier Bergen also named as a defendant in the case.