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28 April 2017 / Charles Pigott
Issue: 7743 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Locked down?

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Has the Supreme Court signalled that the law surrounding the Working Time Regulations has been settled, asks Charles Pigott

  • The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal in the latest round of holiday pay litigation.
  • There are still some loose ends to tie up, but further assistance from the UK’s top court looks unlikely.

British Gas’s application for permission to appeal against last year’s Court of Appeal decision in Lock v British Gas [2016] EWCA Civ 983, [2016] IRLR 946 was refused on 28 February. The reason given was that the application did not raise an arguable point of law. So does this mean that the law on the calculation of statutory holiday pay is now settled?

The commission issue

Last year’s Court of Appeal decision was ostensibly about the narrow issue of whether the Working Time Regulations (SI 1998/1833) (WTR) could be interpreted in a way that was consistent with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the same litigation ([2014] All ER (EC) 1194, [2014] IRLR

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Winckworth Sherwood—Charlotte Coleman & Qaisar Sheikh

Winckworth Sherwood—Charlotte Coleman & Qaisar Sheikh

Two promoted to partner in property litigation and education teams

Dorsey & Whitney LLP—Peter Knust

Dorsey & Whitney LLP—Peter Knust

Cross-border finance and restructuring specialist joins as of counsel in London

Powell Gilbert—Callum Beamish-Lacey

Powell Gilbert—Callum Beamish-Lacey

IP firm promotes litigator to partnership

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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