header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Employment law’s fine margins

240108
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act

The court held that Stonewall’s actions were not a sufficient legal cause of Garden Court Chambers’ investigation, reinforcing a cautious approach to causation and ‘novus actus interveniens’.

Smith also examines practical lessons from the Employment Appeal Tribunal on extending notice by agreement, the need to consider all available evidence before dismissal for incapability, and the strict contractual meaning of ‘employer’ in collective redundancy law.

The unifying theme is precision: timing, evidence and statutory context matter. For employers and advisers, these cases underline how easily procedural missteps can tip the balance from lawful management to unfair dismissal. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Jonathan Askin

Hugh James—Jonathan Askin

London corporate and commercial team announces partner appointment

Michelman Robinson—Daniel Burbeary

Michelman Robinson—Daniel Burbeary

Firm names partner as London office managing partner

Kingsley Napley—Jonathan Grimes

Kingsley Napley—Jonathan Grimes

Firm appoints new head of criminal litigation team

NEWS
Hugh James has secured 500 places on King’s College London’s new AI Literacy for Law course as part of a major firm-wide push to strengthen its responsible use of generative artificial intelligence
The criminal courts will sit to their maximum capacity next year, after the Lord Chancellor David Lammy lifted the cap on Crown Court sitting days
The Lord Chancellor David Lammy has set out his plans for ‘Blitz courts’, a national listing framework and other elements of the Leveson reforms
A former Commerzbank analyst has been sentenced to eight months in prison for lying during an employment tribunal hearing
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has joined with 60 data protection authorities from around the world to call for ‘urgent regulatory attention’ to the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI)
back-to-top-scroll