Three hundred briefs in, Professor Ian Smith examines four recent cases addressing indirect restraints, disciplinary rights, harassment and tribunal decision-making, alongside legislative developments ahead of the next phase of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
In Geeks Ltd v Watts, a training-fee clawback was held capable of amounting to an indirect restraint of trade and was found unreasonable given its breadth and impact on a low-paid trainee.
Wolfe v Taka Mayfair exposed a gap in the statutory right to be accompanied at disciplinary hearings because an employee who was unaware of the meeting’s purpose had made no request for representation.
AB v GH Ltd confirmed that consent is relevant, though not necessarily decisive, in determining “unwanted” harassment. Finally, Cherrington v University of Derby reinforces an increasingly adversarial approach to tribunal litigation, restricting when tribunals should raise unpleaded legal issues themselves.
