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13 February 2026
Issue: 8149 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Tribunals , Disciplinary&grievance procedures , Costs
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NLJ this week: Volunteers, promotions & perilous appeals

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Employment law is shifting at the margins. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ this week, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School examines a Court of Appeal ruling confirming that volunteers are not a special legal species and may qualify as ‘workers’

On capability dismissals, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has clarified that employees must be judged by the work they were contractually employed to do—not what they might do if promoted. That casts doubt on ‘up or elsewhere’ models.

Meanwhile, a flexible approach to misconduct investigations endures—employers need not run a ‘Police force’ or a ‘Crown Court’ . And passing the EAT sift offers no shield from costs: ‘simply because a matter has been argued for some time does not mean that it was arguable’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kingsley Napley—Kelly Greig & Abbie West-Kelsey

Kingsley Napley—Kelly Greig & Abbie West-Kelsey

Firm strengthens international tax team with partner and tax manager hire

Dawson Cornwell—Russell Bywater

Dawson Cornwell—Russell Bywater

Family law firm appoints new managing partner and head of matrimonial department

Forbes Solicitors—Katy Parkinson & Paul Hatton

Forbes Solicitors—Katy Parkinson & Paul Hatton

Employment and commercial offering strengthened by double hire

NEWS
Counsel for CILEX, for law centres, for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and for the Law Society laid out their arguments last week in the high-profile Mazur case
Commercial law is changing fast, driven by new technologies and the growing complexity of global markets. The University of Manchester’s LLM in International Commercial and Technology Law brings focus to that shift, highlighting the core areas that now define effective commercial legal work. By exploring corporate governance, data rights, fintech regulation and digital era intellectual property, this course gives professionals the insight they need to make informed, confident decisions in a rapidly evolving landscape
Making refugee status temporary and subject to review every 30 months will put pressure on an ‘already overstretched’ justice system, the Law Society has warned
Statutory limitation periods do not apply to unfair prejudice petitions brought under the Companies Act, the Supreme Court has held in a 4–1 majority decision, Lord Burrows dissenting
A Mental Capacity Act ‘best interests’ analysis must be undertaken for all treatment decisions for incapacitated adults, the Court of Appeal has held
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