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NLJ this week: Minor errors—from misery to forgiveness?

05 July 2024
Issue: 8078 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Employment , Tribunals
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Some errors are small and forgivable, but whether this is so may depend on the judge

In this week’s NLJ, Ffyon Reilly, barrister at No5 Barristers’ Chambers and senior lecturer at City Law School, takes a look at judicial discretion in the employment tribunals.

Reilly considers case law around rule 37, which requires an appeal to be instituted within 42 days. Subsections refer to minor infractions and the recommended course of judicial action.

Reilly covers amendments to the rules, as well as cases illustrating how courts have responded to various minor errors. She writes: ‘This unforgiving set of rules was applied uniformly to provide what the Court of Appeal described in Jurkowska… as an “equality of misery”, when looking at examples of having to refuse to waive delays of mere minutes or hours in filing “where they would not have hesitated to enlarge time had there been a similar lapse in filing the papers in the Civil Appeals Office”.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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