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25 November 2011 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7491 / Categories: Features , Tribunals , Employment
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Play it again, Sam

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Ian Smith explores some recent cases that reaffirm existing employment law

The last month has felt like something of a hiatus in employment law. We are still awaiting certain cases pending before the Supreme Court and European Court of Justice, and after a rush of activity from the government before the summer recess, concerning possible amendments to legislation, that area seems to have gone to sleep temporarily. Similarly, the case law reported has not contained any major pronouncements or bombshells. On the other hand, there has been some interesting stuff reaffirming existing law but with some twists or refinements. It is into that category that the four cases chosen for this column fall.

New methods or new job?

The decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) under Slade J in Smith v London Metropolitan University [2011] IRLR 884, [2011] All ER (D) 19 (Sep) establishes a potentially important point on the employee’s implied duty of reasonable adaptation and reiterates a point on whistleblowing already made by the same judge in

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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