header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
25 January 2013 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7545 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail

Rich pickings

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Ian Smith reviews a recent key employment law decision

Employment law is all about protecting the helpless and disadvantaged—right? Well, to adapt Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop, “Up to a point, Lord Copper”. How about this for a festive pre-Christmas headline: “Banker, offered £7m on leaving employment, awarded £12m instead by our top court plus the right to sue for more, including damages for not being able to avoid as much tax on it as he was hoping to”? A real heart-cockles-warmer guaranteed to leave a nice glow in any reader. In a nutshell, that was the decision in Societe Generale, London Branch v Geys [2012] UKSC 63, [2012] All ER (D) 196 (Dec) handed down on 19 December. However, as is so often the case in employment law, what matters here in the longer term will be not the facts but the serious issues raised by them. Make no mistake, this is a genuinely important case on common law principles, even if there may be doubts (discussed below) as to how widespread its practical effects

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Zylpha LogoClick to know more
NLJ Career Profile: Maryam Syed KC, Church Court Chambers

NLJ Career Profile: Maryam Syed KC, Church Court Chambers

From childhood dreams of the Bar to some of the country's most challenging cases, Maryam Syed KC explains why she has never stopped standing up for others

DAC Beachcroft—Richard Breavington, Rachel Ford & Daniel Guilfoyle

DAC Beachcroft—Richard Breavington, Rachel Ford & Daniel Guilfoyle

DAC Beachcroft significantly expands Cyber team, hiring three Cyber partners

Browne Jacobson—Professor Clive Kay

Browne Jacobson—Professor Clive Kay

Browne Jacobson appoints senior healthcare leader Professor Clive Kay as strategic adviser

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Reframing family dispute resolution
As family justice moves further away from the courtroom, collaborative law is emerging as an increasingly important route to resolving separation disputes
NLJ this week: Employment law updates on restraints, representation & tribunal boundaries
A busy period for employment law is producing important lessons for employers, employees and tribunals alike
NLJ this week Civil way: Practical procedure lessons & cautionary tales
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners
NLJ this week: Fraud in the digital age

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

NLJ this week: Right outcome, troubling reasoning?
How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct? 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll