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15 March 2013 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7552 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Working it out

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Ian Smith studies the stories making employment law headlines

Employment law in one guise or another is rarely out of the news, and one example of that recently has been the controversy over gagging clauses in settlements, with the NHS and the BBC coming in for considerable criticism on this ground. The first case considered this month arose in the different context of whistleblowing but it is suggested that it could also be significant in relation to compromise agreements seeking to prevent future spilling of various beans. The second case contains a reaffirmation by the Court of Appeal of some pretty basic stuff on the use of warnings in a misconduct case, and is also notable for an expression of exasperation by the court at the excessive length and complexity of what should have been a relatively straightforward (not to say old-fashioned) misconduct case.

Whistleblowing

Onyango v Berkeley Solicitors UKEAT/0407/12 (25 January 2013, unreported) is a short but very much to-the-point decision by the EAT under Judge Clark which makes an important

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
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 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
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
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
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’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
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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