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14 April 2011 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7461 + 7462 / Categories: Features , Tribunals , Employment
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Working matters

Ian Smith reports on fixed-term employees legislation & an EAT decision on dismissal justification

On the legislative front the month up to the beginning of April was a busy one. In an exercise in business-friendly retrenchment, the government provided that flexible working rights are now not to be extended to all parents of children under 18, that the right to time off for study or training is not to be extended to those employed by employers of less than 250 employees and that the “two-tier workforce” code of practice applying to local authorities is now revoked.

On a more positive note, the equality duties in the Equality Act 2010 come into force (albeit that the underpinning regulations are subject to further consultation with a view to a July start, in shorter form), the new employment-related codes (on employment issues generally and specifically on equal pay) come into force on 6 April (which also sees the repeal of the old ones under the specific legislation on sex, race, etc) and the annual social security

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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