Many entrepreneurs treat their companies as their babies, lending them their private money and, if necessary, writing off such debts when times are hard. In a case of interest to the business community, a tribunal has analysed the effect of…
Land or buildings that have long been used for recreational purposes by local people can be registered as assets of community value under the Localism Act 2011 – but what happens if that use consists of acts of trespass? The…
In Reading Borough Council v James, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered the temporal scope of a pay comparison in proceedings based on equal pay for work of equal value brought under the Equal Pay Act 1970. This, together with…
Is it automatically unfair to dismiss an employee whose misconduct falls short of being gross misconduct? In a guideline decision, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has answered that question with a resounding 'no' (Quintiles Commercial UK Limited v Barongo). The…
Making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees often includes ensuring that they are not overworked. The point was resoundingly made by one case in which a cystic fibrosis sufferer who was summarily dismissed from his teaching post after showing pupils a…
The EU Information and Consultation Directive 2002 established minimum requirements for companies with more than 50 employees for consulting and informing them on a wide variety of subjects. The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (ICER) implement the Directive…
Anyone who deals with the public is potentially exposed to liability and that is why it is sensible for traders to seek legal advice specific to their business about the extent of their duties. In one case where that did…
There have been a number of recent cases looking at the precise employment status of those working for employers who like their operatives to appear to clients as their representatives but who operate a model of self-employment. One such 'gig…
The squeeze on incomes which has been facing households for a number of years has led to severe problems in industries that depend on 'discretionary spending', such as the restaurant trade. A recent report by a large firm of chartered…
Customer databases are the lifeblood of many businesses, taking a great deal of time and money to compile. They can, however, be pirated in a matter of seconds and, as one High Court case showed, that can give rise to…
