The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can take a very strong line when it discovers that price information is passing between competitors with the result that the competition between them is diminished. This can include situations in which information about...
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which implement the EU Agency Workers Directive, came into force on 1 October 2011. Under Regulation 5 of the AWR, agency workers have the right to the same basic terms and conditions of employment as if they had...
The Internet is throwing up a number of examples of cases in which information is ‘recycled’ in breach of copyright and a legal action results. In one such case, the court ruled that if the actions of an organisation ‘inevitably’ lead...
When a shipyard worker was injured in an accident, he received a £7 million settlement from his employer. The ultimate cause of the accident was a defect in the design of equipment (a platform) that he was using, which had recently been installed at...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) and ruled that a lap dancer at a London club owned by Peter Stringfellow was not an employee ( Stringfellows Restaurants Ltd. v Quashie ) and was not therefore entitled...
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a statement re-emphasising that awareness of Internet ‘cookies’ has increased to such an extent that it is now ‘appropriate...to rely on a responsible implementation of implied...
There are many potential benefits of buying a franchise, such as having access to well-established business and accounting systems, centralised marketing and a proven business model. Being part of a well-known national brand also has an appeal for many...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the established regime whereby applicants for jobs requiring contact with children or vulnerable adults have their entire criminal records disclosed to prospective employers is unlawful and an infringement of the...
Who can challenge a company’s decision that has been improperly made? This question was the subject of a court hearing recently , when the owners of the ‘ultimate economic interest’ in shares in a company sought to overturn a decision the...
Following the publication of the Hargreaves review on copyright law, the Government has published proposals to modernise copyright law in order to bring it up to date in the light of modern technology. It is considered that changes need to be made for the...
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) for this year’s adult and youth National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates. However, the LPC’s recommendation that the apprentice rate, which applies to...
Following recent changes to the length of consultation required when making collective redundancies, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Acas) has published a guide for employers entitled ‘How to manage collective redundancies’...
Currently, bringing a claim to the Employment Tribunal (ET) is free of charge. From July 2013, this is set to change, however, with the introduction of fees for single claims to the ET as follows: For level 1 claims (i.e. claims for sums due on...
When chocolate giant Cadbury sought to use the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (SOGA) to make the firm that designed, built and installed a fire detection and control system that failed to prevent a major fire fully liable for its losses, the Court...
In dismissing claims for wrongful deductions from pay, brought by local authority employees, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) declined jurisdiction to carry out a comparative evaluation of their jobs on the basis that to perform such a subjective task...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published two sets of guidance for businesses on how to prevent discrimination and avoid costly legal challenges. ‘The Equality Act: Guidance for Small Business’ explains how the Equality...
A Surrey-based construction company has been ordered to pay £210,000 in fines and costs after an employee died from injuries he sustained in an explosion on a construction site in central London. Ioan Boboc, 22, suffered burns to 60 per cent of his...
When a business profits because it gives the appearance of being (or its products appear to be those of) another business, it is effectively taking the goodwill of the other company. This is called ‘passing off’ in legal terminology. In such...
When an offer to settle a legal dispute is made (called a ‘Part 36 offer’ by lawyers) and the court subsequently orders payment of a higher figure (in which case the award is said to have ‘beaten the offer’), the general rule is that...
A person is disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 if he or she has an impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. If an impairment ceases to have that effect, it is...
A recent case involving supermarket chain Somerfield (now part of the Co-Op) shows the wisdom of thinking through the implications of a contract before undertaking it. The supermarket chain made an agreement with a company called ParkingEye to monitor...
In Timbo v Greenwich Council for Racial Equality , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had erred in law in acceding to the respondent’s application to strike out the claimant’s discrimination claims...
When a Scottish council computerised its pension records, it failed to ensure that the paper records were appropriately disposed of – and the result was a £250,000 fine. After the work was completed, files were discovered to have been dumped in...
The Government has published a consultation on how its proposed shared parental leave reforms will work in practice . The closing date for submissions is 17 May 2013. In addition, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has published a...
A former Royal Mail postal worker whose claims of unfair dismissal and victimisation were upheld by the Employment Tribunal (ET) has reached a settlement with his employer for an undisclosed sum in compensation ( Musa v Royal Mail Group Ltd. ). Abdul...
