Just like property buyers, those who purchase businesses are entitled to have their questions honestly answered by the vendors before a price is agreed. In one case where that sadly did not happen, a woman who bought an ill-fated dental practice won the right to damages from the sellers.
In a ground-breaking decision that underlined the primacy of European law, the Supreme Court has opened the way for a police officer to appeal against her dismissal to an Employment Tribunal (ET) on disability discrimination grounds.
Christmas is a busy time for a lot of businesses, with many taking on temporary staff to cope with the extra workload. At the same time, many employees will want to take time off to spend with their family, go on holiday or attend religious services.
Your job may give you access to confidential data but the consequences of giving in to nosiness can be severe indeed. In one case, a midwife who took the opportunity to snoop through the files of patients and others over a 14-year period lost her job and was struck off by her professional body.
In a ground-breaking ruling, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that drivers for online cab giants Uber are ‘workers’, as defined by the Employment Rights Act 1996, and are thus entitled to a panoply of rights and benefits.
The sight of Lehman Brothers’ employees leaving the office with cardboard boxes in their arms arguably marked the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. However, as a Court of Appeal ruling made plain, the bank’s European branch did not go bust and, thanks to the tireless work of insolvency professionals, a multi-billion-pound surplus became available for distribution to both secured and unsecured creditors.
Hard-edged opinions are all too easily formed in the heat of disciplinary proceedings, but employers must be careful to stand back and take a balanced approach. In one case in which that did not happen, a senior hospital radiologist won the right to substantial compensation following her unfair dismissal.
Minority shareholders are entitled to expect that their rights will be respected by the majority and that they will be kept informed of decisions that might affect their interests. However, as one High Court case showed, compensation for breach of such rights is only payable where a real financial loss is established.
The position of ‘live-in’ workers as regards employment status and rights has long been a bone of contention in the care industry in particular, leading the Government to create a new compliance scheme for social care employers.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published annual statistics for health and safety at work in Great Britain for the year April 2016 to March 2017. These show that an estimated 31.2 million days were lost through work-related ill health (25.7 million days) and non-fatal workplace injury (5.5 million days).