Employment

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has overturned a ruling that a law firm was entitled to fire a partner who was accused of ‘topping up’ legal aid fees with cash from a client’s father.

A solicitor has been rebuked for trying to include a ban on her former employer referring her to any regulatory authority as part of a settlement of disputes between the two.

Lawyers acting for whistleblowers have told MPs and peers that they can feel intimidated to raise concerns over non-disclosure agreements because of the threat of retaliation.

A young solicitor at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, who left six months after completing her traineeship because her fixed-term contract had expired, was not unfairly dismissed.

Fewer than half of employment tribunal claimants use a lawyer, with most of those unrepresented at hearings saying it was because they could not afford one, according to government research.

A barrister suing her chambers and LGBT charity Stonewall has crowdfunded £60,000 in just a day amid a controversy over transgender rights that saw CrowdJustice remove and then edit her appeal.

A former employee of national law firm Shoosmiths – who won damages for harassment back in 2017 – has had a string of further claims thrown out, with a tribunal branding them vexatious.

It is not clear whether staff can refuse to come into work or decide to leave a workplace if they think it’s unsafe because of Covid-19, the Law Society has told law firms.

Employment and commercial work are seeing the biggest increases in demand from clients, research has found. However, lockdown has had a “devastating impact” on other practice areas.

Employment lawyers could be about to see a surge in enquiries, with data from Citizens Advice showing that people are becoming increasingly concerned about redundancy.