Employment
Students used by law firm for agency advocacy are ‘workers’
A Bar student who handled agency advocacy work through a law firm was a worker with certain rights and not self-employed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Would-be pupil withdraws discrimination claim after tribunal ruling
An employment tribunal has refused to strike out a claim that a chambers discriminated against a pupillage applicant who had previous dealings with the QC who headed the pupillage committee.
NDAs “cannot be controlled by professional regulators”
The use of NDAs cannot be effectively controlled by professional regulators like the SRA and legislation is needed, a campaigner for tougher restrictions has told Legal Futures.
Judge accepts “overstretched” solicitor’s excuse for missing deadline
An employment judge has granted an “overstretched solicitor” more time to respond to an unfair dismissal claim after she missed the deadline.
PDS employee dismissed after work with murderer awarded £100k
The Public Defender Service has been ordered to pay £100,000 in compensation to an employee unfairly dismissed after suffering PTSD due to her work debriefing a murderer.
Pregnant S&G assistant fired for offensive Facebook posts
Slater & Gordon dismissed a legal assistant over offensive Facebook posts on Muslims and Jimmy Savile, and not because she was pregnant, an employment tribunal has found.
Law firm’s pupillage offer to tetraplegic student “not a publicity stunt”
An employment tribunal has firmly rejected a tetraplegic law student’s claim that he was offered a pupillage by a well-known law firm so it could benefit from positive publicity.
Experienced PA wins constructive dismissal claim against law firm
A litigation PA who worked for a Kent law firm for 25 years has won her claim for constructive unfair dismissal over the “thoughtless and high-handed” way it moved her to the conveyancing department.
Law firm boss avoid costs order after losing whistleblowing claim
A law firm chief executive who lost his claim that he was fired for making protected disclosures has escaped a costs order even though a tribunal said it had no reasonable prospects of success.
Pregnant trainee fails in claim over no post-qualification job offer
A solicitor who claimed she was not offered a job after completing her training contract because she was pregnant has lost her discrimination claim in the employment tribunal.
Listed compliance and risk business snaps up another law firm
Listed company Marlowe has continued the rapid expansion of its employment law business by buying law firm Cater Leydon Millard for £2.25m – its second acquisition in three months.
Compliance failure puts trainee’s discrimination claim in doubt
A former trainee solicitor has been given a last chance to take forward a disability discrimination claim against international firm Reed Smith, where illness meant his training contract expired.
Paralegal was unfairly dismissed over unpaid wages complaint
A paralegal who believed she was a trainee solicitor was unfairly dismissed by her law firm employer because she complained about an unauthorised deduction of wages, a tribunal has found.
Tribunal throws out employment lawyer’s disability discrimination claim
An employment lawyer who appeared at tribunals during a time he said he was “pretty constantly bed bound” due to a back injury has had his disability discrimination claim rejected.
Partner fired for ‘topping up’ fees fairly dismissed, Court of Appeal rules
The Court of Appeal has reinstated the ruling of an employment tribunal that a law firm was entitled to fire a partner accused of ‘topping up’ legal aid fees with cash from a client’s father.
Blog
The rise of cyber-criminal threat for law firms since Covid-19
The global coronavirus pandemic, and the rise in people working from home, has unfortunately provoked a growth in cyber-crime. The UK government estimates that the cost of cyber-crime is £27bn per annum.
How to ensure your ATE cover is adequate security for costs
When does an after-the-event insurance policy provide adequate security for a defendant’s costs? The short answer is that it very much depends on the wording of the particular policy.
Hybrid working – A rise or fall in future claims?
Official figures showed that, between 2012 and 2017, employees who mainly worked from home were less than half as likely to be promoted than all other workers.
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