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.

Lawyers who advised clients on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are at risk of claims as the government looks to claw back payments to which recipients were not entitled.