This update highlights a recent case which considers whether a company was liable for an employee’s attack on a fellow employee at a Christmas party. It is the case of Bellman v. Northampton Recruitment Ltd and it involves looking at ...
News archive: 2016
In the recent case of Grange v Abellio London Limited the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered the rules around rest breaks under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the Regulations). Regulation 12 deals with rest breaks and states ...
What is a lasting power of attorney (LPA)? An LPA is a document which allows you to nominate somebody to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to. There are two types of LPA: Property and financial affairs Health and welfare ...
‘Whistleblowing protection’ refers to the protection afforded to employees and workers when they make a disclosure about their employer’s wrongdoing. They are protected from being victimised, dismissed or being treated detrimentally ...
The question of what someone’s status is, i.e. whether they are an employee, worker or genuinely self employed, has long been a complex area of law and frustrating for employers and lawyers alike. It is important because each has its ...
Three members of staff from MacDonald Oates; Robert Sawers, Daniel Drummond and Linda Wilson, successfully completed the Great South Run of 10 miles on Sunday in support of our charity of the year, the Sussex Snowdrop Trust. Linda ...
Couples going through a separation often fear the worst; lengthy court proceedings that result in nothing but upset and extortionate legal costs. However, in reality very few of our clients go down this route. Most cases we deal with ...
The on-going saga of Mr Lock’s case against British Gas has recently been to the Court of Appeal. You will recall we have looked at this case previously in our news updates. In brief, Mr Lock was engaged on a basic salary plus ...
ACAS have published a new guide to help employers whose employees who may have life threatening or long term illnesses. It is hoped this guidance will be useful to employers bearing in mind the number of employees who suffer from ...
We are very pleased to announce that on 1 October 2016 MacDonald Oates LLP acquired the firm of Brown-Hovelt Veale Nelson, where Roger Brown-Hovelt is the remaining Partner and sole practitioner. He has specialised in Wills, Trusts, ...
The following hourly rates of National Minimum Wage (NMW) will apply from 1 October 2016: The rate for workers aged 21 to 24 will be £6.95. The development rate (workers aged 18 to 20) will be £5.55. The young workers rate ...
Congratulations to Samantha Tayler, the latest member of the Wills, Probate and Trusts team. We are delighted to announce that Samantha Tayler has qualified as a solicitor, having successfully completed her two year training contract ...
This is an age old question and, from an employment lawyer’s view, it is one of the first questions to be asked with any commercial transaction: is it a TUPE transfer or not? But for those clients new to TUPE, their first question is ...
It appears we are being bombarded with reports and statistics about how women and new mothers are being treated in workplace. Previously it was the TUC report into the increase in sexual harassment in the workplace, then we heard ...
An investigation into potential disciplinary matters is important for various reasons. For example, any dismissal based on a poor investigation would be likely to be found unfair as any decision by a dismissing officer needs to be ...
Following the TUC survey of 1500 women, which found that more than half of women say they have been sexually harassed at work, we take a look at a recent case where a woman was awarded an injury to feelings award because of sexual ...
Petersfield witnessed the 10th Petersfield Ups and Downs (PUADS) bike ride on Sunday, despite the wet weather! Riders of all ages bravely turned out to complete the various courses, whether it was 50 miles or the 5 mile family bike ...
There have been many cases involving employer’s dress codes and whether they amount to religious discrimination. One significant case was that of Eweida v British Airways plc [2010] where BA did not allow its staff to wear visible ...
As a growing firm, we are looking for people to join us in different departments. We feel it is key for us to attract the right calibre of staff so we are able to provide our clients with the high standards of service they deserve. We ...
Our charity of the year is the Sussex Snowdrop Trust, which is a local charity which provides care at home for children with life-threatening or terminal illnesses and support for their families. Kate Shires, in our Wills, Probate and ...
Last Friday we were lucky enough to have our Firm outing at one of Goodwood’s Three Friday Nights. It was organised by our Culture Team, which organises our social events and encourages the positive culture at the Firm. The evening ...
It is almost two years since the law was changed so all employees who have 26 weeks service have the right to request flexible working. There is a duty on employers to consider requests in a reasonable manner, supplemented by a ...