‘The high court is to consider for the first time whether universities owe a legal duty of care to their students, which campaigners argue would save lives and bring England and Wales in line with other countries.’
The Guardian, 20th November 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The High Court has stayed a potential group action against University College London, which cancelled in-person teaching (due to industrial action and Covid-19) but without making any fee adjustments. Whilst the High Court did not require the parties to engage in any particular form of ADR, the stay was imposed in the context of the defendant’s proposal that the claimants should submit complaints to a statutory adjudication scheme. The stay was imposed against the wishes of the claimants, who – whilst expressing a willingness to engage in ADR – did not want to participate in the particular form of ADR proposed by the defendants.’
Henderson Chambers, 27th July 2023
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘In McGaughey v USS Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 873, two active members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (the “USS”) applied for permission to continue a derivative action on behalf of the corporate trustee of the USS, Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (“USSL”), against its current and former directors. USSL is a company limited by guarantee of which its directors were the members. By the derivative action, the two USS active members sought to cause USSL to sue the corporation’s directors for alleged breaches of the duties owed by the directors to USSL. The Court of Appeal refused to permit the claim to go forward.’
Pensions Barrister, August 2023
Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com
‘The Foreign Office failed to notice signs of torture and provide help to a British academic during his detention in the United Arab Emirates, a watchdog has found.’
The Independent, 4th August 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Momentum is growing in the UK to make social class a statutory protected characteristic. The Co-Op, The British Psychological Society, and the Bridge Group, amongst others, have proposed legislative reform to prohibit class discrimination. This may look like an “easy win”, especially for political parties puzzling over their manifestos and wanting to signal tangible action to combat the cost-of-living crisis. Yet there are considerable risks that this legal reform would either achieve little or actually hamper initiatives to combat socio-economic inequality.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 3rd August 2023
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘From 17 July 2023, international students can only switch into a sponsored work route (the Skilled Worker or Scale-up Worker) after they have completed their course of studies. PhD students can switch into the sponsored work route 24 months after the start date of the course.’
EIN Blog, 19th July 2023
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘A judge has paused a multi-million-pound student group action claim against a London university over Covid and strike disruption and encouraged parties to resolve their dispute away from court.’
Law Society's Gazette, 18th July 2023
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Lawyers representing almost 1,000 current and former students whose studies were affected by Covid and strike action told the high court in London their clients felt “cheated” by their educational experience and should be entitled to seek compensation through the courts.’
The Guardian, 24th May 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Plans to abolish fixed-term tenancies in England would “decimate” the student housing market, landlords have warned.’
BBC News, 25th May 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In Mr A Cave v The Open University [2023] UKET 3313198/2020, the OU received internal and external complaints in June 2020 about what was claimed to be racist material that Mr Cave had posted on Twitter and on a YouTube channel he had set up entitled “Renew Britannia” [6].’
Law & Religion UK, 22nd May 2023
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘As the UK parliament prepares to debate a petition by families of students that have died by suicide while at university, is it possible that additional statutory duties could be imposed upon UK’s higher education providers to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their students, legal experts have said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 19th May 2023
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
University students made a record number of complaints last year to the higher education watchdog in England and Wales, which expressed concern about “increasing levels of distress among students who are struggling to cope”.
The Guardian, 20th April 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘An insurance company has won a High Court fight over its refusal to pay out on a claim for damage caused by the disposal of a World War Two bomb.’
BBC News, 22nd March 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Universities have been reprimanded over unfair treatment of students accused of academic misconduct in a report by the higher education ombudsman for England and Wales.’
The Guardian, 27th February 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Warwick University has agreed to pay a student who is seriously ill with cancer £12,000 in damages for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by not allowing her to extend her course as a result of her health condition.’
The Guardian, 23rd February 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Updated guidance for higher education (HE) providers announced by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will help the sector ensure that their practices are compliant, according to one legal expert.’
OUT-LAW.com, 20th February 2023
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Net migration into the UK was 504,000 between June 2021 and June 2022, far higher than the previous record of 330,00. While the single biggest factor behind the rise in net migration was the new visas open to Ukrainians and BN(O) passport-holders from Hong Kong, it is the increase in the numbers coming to the UK on student visas that is the potential target of a government crackdown. Alan Manning argues that further research in this area is urgently needed.’
EIN Blog, 14th February 2023
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘It is commonplace now for the trustee of almost any sort of trust to be a company, and for the individuals who may colloquially be referred to as “the trustees” to in fact not be trustees at all, but to be the directors of the trustee company. Occupational pension schemes have been particularly keen adopters of this structure. In some respects it makes little difference to the beneficiaries: the trustee is the trustee, whether an individual or a company. But when the individuals involved are alleged to have acted in breach of their duties, the corporate structure allows for more complex claims than the ordinary breach of trust claim that would be brought against individual trustees.’
Wilberforce Chambers, 20th December 2022
Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2023