London councils group approves spitting fines – BBC News
‘The transport and environment committee of umbrella group London Councils has approved £80 fines for spitting in public places.’
BBC News, 11th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Man who imprisoned his wife at home is forbidden from seeing his daughters – The Guardian
‘A man who imprisoned his wife in their home and expected her to be a servant cannot be allowed to see his two daughters, senior judges have ruled.’
Full story
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Food allergy laws enforced in restaurants and takeaways – BBC News
‘Restaurants and takeaways across Europe will be required by law to tell customers if their food contains ingredients known to trigger allergies.’
BBC News, 12th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Deaf couple and their son face jail after conning taxpayers out of £900,000 – Daily Telegraph
‘The couple are said to have funded a luxury lifestyle of holidays and jewellery with ‘scandalous ease’.’
Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Mother jailed for promoting terrorism on Facebook – The Guardian
‘An “extremist” mother-of-six who took pictures of her toddler son holding a toy gun and daydreamed about sending his eight-year-old brother to fight jihad when he grows up has been jailed for five years and three months for promoting terrorism on social media.’
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Managing mental health issues – Hardwicke Chambers
‘In 2006, it was estimated that 35% of all GP consultations involved a mental health problem and by 2011 stress had become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual workers. If these figures are not reason enough for employers to address their employees’ mental health issues, there are plenty more statistics that may convince them:
It is estimated that three in ten people will experience a mental health problem in any one year, and this figure is likely to increase.
Work-related stress costs Britain 10.4 million working days per annum, with a disconcerting 91 million days per year lost to mental health problems generally.
The Centre for Mental Health estimates that the total cost of mental health problems at work is over £30 billion a year.
When working long hours, more than a quarter of employees feel depressed (27%), one third feel anxious (34%) and more than half feel irritable (58%).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Restrictions on books in prisons declared unlawful by the High Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Contrary to what some media reports would have us believe, Prison Service Instruction (“PSI”) 30/2013 did not impose an absolute ban on books in prisons. It did, however, impose severe restrictions on the possession or acquisition of books which a prisoner can treat as his or her own. The High Court has found that those restrictions could not be justified by the limited provision of prison library services and are therefore unlawful.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Sponging the blot on the law – Hardwicke Chambers
‘Having your home repossessed by your mortgagee is not, one imagines, a happy experience, and not one which would incline you to act charitably towards your bank. Few are the defaulting borrowers who treat their houses to a spring clean on their final day before the order for possession is executed, apologising to the bailiffs that they don’t seem able to put their hands on any tea bags. Or indeed the kettle. It’s all been packed, you see. A commoner experience is to find that at least some belongings have been left behind. A bin bag here, a wonky shelving unit there. There’s nothing like losing your home to make you reassess the stuff which surrounds you, and decide whether now might be a good time to de-clutter your life. And why go to the expense of hiring a skip when you can leave your mortgagee with the cost of doing it for you?’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Signing a New Contract Does Not Mean Restrictive Covenants Are Binding Absent Proper Consideration – Littleton Chambers
‘Many large employers (particularly those who acquire other businesses over time) are faced with employees (often senior and important employees) on ‘old’ contracts with unenforceable, inappropriate or even no restrictive covenants. Quite aside from the potential difficulties posed by TUPE, remedying that problem often proves difficult in practice, and requires careful management.’
Littleton Chambers, 8th December 2014
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
Free Movement of Doctors in the NHS – Littleton Chambers
‘In Kapenova v. Department of Health [2014] ICR 884, the first case of its kind in the health sector, the EAT has held that an entry criterion for the two year Foundation Programme for medicine graduates is a justified infringement of EU free movement rights. Kapenova demonstrates that: (i) a claim for unjustified infringement of free movement rights can be pursued as a claim for indirect nationality discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 before the Employment Tribunal, and; (ii) the approach to the justification defence under EU law and domestic law is the same.’
Littleton Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
When is it time to stop judging? Age Discrimination and the Judiciary – Cloisters
‘Mr White, a retired circuit judge, brought claims against the MoJ for age discrimination.
By an amendment, he added claims for breaches under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 and an allegation that the decision not to appoint him to the position of deputy circuit judge after his retirement was an act of age discrimination. These two additional claims were subsequently dismissed on the basis that they were out of time.
The tribunal therefore only considered one issue: is the requirement for a judge to retire on his or her 70th birthday an act of age discrimination?’
Cloisters, 9th December 2014
Source: www.cloisters.com
Carrying over annual leave and back-pay: Sash Window Workshop Ltd v King – Cloisters
‘In Sash Window Workshop v King theEmployment Appeal Tribunal returned to two of the central controversies in recent holiday pay case-law. Firstly the right to carry annual leave entitlement over from one leave year to the next. Secondly the right to claim back pay for untaken leave in historic leave years, particularly upon the termination of employment.’
Cloisters, 7th December 2014
Source: www.cloisters.com
Housing: Homeless Persons and Review of Accommodation Needs – No. 5 Chambers
‘This paper considers some selected topics in the broad (and full of case law) topic of homeless persons, together with a brief mention of the duty of local housing authorities to carry out a review of accommodation needs.’
Full story (PDF)
No. 5 Chambers, 9th December 2014
Source: www.no5.com
CMA to investigate competition law violation by estate agent trade association and members – Zenith Chambers
‘The Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it will probe as a priority suspected anticompetitive agreements involving three companies and a trade association operating in the property sales and lettings sector. The investigation puts under the spotlight possible violations of competition law relating to the setting and advertising of fees by estate agents. The CMA has concerns that the arrangements restricted choice for consumers and their ability to compare prices and value for money.’
Full story (PDF)
Zenith Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
A stunning decision on litigation costs: Coventry v Lawrence – Legal Week
‘In a stunning decision, the Supreme Court has given an indication that the pre-Jackson costs regime may breach the rights of paying parties under the European Convention of Human Rights. The issue has the potential to affect all agreements signed under the pre-April 2013 costs regime.’
Legal Week, 11th December 2014
Source: www.legalweek.com
Claire Tiltman murder: Former milkman Colin Ash-Smith found guilty of killing schoolgirl more than 20 years ago – The Independent
‘A former milkman has been found guilty of the “frenzied and remorseless” murder of schoolgirl Claire Tiltman more than 20 years ago.’
The Independent, 11th December 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
London ‘slavery’ case: CPS charges Aravindan Balakrishnan – The Guardian
‘A Maoist activist accused of keeping three women in domestic servitude for 30 years has been charged with 25 offences including rape and child cruelty.’
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Cracking intercepts: the war on terror and difficulties with Human Rights – UK Human Rights Blog
‘This is a fascinating case, not just on the facts or merits but because it is generated by two of the major catalysts of public law litigation: the government’s duty to look after the security of its citizens, and the rapid outpacing of surveillance law by communications technology. Anyone who has seen The Imitation Game, a film loosely based on the biography of Alan Turing, will appreciate the conflicting currents at the core of this case: the rights of an individual to know, and foresee, what the limits of his freedom are, and the necessity to conceal from the enemy how much we know about their methods. Except the Turing film takes place in official wartime, whereas now the state of being at “war” has taken on a wholly different character.’
Full story
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Jimmy Savile’s friend Ray Teret jailed for 25 years for series of sex crimes – Daily Telegraph
‘Ray Teret – known as Ugli Ray – used celebrity status in the Manchester club scene to prey on ‘starstruck’ victims.’
Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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