The government is to carry a review of Employment Tribunal fees, which have proved highly controversial since they were introduced in 2013. The fees are designed to discourage frivolous claims and ensure that the person taking legal action bears some of the cost. Employees currently have to pay up to £1,200 to bring a claim
A woman who was subjected to sexist bullying at work has been awarded nearly £250,000 in compensation. Julie Humphryes earned more than £100,000 a year as an architect with the firm, YOO. She told the Employment Tribunal that she became marginalised by the firm after she took maternity leave with her second child in 2012.
The time that workers who don’t have a fixed workplace spend travelling from home to their first job of the day counts as work time, according to the European Union’s Advocate General. The same principle applies to the time spent travelling back home after the last job of the day. The issue arose out of
A number of estate and letting agents have been sent official letters warning them that they may be at risk of breaking competition law. The letters, from the Competition and Markets Authority, follow a recent case in which an association of estate and letting agents, and a newspaper were fined a total of £735,000 for
A contractor has won the right to challenge a £658,000 award made against it by an adjudicator more than six years ago. The court heard that the contractor had been engaged by a developer to carry out an asbestos survey on a block of maisonettes. The developer later claimed that the contractor had failed to
A woman who helped set up a business as a junior partner has succeeding in ousting the senior shareholder-director who ignored their agreement and misused company money. The two parties had agreed to open a beauty salon in a shopping centre. The shareholder-director would assist with setting up the business and arranging leases, and then
A developer can go ahead with plans to build student flats in a university town despite strong opposition from the local authority. The case centred on the provisions and requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The site in question, which was designated as a landscape setting area, was situated in Exeter where there
There has been a significant rise in the number of claims coming before employment tribunals, according to the latest research. Figures published by the Law Gazette show there were 4,390 single claims in the third quarter of 2014 compared with 3,790 in the first quarter. That was a jump of 16%. The increase should be
Former benefit claimants have set up 70,000 new businesses under the government’s New Enterprise Allowance scheme. The scheme provides seed funding and a mentor for jobseekers, lone parents and people on sickness benefits who come up with a solid business idea. If the business plan is approved, they are eligible for financial support payable through
A minority shareholder was not unfairly treated when his former colleagues decided to buy him out against his will. That was the ruling of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a private equity business. The court heard that the business had been subject to a management buy-out from its previous owner. It was