A teacher at a Jewish nursery who was sacked after refusing to lie about cohabiting with her boyfriend was not subjected to religious discrimination. However, the nursery’s criticisms of her amounted to sex discrimination and harassment. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a case involving the Gan Menachem Hendon Ltd nursery
The dismissal of a man who suffered mental health issues after having a heart attack at work was unfair. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving mechanic Gordon Flemming and East of England Ambulance Services NHS Trust. Mr Flemming was classified as disabled due to his anxiety depression disorder, but
Changes being introduced by the government could prove costly for families who haven’t yet dealt with the estate of a family member who died recently. The issue arises because since 2007, surviving spouses have automatically inherited the unused inheritance tax allowances of their dead partner. This has led some people to delay applying for a
A bisexual prison officer who was taunted by colleagues as ‘gay’, ‘poof’ and ‘vermin’ was victimised and unfairly dismissed. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving 40-year-old Ben Plaistow and HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes. Mr Plaistow began working at the prison in September 2014. Within a few weeks he
The High Court has allowed a family to correct an error in a trust fund that would have had costly tax implications. The case arose out of financial arrangements outlined in the will of a man who died in 2015. He bequeathed £4.2m to be held on trust for the benefit of his widow and
Manchester Building Society has lost its £48m negligence claim against the accountancy firm Grant Thornton. The claim arose because Grant Thornton had audited the society’s accounts from 1997 until 2012. In 2006, the society began a policy of hedging lifetime mortgages by entering into 50-year interest rate swaps. The 2008 financial crisis led to a
The Justice Secretary, David Gauke, has confirmed that the government is planning to reform divorce law to end the ‘blame game’ that can cause so much stress for some couples when they separate. Under the current system, there are five reasons for being granted a divorce by the courts: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years
The government is introducing a new Housing Complaints Resolution Service to cover the entire housing market. It means that dissatisfied homeowners and tenants will have simple and quick access to help when things go wrong. Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said the new service will cover everything from broken boilers to cracks in the wall and
A group of homeowners whose flats are overlooked by the Tate Gallery have lost their claim that their privacy was being infringed by tourists who were able to see into their balconies. The flats are in a development close to the Tate Modern art gallery in central London. Their living areas look directly on to
The government is considering a stamp duty surcharge for non-UK resident homebuyers to reduce house price inflation and provide funds to help the homeless. The Treasury is conducting a study to consider how a new 1% increase to stamp duty costs for non-UK residents buying residential property in England and Northern Ireland would work. This