The Supreme Court has “reluctantly” ruled against a woman seeking a divorce to free her from what she describes as a loveless marriage. The five justices said they had misgivings about dismissing her appeal and have asked Parliament to consider reforming the divorce laws. The highly publicised case involved Tini Owens, aged 68, and her
A Poundland store manager has been awarded £21,000 compensation after she was unfairly dismissed for allegedly stealing a drink. The manager, Ms Stokes, had worked at the company for eight years. During the last two she experienced friction with a newly appointed area sales manager. In June 2017, the area sales manager and a senior
The Supreme Court ruling in the Pimlico Plumbers case and the Employment Tribunal decision involving Hermes help to clarify the difference between ‘worker’ and ‘self-employed’ and could have a significant impact on the gig economy. The long running dispute involving London based Pimlico was initiated by one of its plumbers, Gary Smith. Mr Smith had
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that an employer discriminated against a woman when it extended her probationary period after discovering she was pregnant. Charlotte Kimberley was appointed as a contracts administrator by Calibre Building Services on 8 June 2016 and agreed a start date of 20 June. However, five days before she was due to
The High Court has ruled that a 96-hour shift pattern for firefighters was unlawful because it breached the Working Time Regulations 1998. The case involved firefighters employed by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. The authority operated a shift system called “”close proximity crewing”” (CPC). It involved a working week of 96 hours of continuous
A Muslim bus driver has lost his claim that he was subjected to harassment based on his race or religion while at work. The issue arose when the driver, who was of Moroccan origin, was talking to a colleague in the staff canteen. He told him about a report made by a journalist who went
A pharmaceutical company was within its rights to dismiss an employee who failed to complete mandatory online training courses. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a recent case involving a medical sales rep Mr Barongo. who was employed by Quintiles Commercial UK. In January 2016, Mr Barongo was dismissed for failing
Millions of TV viewers have been gripped by the tragic storyline in Coronation Street involving popular character Aidan Connor, who took his own life after suffering mental health problems. His family were still reeling from his death when they received the news that in his will he had left his factory to one of his
The treatment offered to elderly patients sometimes leads to conflict between their relatives and medical staff. If no agreement can be reached, the Court of Protection can be called on to resolve disputes, as in a recent case involving an elderly man with end stage dementia. The man was 77 years old and had been
Health care professionals are to offer patients more advice about reducing the risk of developing dementia. It’s estimated that over 850,000 people are living with the disease in the UK with little public understanding of how to reduce the risk. The NHS Health Check programme already covers a wide range of services designed to detect