The phrase “commercial agents” didn’t make a substantive appearance in everyday language until as recently as 1993 – always assuming, of course, that it’s appropriate to think of 1993 as being “recent”. Before then we talked of “travelling salesmen”. Quite apart from the linguistic differences I can think of one other difference between the phrases […]

Zero hours contracts have recently excited a great deal of comment – both for and against. A recent CIPD survey estimated that there are currently around one million people in Great Britain working on a zero hours basis and that 65% of them are happy with their work‑life balance, compared with 58% of their full‑time colleagues. […]

“This is one of those unfortunate cases…in which, it is, no doubt, a hardship upon the plaintiff to be without a remedy but by that consideration we ought not to be influenced. Hard cases, it has frequently been observed, are apt to introduce bad law.” Those were the words of Baron Rolfe J in Winterbottom […]

For a start, let’s dispel a myth. A person doesn’t have to be “registered” to be disabled. The concept of registration was introduced by the National Assistance Act of 1948 , and made appearances in social security legislation in the years that followed, but was already antiquated by the time of the Disability Discrimination Act […]

It’s a common misconception amongst employers that an employee cannot be dismissed by reason of redundancy when she is on maternity leave. There are rules (not dealt with in this article) giving a redundant employee who is on maternity leave a preferential position when it comes to the allocation of alternative employment. But such an […]

“Fashion!  Turn to the left.  Fashion!  Turn to the right” sang David Bowie on his 1980 album, “Scary Monsters”. Many things in life are victims of fashion whether the height of ladies’ hems, the width of lapels or the presence or absence of turn-ups (remember them?).  It’s not often that any aspect of the law […]

The Government wants to promote mediation for the resolution of employment disputes, bypassing Employment Tribunals and lawyers. You may be surprised that we would say “Amen, to that”, but a visit to the Employment Tribunal, just like a visit to any other court, is generally an expensive and unsettling experience, win, lose or draw. For […]

The legislative weather forecast for 2012 augers well for a vintage harvest! Successive governments, including the current coalition government, have promised to ease the burden of changes in employment law by minimising the number of changes and by making legislative changes only twice a year. However, Vince Cable’s latest speech on the subject, and the […]

Most people have heard of “TUPE”.  And many are familiar with “pre-packs” – where a company in financial trouble negotiates a sale of its business, goes into administration, and then completes the deal. Are the days of pre-packs numbered in the light of a recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT)? An historic criticism […]