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14 January 2021 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7916 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Employment Law Brief: 15 January 2021

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Ian Smith takes a leap into the new year reporting on two important statements of principle & an adventurous challenge
  • How to identify ‘the employer’ in a complex case.
  • Another ruling against wider rights for agency workers.
  • Does the law on interim relief need to be changed?

Three significant decisions of the EAT (one by the President and two by Mr Justice Cavanagh) were reported in the dying days of last year. The first two contain important statements of principle on fundamental questions which have hitherto had surprisingly little by way of authoritative treatment by the courts, namely (1) how to tell who is ‘the employer’ in a case of complex dealings and (2) how extensive (or otherwise) are the rights given to agency workers by statute? The third case is not a statement of principle, but rather an adventurous challenge to the legality of the absence of any remedy of interim relief in discrimination law; the case is to go before the Court of Appeal to consider if a declaration of incompatibility should be made under the Human

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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