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NLJ this week: Cross-UK precedent, umbrella companies & whistleblowing liability

12 December 2025
Issue: 8143 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Whistleblowing , Liability
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In NLJ this week, Ian Smith, emeritus professor at UEA, explores major developments in employment law from the Supreme Court and appellate courts

In Jwanczuk, the Supreme Court recalibrated how courts across UK jurisdictions should treat one another’s decisions: respect, yes—deference, no. This undercuts the stricter approach seen in Augustine, opening space for divergence where earlier authorities are unconvincing or impractical.

Smith also reports on Madden v Waracle, where the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the legitimacy of umbrella-company employment arrangements, noting that such structures can genuinely protect workers’ statutory rights when properly operated.

Finally, in Rice v Wicked Vision, the Court of Appeal reluctantly followed Osipov to hold that employers may be vicariously liable for detriments amounting to dismissal inflicted by fellow employees—while openly signalling that the underlying logic is flawed and ripe for Supreme Court review.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

North west team expands with senior private client and property hires

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Firm boosts corporate team in Newcastle to support high-growth technology businesses

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
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