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13 March 2026
Issue: 8153 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Tribunals , Disciplinary&grievance procedures
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NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law

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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes

In Bank of Africa UK v Hassani, the EAT confirmed that a change of employer during secondment will be rare without clear novation—vague notions of ‘rescinding control’ will not suffice. In MN v NHS Foundation Trust L, the Court of Appeal held that disciplinary safeguards in MHPS were contractually incorporated, given their ‘mandatory’ wording and grave career consequences.

Meanwhile, Chand v EE reiterates that tribunals must identify what actually motivated dismissal, not what could have justified it. And in Milrine v DHL, an appeal process so flawed the EAT had ‘never seen an appeal quite like this’ rendered the dismissal unfair.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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