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Employment law brief: 19 January 2024

19 January 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8055 / Categories: Features , Employment
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The end of 2023 brought a blizzard of new legislation & some thorny EAT decisions. Ian Smith sweeps through them with gusto
  • The ACAS Code of Practice uplift.
  • The relevance of delay in constructive dismissal.
  • Employers’ policy in sickness dismissal.

December saw a flurry of employment-related legislation. This was partly to preserve certain EU-derived provisions that may have lapsed on the ending of EU law interpretation at the end of 2023, partly to flesh out the new provisions on minimum service levels during strikes (which are only just starting to prove controversial politically) and partly to transform requesting flexible working into a day-one right (see Harvey, Bulletin 546). In addition, we have seen three Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions addressing three common but not always easy areas of law, namely: the statutory uplift of compensation for not following the ACAS Code of Practice; affirmation of contract in constructive dismissal cases; and the relevance of an employer’s policy in a sickness dismissal case. In each, the judgment adds some important

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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