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Employment law brief: 11 July 2025

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Taking the recent heatwave in his stride, Ian Smith (not pictured) introduces the Magnificent Six
  • Capability dismissals and the overlap with SOSR.
  • Redundancy dismissals and the search for alternative work.
  • Early conciliation; the s 207B(3) extension of the time limit.
  • Striking out for failure to comply with ET orders; relevance of an unless order instead
  • Procedure at hearing; splitting or combining liability and remedy.
  • Costs orders, discrimination cases and litigants in person.

What the six cases considered in this month’s brief have in common is that they are all concerned with precise but important points of interpretation—a common feature of our complex employment law. In unfair dismissal law, they cover the overlap between capability and some other substantial reason, and the importance of the search for alternative employment in redundancy cases. There are then four cases on employment tribunal (ET) procedure, covering ACAS early conciliation; striking out for failure to carry out ET orders; when to use combined hearings rather than splitting

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
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
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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