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03 March 2021 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7923 / Categories: Features , Employment , Tribunals
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Employment law brief: 5 March 2021

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Having your cake & EATing it: Ian Smith provides some food for thought
  • Future implications of the Supreme Court’s Uber judgment.
  • Broad issues of policy that arise when two protected characteristics clash.
  • Disclosure and inspection—the test to be applied.
  • Procedure at the hearing—admissibility of similar fact evidence.

The big news in recent weeks has, of course, been the decision of the Supreme Court in Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021] UKSC 5, [2021] All ER (D) 89 (Feb), upholding the Court of Appeal’s finding of worker status for gig economy Uber drivers, and also holding that they have that status (for the purposes of the national minimum wage, working time holiday entitlements and whistleblowing claims) for the whole time that their booking app is on. The case is dealt with elsewhere—specifically in Charles Pigott’s NLJ update next week—but one comment may be made here. The decision has been widely reported in the press with speculation not just as to its

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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