In how many ways can a case end up developing the law? Ian Smith illustrates some striking comparisons from the world of employment
- Extension of time for presenting claims—the relevance of potential merits of the case.
- Compensatory award—applying the statutory cap when the award is increased.
- Discrimination arising from disability—what is unfavourable treatment?
The first two cases considered this month contain a neat comparison, showing two ways in which cases may develop the law. The first concerned a question which, for all its apparently commonplace nature, has had little by way of clear authority to guide employment tribunals (ETs) and advisers (whether, in considering an application for a ‘just and equitable’ extension of time, an ET can take into account the claimant’s prospects of success if allowed to continue). By contrast, the second case concerned an area which has essentially been settled law since the 1980s, but has still recently thrown up a very specific problem of application in a case on unusual facts (how to apply the statutory
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