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Posts from January 2025

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Alexandra Addington

From classroom to spa: headteacher given green light to stay in the profession despite school-time retreat

A headteacher's professional future was called into question after she was spotted relaxing at a private spa when she was supposed to be...

30/01/25
Katie Gledhill

Neonatal care leave and pay: all you need to know

From 6 April 2025 eligible employees will have a new statutory right to take neonatal care leave and pay. These changes, brought about by...

30/01/25
Joanne Moseley

Personal liability for discrimination: two teachers' misguided attempts to deal with colleague's absence land them in legal hot water

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are liable for anything done by a member of their staff in the course of their employment unless...

30/01/25
Bryan Bletso

Rachel Reeves’ Speech: A Positive Outlook for Foreign Direct Investment

Rachel Reeves speech that outlined key initiatives and proposals for the UK economy could mark an important milestone in bolstering...

29/01/25
Hannah Moran

Data Protection Day 2025: Looking Ahead and Things to Keep an Eye On

Over the course of 2024 there has been a lot that has happened in the data protection sphere. With the emergence of AI into the...

28/01/25
Joanne Moseley

Can you sack an employee if they've lied on their CV (even if it's only a little bit)?

In November the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was accused of “exaggerating” and “lying” about her economic experience. Reeves studied...

28/01/25
Nicola Gooch

Go for Growth: The Chancellor, Planning Reform and a weekend of activity

People often ask how I find the time to write these posts. Well, due to a series of unfortunate events, this one was started huddled...

26/01/25
Katie Gledhill

Should the government give carers the right to paid leave?

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 came into force in April 2024 and allows employees in England, Scotland, and Wales to take up to one week of...

24/01/25
Joanne Moseley

Is this sexual harassment? Five real-life case scenarios

Over the years, our employment law team have delivered training to employers and their staff about sexual harassment. Our experience...

22/01/25
Katie Byrne

Managing Mental Health for in-house counsel and their teams

Towards the end of last year we hosted an event on managing mental health for in-house counsel. For this panel discussion chaired by...

21/01/25
Katie Gledhill

Will the government introduce paid leave to allow women (and their partners) to recover from miscarriage?

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) certainly hope so. It and has released a report advocating for statutory bereavement leave for...

21/01/25
Michael White

A Matter of Life Assurance and Death Benefits – Assisted Dying and what it means for the world of Pensions and Life Assurance

A new watershed in British social policy was reached on 29 November 2024 when the House of Commons voted to approve the Terminally Ill...

20/01/25
Nicola Gooch

Rainbow Bright: How are Green Belt, Grey Belt and the Golden Rules being interpreted so far....

The New NPPF has been in effect for decision-making for a few weeks now, which means that the appeal decisions made under the new rules...

19/01/25
Joanne Moseley

The top employment law cases to look out for in 2025

We’ve identified the cases which are likely to have a big impact on employment law and HR policies and practices over the next 12 months....

16/01/25
Nicola Gooch

New Draft Fees Order Published - Planning Fees to rise on 1 April 2025

On Monday, the Government laid a draft statutory instrument before parliament that, once made, will increase a wide range of planning...

14/01/25
Katie Gledhill

Will employers have to provide paid leave to staff who are victims of domestic abuse?

Earlier this week Labour MP Alex McIntyre introduced a Private Members Bill in the House of Commons to support the victims of domestic...

10/01/25
Nicola Gooch

The State of the Planning Nation: A new year and some not so new challenges

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025.  I hope you all had a relaxing and restorative break over the Christmas period, as this year looks set...

10/01/25
Alice Court

Novation of customer contracts and the proprietary rights of cryptocurrency exchange users

Kunal Gadhvi, Serena Eddy and Alice Court of Irwin Mitchell’s London Restructuring and Insolvency Team assisted Jeremy Karr and Simon...

09/01/25
Alexandra Addington

Employment law changes 2025: guide for HR and line managers

Happy new year to all of our readers.  Significant changes are on the horizon over the next 12-18 months which will impact your budgets...

09/01/25
Alexandra Addington

How long do you have to wait until you can dismiss an employee on long-term sick leave?

There's a lot for schools and colleges to consider when a member of staff goes off sick. You'll want to minimise disruption to your...

08/01/25
Alexandra Addington

Disability discrimination or fair dismissal? Autistic teacher dismissed for sending abusive emails to colleagues

You start a disciplinary process because an employee has behaved in a way you find unacceptable. Do you need to ask if they have an...

07/01/25
Philip Middleton

The perfect storm or the perfect opportunity?

The UK manufacturing sector has faced ongoing pressures for several years now, some of which we have previously discussed in a number of...

06/01/25
Chris Williams

High Court rules that breach of distance selling regulations does not make a CFA unenforceable.

Solicitors must always make sure that their retainers with their clients are enforceable. Recently, the High Court had occasion to...

06/01/25
Joanne Moseley

Banter or sexual harassment? What lessons can employers learn from the Greg Wallace saga?

Greg Wallace's career appears to be in free-fall following allegations that he sexually harassed contestants, journalists and other women...

02/01/25