A recent case in the high court (Newbury v Sun Microsystems) illustrates the importance of ensuring that all settlement negotiations are stated to be ‘subject to contract’ — otherwise you could find yourself bound by a contract you did not intend to make. In this case, in the context of a claim for unpaid commission, the […]
Collyer Bristow has appointed Nathan Donaldson as a partner in its employment team. Donaldson has more than 17 years’ experience in contentious employment, advising organisations and high-net-worth individuals. He specialises in cases concerning discrimination, whistleblowing and employment matters arising out of Financial Conduct Authority-regulated organisations and advises clients in the hotel, education, healthcare and charity […]
The Employment Appeal Tribunal, in the claim of Croft Vets Ltd and others v Butcher, considered whether a veterinary practice — by failing to pay for a depressed employee’s private psychiatric treatment — had breached its duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable her to return to work. The claimant had worked for a number of years […]
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published updated guidance on how to deal with subject access requests from individuals. This is called the Subject Access Code of Practice. Under the Data Protection Act 1998, any individual has the right to make a request to any organisation that holds personal information about them. Any organisation that […]
The snappily titled Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 came into force on 31 January 2014. The changes are intended to improve TUPE’s effectiveness and flexibility and to ensure that TUPE goes no further than the original EC directive. However, the changes that have actually been made are much […]
French private equity and venture capital magazine Option Finance has named Wragge & Co’s Paris private equity team one of the best in France. The law firm features in the top 15 listing for three different categories: private equity mid-cap (€50m–€200m); capital innovation and venture; and private equity management packages. The team’s highlights include advising […]
Zero-hours contracts have been the subject of considerable political and social debate in recent times. Although not legally defined, they are widely recognised as contracts under which a worker has no set minimum hours and is paid only in relation to the hours worked. Businesses are not obliged to offer any work to zero-hours workers […]
Back in April 2013, Wragge & Co reported on the Court of Appeal judgment in BAA Ltd v HMRC [2013] EWCA Civ 112. In this case, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal against the decisions of the upper-tier tribunal and the first-tier tribunal not to allow an acquisition vehicle, Airport Development and Investments Ltd […]
In Alegro Capital LLP v AllProperty Media Pte Ltd [EWHC] 3376 QB, Mr Justice Foskett said: ‘It is unfortunate that a great deal of cost will have been expended in the dispute and that it will have generated bad feeling and distrust between the two sides. It is, regrettably, a consequence of not sorting out […]
Following recent announcements in the press, including a front page headline in The Times this week, the government published the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on 5 February 2014. Part 4 of the bill contains a number of important changes to be introduced that seek, in the words of the Lord Chancellor, to prevent judicial […]
Most of us do not relish January and what follows closely on its heels. The Christmas season has been and gone and the new year’s bubbles are but a distant memory. Thoughts return to the workload on our desks that we all have put from our minds with mixed success. But there are points of […]
Buyers of businesses are often anxious about what the sellers will do after completion of a deal. Where proprietors have already built up a successful business (particularly one based largely on personal contacts) and sold it, it is clearly possible that they may want to repeat the success. This would mean competition for the original […]