Publications

This week has seen the opening of a new Government consultation on proposals to change the current flexible working framework. These proposals include making the right to request flexible working a day one right and consideration being given to the business reasons for refusing requests and the administrative process for dealing with these. Following the fundamental shift to flexible working during the pandemic, as employers now start requiring employees to return to the more traditional office based 9-5, we anticipate there will be an increase in flexible working requests.

In the fourth edition of the Strategic Land Series, Hannah Langford, a Partner in the Real Estate & Projects team at Devonshires, will discuss current policies and legislative proposals. Previous editions of this series have focused on Option Agreements, Promotion Agreements, and Hybrid Agreements.

In the case of Gwynedd Council v Barratt, the UK Court of Appeal has ruled that the refusal by the employer to allow an employee the right to an appeal against their dismissal by reason of redundancy, was a relevant factor in determining whether the dismissal was unfair or not; however, it would not make the dismissal inevitably unfair.

The High Court has ruled that the personal injury case of Farnham-Oliver v RM Educational Resources Ltd was able to proceed, despite the parties having entered into a Settlement Agreement to settle the same matter arising in an Employment Tribunal claim brought five years previously.

Devonshires Leasehold & Property Litigation Team are pleased to present the Autumn/Winter 2021 Leasehold & Property Litigation webinar programme.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a tribunal’s decision that a prison officer should be compensated for career long loss resulting from discrimination and harassment he suffered because of his sexual orientation.

Following on from the first and second edition of the strategic land series where Katie Fung, a Partner in the Real Estate & Projects team at Devonshires, discussed Option and Promotion Agreements, here in the third instalment of the strategic land series Katie will look at Hybrid Agreements.

The global pandemic has seen a multitude of changes to the daily lives of individuals across the world and enforced home working has catapulted the working environment into a virtual and home based reality. Despite initial challenges, many organisations and individuals have seen the benefits of working from home. As such, employers up and down the country are beginning to consider making home working a new norm of the future by introducing home working or hybrid working policies.

The Employment Tribunal, in the case of Mhindurwa v Lovingangels Care Limited, has ruled that the Claimant in the matter, Mrs Mhindurwa had been unfairly dismissed due to the fact that her employer, Lovingangels Care Limited, had failed to consider furlough as a potential alternative to redundancy.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Aleem v E-Act Academy Trust has ruled that providing an employee with her previous higher rate of pay when she moved to a different lower-paid job due to her disability was not considered to be a reasonable adjustment.

Devonshires Housing Management and Property Litigation Building Blocks Webinar programme is back due to popular demand! These webinars are aimed at those at the beginning of their careers in tenancy and leasehold management and are suitable for anyone wanting to learn the basics of housing law and how it relates to their day to day job.

Recent allegations of service charge “rip offs”, suggest that RP’s are firmly in the media’s sights. Members of the senior management team (SMT) may face the prospect of a much deserved summer break interrupted by some difficult reading.