In order to be divorced you obviously have to be validly married, and bigamy remains a surprisingly common occurrence. In one case, the High Court found that a couple’s overseas wedding did not render them husband and wife – because she was already married to someone else. A British solicitor and a Philippines-born nurse went… Read more »

The government’s ‘furlough’ scheme is an unprecedented means of saving jobs and viable businesses in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis – but how does it interact with the insolvency regime? The High Court addressed that burning issue in the context of a restaurant chain which went into administration within days of the UK entering… Read more »

The purpose of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is to ensure that workers receive decent pay packets, into their own hands and free from deductions. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) underlined that point in ruling that a football club failed to pay the NMW because it deducted cash from employees’ wages to pay for season tickets…. Read more »

Complying with planning laws can be expensive and inconvenient, but failing to do so is likely to result in a criminal record and a severe financial penalty. In a case on point, a property owner who simply ignored an enforcement notice requiring him to remove an unauthorised house extension received a £15,000 fine. When the… Read more »

The distinction between employees and independent contractors is replete with grey areas but could hardly be more important. The Supreme Court gave authoritative guidance on the issue in ruling on the case of numerous bank workers who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a doctor during pre-employment health checks. At the bank’s behest, the… Read more »

Road accidents ruin lives, but specialist lawyers are thankfully there to ensure that innocent victims receive just compensation. In one case, a 72-year-old man who was struck by a car while crossing the road near his home won more than £700,000 in damages. The pensioner enjoyed a fully independent life prior to the accident, but… Read more »

Can an employee’s formal resignation be impliedly withdrawn by conduct, or can that only be achieved by explicit agreement? The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) tackled that thorny issue in a case concerning a local authority manager who had second thoughts after handing in her resignation letter. The woman, who worked as a member of an… Read more »

Does diplomatic immunity extend to human rights violations committed by members of diplomatic missions within the UK? In a unique case concerning a diplomat who was alleged to have subjected his children to a regime of harmful chastisement, the High Court has reluctantly answered that question in the affirmative. Some of the diplomat’s six children… Read more »

The extent of judicial determination not to allow the COVID-19 pandemic to derail the wheels of justice was revealed by the High Court’s refusal to adjourn a five-week insolvency trial which is due to take place at the height of the crisis. The case, a £250 million claim by the liquidators of a property development… Read more »

Workplace whistleblowers who, in the public interest, disclose what they believe to be wrongdoing are protected by the full force of the law. As an instructive tribunal ruling underlined, however, not every complaint of flawed working practices or procedures amounts to such a protected disclosure. The case concerned a mortgage underwriter who had been assigned… Read more »