News & Events: May 2015

Whyte & Mackay Limited v Origin Wine UK Limited & Dolce Co Invest Limited Worth knowing about because… Launching a new brand or sub-brand which incorporates your established brand name alongside another word which has already been registered as a trade mark by a third party can give rise to legal challenges. This case highlights […]

Most people are probably of the view that signing an agreement indicates that they intend to be bound by it. But what if the agreement has not been signed? Can a binding contract still come into existence? This has been the scenario in a number of recent cases considered by the courts and is a […]

A group of senior doctors published an article in the British Medical Journal last week announcing that the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is to launch a nationwide “Choosing Wisely” campaign in collaboration with other healthcare organisations, including the NHS. The campaign is based on Choosing Wisely initiatives already underway in the US, Canada, Germany, […]

In previous reviews we reported on a number of employment law changes effective as of 5 April, including the availability of Shared Parental Leave and the abolition of Additional Paternity Leave for babies expected or children adopted on or after 5 April. Other, less well-publicised, family friendly changes that also came into force on 5 […]

The EU Working Time Directive provides that workers are entitled to receive ‘normal pay’ for at least 4-weeks holiday per year. Last November, in Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton and others, it was held that to give effect to this, non-guaranteed overtime payments should be included in holiday pay and that wording should be added […]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has provided its decision in the long-running Woolworths and Ethel Austin cases (USDAW and anor v VW Realisation 1 Ltd and others). Agreeing with the opinion of the Advocate General (which we reported in March’s review), the ECJ has clarified that the term ‘establishment’ for the purposes of collective […]

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is disabled where they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The question in the recent case of Metroline Travel Ltd v Stoute was whether an employee with Type 2 diabetes, which […]

It has been a longstanding right that where a worker is invited to attend either a disciplinary or grievance hearing, provided that their request has been made reasonably, they have a right to be accompanied to that hearing by a fellow worker, a trade union representative, or an official employed by a trade union. Employers […]

The Tribunal in Bailes v First Bristol Ltd has awarded an unfair dismissal pay out of £83,910 to a Bristol bus driver who was dismissed after testing positive in a saliva test for cocaine. Mr Bailes persuaded the Tribunal that the positive drugs test resulted from him handling bank notes contaminated with the illegal substance […]

Where an employee brings a claim for psychiatric illness caused by stress in the workplace, an employer will not be liable for damages where the employee’s injury was not reasonably foreseeable by the employer. The question of foreseeability has been explored in a recent High Court case, Easton v B&Q Plc. The case concerned Mr […]