On 25 May 2018 most processing of personal data by organisations will have to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Preparing for the general data protection regulation – 12 steps that you should take now
Data Protection and Subject Access Requests
An increasing number of subject access requests have been made under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Subject access requests are used as tactical ploys as a way of putting pressure on the other side to disclose documents that would not otherwise be disclosable in litigation. Several cases have been
Notice period for termination of a contract
In the case of Newcastle’s NHS v Haywood (2017) EWCA Civ 153 the question of when does notice of termination of a contract take effect was considered. The best practice is for express provision in a contract of employment to specify when notice will be effective. The alternatives are common law principles that need consideration and the question to be asked is, when does contractual notice take effect on, 1. Posting of a letter 2. Delivery of the letter or 3. Communication of the notice to the employee so they are aware of it?
Confidential Information – Damages
Where two employees of a large asset management firm were sued for £15 million for taking confidential information, but the employer’s only recovered £2 (nominal damages). The reason for this is that the employees had made no use of the confidential information. Therefore the employer had suffered no losses – Marathon v Seddon [2017] EWHC 300. This serves as a useful reminder to employers suing former
Employment Tribunals – online
Employment Tribunals are now online. The database includes judgements dating back to 2015 and 2016 and the web address link for the site is employment-tribunals-decisions
Court of Protection Guidance on vulnerable persons
Mr Justice Charles has released practical guidance in order to provide helpful suggestions as to how practitioners might consider enhancing the participation of P (vulnerable persons) in proceedings in the Court of Protection. Whilst this guidance is primarily directed towards health and welfare cases in the Court, it is also likely to be of assistance … Read more
Immigration checks
Failure to carry out ‘right to work’ checks can result in civil liability of up to £20,000 per illegal employee/worker. Businesses should be aware of the potential immigration checks and the risks of being investigated by the immigration authorities
Pre-action Discovery Protocol
The Court of Appeal (CA) has decided that protocol for Pre-action discovery is covered under the fixed cost regime. Costs will therefore normally be limited to the fixed rates – Sharp v Leeds CC [2017] EWCA Civ 33
This case involved Miss Sharp , the Claimant (C) who tripped on a footpath and injured her wrist. She brought a claim against Leeds City Council ,the Defendant’s (D) through the Portal under the Employer’s Liability / Public Liability Protocol.
Dress code-religious and political
In the case of Achbita v G4S [2017] (CJEU, C-157/15), the ECJ has given guidance on the extent to which dress codes (whether formal or informal) can be imposed on those who want to wear religious or political signs. The guidance is that it will be potentially indirect discrimination unless the employer can objectively justify the dress code. … Read more
Worldwide Defamation-damages
In Shakil-Ur-Raman v ARY [2016] EWHC 3110(QB) damages for defamation were only recoverable on the basis of TV broadcasts in the UK. Before the Defamation Act 2013 it was possible for a foreign claimant to claim damages for a single ‘publication’ in the UK and then recover damages based on the worldwide defamation. In this … Read more
