This is a student blog written by Gurkiran Sandhu. Alidair Ltd v Taylor [1978] ICR 445 Alidair Ltd v Taylor concerned whether the dismissal of an employee was fair when he had only made a single mistake during the course of his employment. Facts of the case Mr Taylor, who [...]
Under current law, individuals are protected from being victimised or dismissed if they disclose private information which is in the public interest (more colloquially known as ‘blowing the whistle’). This protection is enshrined in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and the Employment Rights Act 1996. If an employee discloses [...]
Barrett v Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust [2015] EWHC 2627 (QB) concerns alleged medical negligence by the NHS which resulted in a patient’s loss of eyesight. The main issues were whether the decision to treat the diabetes-related eye condition medically rather than surgically was acceptable medical practice, whether [...]
Bent v Highways and Utilities Construction Ltd and another [2010] EWCA Civ 292 concerns the liability of an insurance company to cover the cost of a temporary replacement car. The key issue arising in the Court of Appeal surrounded the type of evidence the court would take into consideration when [...]
The case of Starks v Chief Constable of Hertfordshire [2013] EWCA Civ 782 concerned a road traffic accident involving a police car colliding with another car at a mini-roundabout. It was not disputed that both drivers shared some fault for the accident, but the issue here concerned which party should [...]
The case of Froom v Butcher [1975] investigates the idea of whether not wearing a seatbelt could be seen as contributory negligence. Contributory negligence is the idea that the claimant’s conduct affected their own safety, increasing the damage or harm they suffered in the accident. Therefore, this case examines the [...]
Shook v London Borough of Ealing [1986] IRLR 46 Shook v London Borough of Ealing concerned whether the dismissal of an employee, on the grounds of incapability, was fair when she was still able to do part of her job. Facts of the case Miss Shook, who was a residential [...]
O’Connor v The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust [2015] EWCA Civ 1244 concerned a case of medical negligence. It was recognised in the case that “[i]t is not an uncommon feature of litigation that several possible causes are suggested for the mishap which the court is investigating”. Facts The claimant [...]
What is the ‘Without Prejudice’ rule? ‘Without prejudice’ is a statement typically used on top of documents or at the start of conversations which help to settle disputes without involving lawyers. It means that the contents of the documents/letters/conversations cannot be used legally as evidence in a case, as ‘without [...]
GM Packaging (UK) Ltd v Haslem [2014] UKEAT 0259_12_2901 concerned the alleged unfair dismissal of two employees after they engaged in sexual activities in the workplace. This case is noteworthy for concluding that it is not appropriate to only look at the principal acts of misconduct when considering the reasonableness [...]
