Discrimination Law is Still Confusing the Courts!
In this case the Claimant suffered from a disability which meant that she had to have more time off work than a person who was not disabled. She received a warning letter about her absences from work and lodged a grievance that the warning was discriminatory because her time off was by reason of her […]
X ( a Child ) v Northampton Borough Council
This was a tragic case. The claimant was a young child who could not swim who attended a Council run swimming pool with his family. He became separated from them and minutes later was found lying motionless on the floor of the pool by a member of the public. He was resuscitated but sustained severe […]
Fundamental Dishonesty in Injury Claims
It has been the practise in some cases for about 25 years that insurers secretly video-filmed claimants in continuing injury cases to verify that there was no exaggeration of injury and in my time as an injury claim solicitor here in Stoke on Trent, writes Stephen Brookes, I have had sent to me several mundane […]
Parking Eye Case – Compensation in the absence of loss now permissible
Mr Beavis had the misfortune to park on car park managed by Parking Eye of Chorley, Lancashire, who use automatic number plate recognition cameras to record the comings and goings of cars in car parks they manage. Here in Newcastle under Lyme, Morrisons and Aldi supermarkets use them and if an unsuspecting shopper stays even […]
European Court may rule in favour of employees
In the case of Federacion de Servicios Privados v Tyco and Another, the ECJ was asked to consider the proper definition of working time. The case involved employees of a company which installed security systems. Each employee was based at home and assigned a geographical area and the company set up a number of site […]
The Tide is Still Running Against Claimants at the Court of Appeal!
In the case of Sloan v Governors of Rastrick High School, heard in 2014, a learning support worker whose job included pushing the wheelchairs of disabled pupils, brought a claim for a shoulder injury basing her case on Regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Regulations 1992 which states that an employer must try to avoid […]
Law Society Dismayed at Serious Cuts to Criminal Legal Aid
The Law Society Gazette writes; The Ministry of Justice has announced changes that undermine the fundamental duty of the government to fund access to justice for anyone accused of wrongdoing. Total cuts to criminal legal aid now amount to £320m, close to one-third of the total budget. The changes announced today include: further fee cuts […]
The children are messing with the matches again!!
Today is a sad day for access to justice. When is election day? A truly massive court fees hike takes effect today. Now, if an injured claimant wishes to bring a claim for a sum in excess of 200,000 pounds he or she will have to survive the mental shock of the Government selling access […]
Let’s off Road! But first, a Warning for the Users of 4x4s
This tale concerns the case of Vnuk, a Slovenian farm worker who, in 2007, suffered personal injuries when he was struck by a reversing farm trailer being propelled by a farm tractor. Now for many years in the UK the duty to possess compulsory third party motor insurance cover only extended to the use of […]
A landmark decision on holiday pay entitlement, or was it?
The way in which holiday pay is calculated in order to make payment for time off work can be confusing because of the infinite variety of methods of calculation of a worker’s pay and because the Working Time Regulations are not as clear as they might otherwise be. Europe has decided that the minimum holiday […]